Too Much And Then Some
jones diaries, sweet things, and something to take the edge off
Welcome to hyperfix’d - a low-stakes publication where I share everything and anything I’m excited about, with anyone who will listen. In an attempt to be less online, i’ve replaced hours of scrolling with annotating art + design magazines, finishing the weekend crossword, and savoring every moment of a particularly wet hot american summer - recent sights + sounds include the incomparable Olivia Dean live at the Paramount, more dancing at Public Records with music by Ayanna Heaven and ራሄል (Rachel), and a matinee of The Young Girls Of Rochefort at the Metrograph. It’s a gift to exist! Without further ado, here’s new hyperfix’d:
Too Much 💻
I’ve recently embraced the coveted role of ‘girl who just watched Girls for the first time,’ and despite being extremely late to the game, it’s undeniable that Lena Dunham’s seminal breakthrough series made way for a cultural shift in how an entire generation of women could express and perceive themselves on screen. More than a decade after the premiere of Girls, the prodigious writer makes a highly anticipated return to the episodic form with Too Much, a semi-autobiographical romantic comedy co-created with her husband, musician Luis Felber, based on the couple’s real-life coming together. Too Much follows thirty-something Jessica (Meg Stalter), who finds herself with little reason to stay in New York after her ex-boyfriend of ten years announces his engagement to another woman.1 As she moves to London to reinvent her life, she immediately finds herself drawn to local musician Felix (Will Sharpe), with whom she embarks on an impulsive yet charming romance.
Too Much turns an oeuvre of classic British romcoms of the aughts on their head, an opulence of references to the rich worlds of Richard Curtis joyously scattered throughout. Jessica makes a rite of passage pilgrimage to Notting Hill’s blue door, a Four Weddings And A Funeral wedding spirals into brilliantly orchestrated chaos, and a holiday-themed musical number à la Love, Actually strikes at the eleventh hour. British and American comedy are so opposingly distinct in their tone and approach, where one often fails to appreciate the other, making it all the more impressive for Lena to nail the exorbitant Britishisms of the show, while creating a world for her singular characters that feels so entirely lived in.
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, we have finally figured out how to portray sex well in media,2 and in Too Much, intimacy looks and feels real, tender, and pleasurable. An episode sweetly titled Ignore Sunrise takes place throughout an intimate twenty-four-hour encounter, beautifully capturing the soft euphoric state of getting to know and feeling protected by someone you’ve just met. Lena’s greatest love interests tend to be people who intimately see and understand each other, finding comfort and safety in one another’s company. It’s impossible not to root for Felix and Jessica’s connection right off the bat - Felix, of course, pulls off all the big romantic gestures and knows the right things to say, but there’s an immediate trust and dependency beyond it that immediately radiates from the pair.
Too Much also brings to light honest discussions surrounding mental health, trauma, and relationship abuse. It’s an all too familiar feeling that every woman has experienced at one time or another, to be made to feel like too much and not enough at once. ‘I’ve always felt hot, except for when I haven’t.’ I greatly admire how Lena has portrayed abusive relationships in both of her shows, the grief of losing one’s security and sense of self to an unsafe and unloving relationship. ‘I’ve been holding onto this shit for so long and I don’t want to anymore.’ With embracing and bringing new love into one’s life comes letting go of the hurt and lack of love felt previously, so I can’t imagine how healing sharing a personal story like this must have been.
It’s clear that Lena has loved every second of her return to television as much as we have, and the ensemble she brings along with her for the ride is having just as much fun. Girls alumni Rita Wilson, Richard E. Grant, Andrew Rannells, Rhea Perlman, along with Naomi Watts and Lena Dunham herself, make boisterous appearances, while Jessica Alba and Rita Ora star as themselves. Among the newer cast, I adored comedian Leo Reich’s acting debut as Boss Gibbons and Janicza Bravo’s Kim Keith Independente, an overachieving lesbian with perfect comedic timing, commandeering my screen. Bravo has been one of my favorite writers and directors since Zola,3 also directing One Wedding And A Sex Pest, one of the season’s standout episodes. Adèle Exarchopoulos has a delightfully ennuyé recurring role as Felix’s former girlfriend, while Andrew Scott (Fleabag’s Hot Priest) fully commits to one of the show’s sillier guest starring roles.4 Emily Ratajkowski, one of the original girls and Eastern European icon to me, shines brightly in one of my favorite performances of the year so far, her sincere monologue in the final episode making the entire series for me - don’t ever say Lena isn’t a girl’s girl!
A self-prescribed Shoshanna, the heart of Lena’s meticulous writing has always lain in her acutely intimate observations of connection, where brief moments of passing dialogue offer some of the greatest romantic gestures. ‘You're too much, like it's a good thing. Like just the right amount and then a little bit more.’ To any of the critics, male especially, picking this show apart, I don’t want to hear it - since when are we not allowed to have things that are just nice? Too Much is sincere in its thesis - a reminder that we all deserve a great love story in our lives, with a little something on offer for everyone who has ever wanted to be loved. And who doesn’t love a sincere final freeze frame à la the end of season five of Girls? :’)
All episodes of Too Much are now streaming on Netflix.
On Repeat 🎧
- signing off with the songs I’ve been loving most lately, for your hyperfixation consideration:
Perfectly, FKA twigs
The Mood, FLO, KAYTRANADA
Stare At Me, Jane Handcock, Anderson. Paak
I Imagine, Luna Li, Hope Tala
Bed Of Roses, Teyana Taylor
A not-so-subtle nod to Jack Antonoff … who’s having that conversation!
Everyone say thank you, intimacy coordinators!
We as a society do not give Zola anywhere near the respect it deserves, and I’ve always said that.
Between Jonathan Bailey’s renaissance and Andrew Scott being back on our screens, it’s a huge year for every girl’s favorite gay guy playing straight.