Created by: John Carney
Starring: Dev Patel, Catherine Keener, Andy Garcia, Anne Hathaway, John Slattery, Tina Fey, Sofia Boutella, John Gallagher, Jr., Cristin Milioti, Gary Carr, Andrew Scott, Olivia Cooke, Shea Whigham, Julia Garner
Try as I might, I was unable to view the first episode of the eight-part anthology Modern Love, so I'll skip right to the second episode. Modern Love tells eight different tales of Love in all of its imperfections, complications, and hey, it's even positive once in a while! The second episode titled, "When Cupid Is A Prying Journalist" stars Catherine Keener as a reporter interviewing Dev Patel, a dating app founder whose own love life is in shambles after his girlfriend cheats on him. The reporter is not unfamiliar with this territory, as she and the love of her life (Garcia) broke up many years ago in Europe. Garcia returns to the scene and takes the now-married Keener on an all-night date, stirring up old emotions and regrets. "Cupid" effectively documents two tales of lost love, and Keener's piece on Patel brings his story to a happy ending.
I won't review the episodes which follow in any particular order, but here goes: The best episode of the series "Take Me As I Am, Whoever I Am" stars Anne Hathaway as Lexi, who asks out a handsome man (Carr) at the grocery store one morning and, after the man accepts, she is overjoyed to the point where she is dancing in the parking lot with brightly colored backup dancers behind her in an impromptu musical number. You would think this would be hokey, until you witness when Lexi arrives home and she is suddenly depressed and stays in bed for days. Yep, Lexi is bipolar and struggling mightily with it. When she's up, she's really up, but when she's down, she is but a shell of a person. Hathaway is remarkable (she rarely isn't) here, and Carr is also good as the poor guy who had no idea the Lexi who asked him out only shows up momentarily and can be snatched away at any moment. The happy ending to this story isn't what you'd expect, but instead a breakthrough for Lexi as she finally learns to ask for and accept help for her condition.
Another fairly strong entry is "Rallying to Keep the Game Alive", based on an article by Ann Leary about her marriage to her husband, actor/comedian Denis Leary. Tina Fey plays the Ann character and John Slattery is Denis, her actor husband. The couple is about to give up on marriage counseling and seem resigned to the fact that their marriage will break up once the kids leave home. Then, the couple takes up tennis, and find it is one way to stay connected and focused on each other. They even get pretty good at it. Fey and Slattery are appealing actors who turn something which could've been overly melodramatic into a grounded, believable story about fear of the next phase of life.
"So He Looked Like Dad. It Was Just Dinner, Right?" stars Julia Garner (Ozark) as a young woman whose father died years ago and begins "dating" an older co-worker (Whigham) who reminds her of her dad. I say "dating" because the older man thinks he is dating, and the young woman thinks she is having quality dad time with a man who isn't her father, but who fills a psychological need. When he tries to kiss his younger date, she shoves him away in repulsion. Well-acted by Garner and Whigham, the story ends on a hopeful note where both can finally be on the same page in their offbeat relationship.
"At the Hospital, an Interlude of Clarity" stars John Gallgher, Jr. and Sofia Boutella as a couple out on a first or second date interrupted by the guy having to go to the hospital after cutting himself. The mismatched couple talk, find out about each other, and even grow to love one another in a segment which plays long and moves like molasses in January towards its inexorable conclusion.
"Hers Was a World of One" is about a gay couple who take in the abandoned woman pregnant with the child they plan to adopt. Andrew Scott (so good in Fleabag) stars along with Olivia Cooke as the pregnant woman with the rebellious spirit who grows more annoying by the second. The men would be better off finding another child to adopt than to have to put up with this. If there was an episode which felt like an hour, even though it was only thirty minutes, this is the one.
"The Race Grows Sweeter Near Its Final Lap" features Jane Alexander as an elderly woman who jogs, but serves more as an unnecessary dovetailing of previous episodes. It was like a wrap-up show we weren't asking for. Everybody's happy and in Love. Yay!
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