The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, September 21, 2016 — 5A

Helen Mirren appears on 

screen first, ready to introduce 
the 51st season of “Documentary 
Now!” as VHS documentary-
esque 
music 

plays on in the 
background, 
almost 
as 
if 

to 
prepare 

the 
audience 

for 
an 
actual 

production. 
Unlike 
short, 

comedic 
skits 

that go for the 
punchline almost 
immediately, 
“Documentary 

Now!” 
is 
invested 
in 

recreating scene-for-scene the 
documentaries 
that 
they’re 

concurrently choosing to roast 
any given week. And because 
of that, this IFC gem has been 
taking the world of comedic 
television by storm.

Attention to detail is the most 

closely associated comment for 
Fred Armisen (“Portlandia”) 
and Bill Hader’s (“Trainwreck”) 
mockumentary 
series 
as 
it 

faithfully reconstructs some of 
the most famous documentaries 
of the past several decades. 
However, on this note, the 
series creates its own spin on 
the 
original 
documentaries 

by adding in absurd situations 
that could only arise from the 
creative minds of “Saturday 
Night Live” alumni. Recurring 
jokes, reminiscent of “SNL,” 
almost make it easy to forget 
that “Documentary Now!” is 
a separate entity from NBC’s 
long-standing comedy beehive. 
However, while “SNL” aims 
to 
produce 
quick 
laughs 

from their viewers through 
the use of obvious props and 

discussions on character flaws, 
the mocking nature that comes 
from “Documentary Now!” is 
subtler — often coming from a 
quick wink or raised eyebrow 
from Hader and Armisen, or 

jokes that blend 
seamlessly 
into 

the 
environment 

the 
duo 
has 

transformed 
into 

their stage. Hader 
and 
Armison’s 

choice to distance 
themselves 
from 

their alma mater is 
a step in the right 
direction, as the 

hard work that goes into their 
low-key jibes clearly pays off in 
the long run.

As November fast approaches 

and election season looms over 
America, the obvious choice for 
the premiere of “Documentary 
Now!” was a parody of the 1993 
documentary “The War Room,” 
which followed Bill Clinton’s 
’92 campaign for presidency 
through two of his top staffers, 
James Carville and George 
Stephanopoulos. 
This 
gives 

Hader the chance to revisit his 
uncanny Carville impression, 
a popular “Weekend Update” 
character during his years as 
an “SNL” regular. Meanwhile, 
Armisen takes on the role of a 
young George Stephanopoulos 
persona, 
Alvin 
Panagoulis, 

who flaunts his presence in the 
campaign.

In the parody titled “The 

Bunker,” Hader plays up the 
ruthless 
Southerner 
and 

Carville-inspired 
Teddy 

Redbones, 
who 
agressively 

pushes his candidate in a 
gubernatorial election though 
the use of false accusations 
and placing racially insensitive 

jockeys on the front lawns of 
their opponent’s supporters. It’s 
obvious that he’ll do just about 
anything to get his candidate 
elected, including taking a 
bullet to the leg and placing 
the blame on the opponent. 
In 
this 
respect, 
Armisen’s 

Panagoulious plays the same 
part, 
which 
is 
hilariously 

executed 
by 
comments 

regarding his attractiveness. 
“I feel like I’m shy….” Armisen 
dreamily 
recalls 
with 
a 

hand gracing his cheek, no 
doubt a silent reference to a 
young Stephanopoulos. Both 
Redbones and Panagoulious 
are 
sharply 
juxtaposed 
by 

their candidate, Ben Herndon 
(Van Epperson, “The Green 
Mile”), who refuses to exploit 
the secrets of his opponent 
for his own selfish gain after 
a moment of prayer and self-
reflection. In fact, Herndon 
furthers his attempts at being 
the 
unpopular 
candidate 

through a general indifference 
in the election itself, being 
more concerned about taking 
one’s shoes off on his carpet 
than the polling numbers. In 
the end, it’s Hader’s character 
that’s filled to the brim with 
emotional outbursts — from 
weeping at an election speech 
to his impassioned persona in 
the election headquarters.

Although there’s a missed 

opportunity in the lack of 
commentary on this year’s 
electoral 
campaign, 
it’s 

probably for the best to keep 
the world of mockumentaries 
separate from the pressures 
of modern politics. If there’s 
any takeaway message coming 
from “The Bunker,” it’s that 
“Documentary Now!” is back, 
and it’s bolder than ever.

IFC

Looks like some mansplaining is going on here.

MEGAN MITCHELL

Daily Arts Writer

A-

Documentary Now!

Season 2 Premiere

IFC

Wednesdays at 10

Irreverent ‘Documentary 
Now!’ season premiere

TV REVIEW

IFC’s sleeper hit from SNL alumni rings in second season 
with parody of 1993 documentary “The War Room”

Film Column: Age 13, ripe for 

the screen

It’s not easy being 13. And 

that comes as a surprise to no 
one who has ever been that age. 
There is nothing as emotionally 
raw as being on the cusp of 
adulthood, fighting against the 
contrary instincts that tell you 
to simultaneously grow up and 
stay young.

Few 
other 
years 
in 
my 

(admittedly short) life warrant 
such a strong reaction as 13. 
I can see myself so clearly at 
that age, wearing pink jeans, 
listening to Green Day and 
getting 
unwanted 
attention 

from eighth grade boys because 
I got boobs before everyone 
else.

If 
the 
emotional 
content 

of time really is plastic, then 
I was 13 for a decade. The 
limbo between childhood and 
adulthood in my memory feels 
infinite. Thirteen holds my first 
kiss and my first period, my 
first boyfriend breakup and my 
first best friend breakup.

Capturing all that is a lot to 

ask of a 90-minute movie. The 
range and intensity of emotions 
is unlike any other time in life. 
I’ve seen many movies that try 
to look like 13, and fewer that 
try to feel like 13. Almost none 
of them succeed in either quest. 

There is no other film in 

my memory that captures the 
inexplicable feeling of 13-ness 
as Ira Sach’s “Little Men.” No 
other film has been able to 
drive to the heart of youth with 
the same level of reverence and 
poignancy.

The beauty of “Little Men” 

comes in its ability to recreate 
that age for an audience of 
people who are not 13, and 
does so respectfully. It would 
be, and is, so easy to mock 
adolescence — a age that is ripe 
with the sort of awkwardness 
and vulnerability that comedy 
thrives on. That’s not to say 
“Little Men” isn’t funny — it is 
— but its humor comes from its 
two young protagonists, not at 
them.

A scene in which a boy 

struggles to form a coherent 
answer to a question about 
poetry is especially moving. It’s 
so mundane, the way he trips 
over his words and how hard he 
tries to make sense of something 
(unrequited love) that he won’t 
understand for years — if ever. 
That grasping at adulthood that 
Sachs captures so gracefully is, 
for me, the key piece missing 
from other representations of 
this age.

And perhaps I’m so hung 

up on adolescence because, 
in addition to it being such 
a formative age in my life, I 
know a lot of people that age. 
I’ve committed the past three 
summers of my life (and at least 
the next one) to working with 
kids that age. I’ve seen first 
hand what it looks and sounds 
and feels (and smells) like to be 
13. And it looks a whole lot like 
what Sachs has created.

And I think of all the 13-year-

olds I know and I think of the 
representations of themselves 
they are being presented with 
— movies about romance and 
girl fights and bullying. The 
kind of movies I saw at 13 that 
made me wonder: why do I 
not look like that or feel like 
that or talk like that, why does 
my life not look like that? For 
example, “The Lizzie McGuire 
Movie” is supposed to take 
place 
after 
Lizzie’s 
middle 

school graduation. If anything 
is the opposite of the reality of 
middle school, it’s navigating 
a foreign city and seducing an 
older man in order to become 
an international pop star. That’s 
crazy. That’s not what 13 looks 

like. (I acknowledge that “The 
Lizzie McGuire Movie” is a 
classic of American cinema and 
an all around great time, but 
come on.)

In addition to Lizzie on the 

back of a Vespa, I want these 
kids to see these two boys, Jake 
and Tony, who, much like myself 
at that age, have not quite grown 
into their own bodies. The way 
they talk to each other and play 
with each other. The way they 
love each other in a way that 
only 13-year-olds can love each 
other. The realism that pumps 
through their every line and 
movement. 

I think it was the novelty 

of this realism that moved me 
so much. That’s why I found 
myself getting teary-eyed as 
Jake and Tony slung their out-
of-control arms around each 
other. It’s why I cried when they 
sat in the park and talked about 
the girls they liked, and when 
one of those girls ended up not 
liking Tony back, and also when 
Tony was sort of okay with that 
because he was, after all, only 
13.

The facts of the film were 

foreign to my life — I was never 
a boy living above a dress shop 
in Brooklyn and I was never his 
best friend — but watching it felt 
like watching a film adaptation 
of my own memories. “I feel 
like that kid was in my seventh 
grade 
English 
class,” 
my 

friend Jay commented on the 
stuttering poetry analyst. And 
he’s probably right. I knew that 
kid. And I’ve been that kid.

That’s why 13 is an age so 

ripe for the screen. While the 
experiences are diverse, so 
much of the emotional makeup 
is universal. When I see that, I 
feel a nostalgic sort of empathy. 
When a 13-year-old sees that, 
they see themselves reflected. 
All of that combined is the rich 
emotional stew great movies 
are made of.

So, 
why 
aren’t 
people 

making better movies about 
adolescence? I genuinely don’t 
know. 

MADELEINE GAUDIN

Daily Film Columnist

I was never a 

boy living above 
a dress shop in 

Brooklyn.

DISNEY

Save a horse, ride an Italian backstabber.

AMAZON

Tastes like breaking the fourth wall.
Devastating British tragicomedy 
‘Fleabag’ is a delightful surprise

Phoebe Waller-Bridge wrote and stars in Amazon’s new comedy

As a storytelling device in film 

and television, breaking the fourth 
wall can be very tricky. On the one 
hand, it becomes tiresome when it’s 
overused, shattering the illusion 
that what you’re watching isn’t real 

life. Yet, having characters show-
case their thoughts out loud can be 
an effective and even clever way to 
humanize them, such as in “Parks 
and Recreation,” “Malcolm in the 
Middle,” “The Office” and “House 
of Cards.” Fortunately for Amazon 
Video’s newest import “Fleabag,” 
the main character’s constant 
acknowledgment of the audience 

is not only inviting, but also quite 
refreshing.

Joining the ranks of other bril-

liant, nuanced Amazon comedies 
like “Catastrophe” and “Transpar-
ent,” “Fleabag” is a deeply layered 
character study that’s as hysterical 
as it is devastating. It’s the type of 
show where you’ll be crying from 
laughter and then, out of nowhere, 

SAM ROSENBERG

Daily Arts Writer

a scene will hit you with an emo-
tional gut punch and a new set of 
tears will begin flowing from your 
eyeballs.

Of course, this 

isn’t to say that 
“Fleabag” is ton-
ally inconsistent; in 
fact, all six episodes 
immaculately bal-
ance 
poignant, 

thought-provoking 
moments 
with 

darkly funny ones. 
Adapted from the 
award-winning 
2013 play, “Flea-
bag” is the story 
of 
an 
unnamed 

woman (Phoebe Waller-Bridge, 
“Broadchurch”) and her daily 
escapades as she deals with rocky 
romances, her troubled relation-
ship with her family, her job at a 
dingy café and the death of her 
best friend, all told through the 
woman’s perspective — her name 
is never uttered on the show, but it’s 
credited as Fleabag.

At the center of it all is English 

actress Waller-Bridge, who is the 
show’s creator, writer and titular 
star. Her performance on-screen 
and off drives the creative engine 
that fuels the guffaw-inducing 
one-liners and surprisingly hon-
est exposition of “Fleabag,” which 
she does through gazing and talk-
ing at the camera. She can’t help 
herself, bluntly telling us about her 
uptight sister Claire, (Sian Clifford, 

“Midsomer Murders”), her reticent 
father (Bill Paterson, “The Kill-
ing Fields”), her awful godmother 
(Olivia Colman, “Tyrannosaur”) 

and her extremely 
handsome hookup, 
whom she simply 
refers to as “Arsehole 
Guy” (Ben Aldridge, 
“Toast”).

And 
while 
the 

comedic scope of 
“Fleabag” 
never 

seems 
to 
waver, 

there’s also a subtle 
melancholy under-
lying 
each 
major 

scene, 
especially 

during 
flashbacks 

that pop up without warning. Even 
in the quieter, more profound parts 
of the show, like in one scene from 
episode four where Waller-Bridge’s 
character barely speaks, “Fleabag” 
makes some compelling points 
about the harsh realities of loneli-
ness, isolation and grief. The sad-
der moments are hard to swallow, 
but they don’t stagnate “Fleabag” 
’s comic rhythm, nor do they blud-
geon the audience with their dra-
matic undertones.

“Fleabag” also stands out among 

other television shows for its depic-
tion and treatment of sex. The 
online premise of the show defines 
the main character as “sexu-
ally promiscuous,” which in most 
mediums is a generally stigma-
tized characterization for a woman 
to have. However, in “Fleabag,” 

Waller-Bridge’s titular protagonist 
is portrayed more as a sexual being 
than as a sexual object.

Instead of resorting to the spec-

tacle of gratuitous, graphic and 
nudity-heavy sex scenes — I’m 
looking at you, “Orange is the New 
Black” — the main character’s sex-
ual forays are much more real and 
frank than you’d expect. Each of her 
sexual experiences with Arsehole 
Guy, ex-boyfriend Harry (Hugh 
Skinner, “Les Misérables”) and a 
buck-toothed bus passenger (Jamie 
Demetriou, “Rovers”) are awk-
ward, bizarre and really uncom-
fortable, but they help ground the 
show. In terms of sex, “Fleabag” 
also highlights body image issues 
and other sexual insecurities with 
a sensitive and sharp eye.

It’s a shame the first season of 

“Fleabag” is only a slim six epi-
sodes, but its brevity might also be 
its saving grace. The show is mas-
terful in its succinctness, each epi-
sode getting straight to the point 
about who exactly this main 
character is, her quirks and faults 
and how they affect her romantic 
and familial relationships. It also 
features what is quite possibly 
the shortest, most minimalistic 
title sequence in TV history. But 
for all its great qualities, “Flea-
bag” ’s breaking of the fourth wall 
gives the show a distinctive edge, 
pulling us into Waller-Bridge’s 
imperfect and wholly entertain-
ing world without ever feeling 
artificial or forced.

A

Fleabag

Season One

All Episodes Now 

Streaming

Amazon Video

TV REVIEW

FILM COLUMN