TV REVIEW: LOVE – WE’VE ALL BEEN THERE

Meet Gus (Paul Rust), a tutor for child actors/ aspiring TV writer, who loves magic, Blu-ray movies with exclusive special features, and making up “theme tunes to films that don’t already have one” with his friends.

Meet Mickey (Gillian Jacobs), attractive and tough. She’s been struggling a lot between her work at a radio station, her alcohol addiction and her terrible taste in men.

Created by Judd Apatow, Paul Rust, and Lesley Arfin, LOVE is the new Netflix’s comedy series that follows their lives, together and apart, and examines the process of getting to know each other, as sweet, awkward and scary as it can be.

I know what you’re thinking. Isn't this just another rom-com? Well, yes.

Did we really need another one? Absolutely yes, if it’s good as this one.

The chemistry between Paul Rust and Gillian Jacobs is obvious from their first scene together. I thought that the Pilot was a bit slow but by the second episode I was pretty hooked on the show.

The second episode is my favourite one and also has one of the funniest scenes from the series. Mickey and Gus are driving home after a very awkward encounter with Gus’ ex-girlfriend and he’s been looking at his collection of Blu-rays he just got back from her. That’s when he starts ranting about romantic movies and their unrealistic happy endings.

“All these movies I've watched, they’re not real. Pretty Woman? It’s such a lie! A prostitute wouldn't fall in love with you. She would just like steal your shit and sell it for coke!”, he screams before throwing the DVD out of the car. And then does the same for Toy Story 3, Goodfellas, What Women Want, and his entire collection.

So that’s what the show is trying to do essentially: fight Hollywood stereotypes when it comes to love and relationships. And by far it’s been doing a good job.

The show is as honest and authentic as you’d hope for. As the tagline itself suggests, “We’ve all been there”. The characters of Mickey and Gus are flawed, and it’s exactly their flaws that make them more relatable and interesting to watch. Under the all “cool girl façade”, Mickey is actually very insecure. At first, she might seem selfish and even mean, but she’s just lonely and confused. I guess she just doesn’t know how to be happy, but by the end of the series she’s trying really hard to put her life back together and be a better person.

Gus is essentially a good guy, (even though he can turn into a real jerk. I honestly didn’t like the way she treated Mickey at times). He has a lot to learn and figure out still, from how to stand up for himself to how to behave in a healthy relationship.

Mickey and Gus are two lost people that find each other. They would make a cute couple so you might think they will end up fixing each other and being together, but you can feel that the time is not right yet and maybe they need to fix themselves on their own before they can be happy together.

Looking forward to seeing these two characters grow up and defeat their demons in season two. Then we can really start talking about love.

The first season’s 10 episodes are now available on Netflix.