Oh Judd Apatow, you’ve done it again. With Netflix’s Love, you’ve created a show that perfectly reflects real life and the struggle of modern romance. Most scenes make me want to die, because I relate to them so much. Even if there’s scenes where I haven’t done whatever the characters are doing, I find myself cringing because I’ve definitely imagined myself doing or saying those things. Want to see yourself on television over and over again? Want to watch something brutally honest about the way human beings interact with one another romantically? Stop reading this right now and go watch Love.
In case you need some more convincing, here are some times the characters on Love acted exactly like we all do.
The awkward/horrible date banter that everyone goes through:
Very few people in the present day are good at carrying on witty banter in the context of a date. With the rise of texting, blogging, and Facebooking the art of the conversation is very much lost. If you’re anything like me, you get nervous in front of people you think are hot, and tend to ramble. This is exactly what Gus does when he meets Mickey, and they decide to hang out together. They get really high, and highlights include Gus telling Mickey that him and his ex girlfriend broke up because she hated the smell of fast food–and one time she walked in on him playing with a Big Mac’s boobs. He later told her he regretted making that joke. Been there buddy. Here’s to nothing being sexier than a weirdo trying to be sexy. Because we’re all weirdos.
When you know you’re not even attracted to one another, but you still go on a date:
Yeah, our friends say we’ll get along, so we totally WILL get along. Even though the only thing we have in common is that we both are of similar height, and are single. People think we’re both the “nicest people” ever just like Mickey thinks Gus and Bertie are. While they’re both “nice,” they don’t click and this makes for horrible date conversations. But nice people together=automatic chemistry, and wouldn’t it be so cute if we got married, and our friends could say they introduced us, we should TOTALLY go on a date.
The accidental text to the guy that’s in front of you about him that was supposed to be for you roommate
Yeah that’s a thing. It happens all the time. You message the guy you’re with something that was meant for your friend. Can we please agree to stop over-sharing information instantly with one another please? Or if you still need to text everyone 24/7, and are cool with screwing it all up, just go watch Bertie do this on her “nice girl” date with Gus that goes horribly awry.
This standard conversation between female roommates that needs little to no explanation:
“Just text me had a good night on your way home so I know you guys are going to do it”
“Oh, I couldn’t move that fast, besides, I got my period yesterday, I don’t know maybe I should just suck him off?”
“I can’t tell you whether or not to blow somebody I can’t be held responsible.”
…”I mean I don’t want to be the kind of person who doesn’t give blow jobs…..Who cares?! I should give more! I should have fun! I don’t know why everyone makes such a big deal out of it. Everyone says blow jobs are like the new making out!”
Wanting to look SO cool for someone you think is hot:
Anytime I think someone is hot and I want them to think I’m awesome: “Yeah, I’m totally a badass. I drink so much. I get SO high. I don’t just go home and sing show tunes alone while binge eating crackers—shut up. Let’s party.” I like to fake a cool girl personality, and usually it backfires. Kind of like when Gus takes a hit of Mickey’s bong in her car, and is so stupid she calls him a 40-year old 12-year old and has to drive him home. ONLY HE GIVES HER HIS OLD ADDRESS AKA WHERE HE LIVED WITH HIS EX GIRLFRIEND FOR YEARS AND YEARS.
For us party animals, remembering where you currently live on any substance is hard.
On wanting the people you date to have specific reactions to things and being very disappointed when they do not:
I LOVE THIS THING. BECAUSE I LOVE THIS THING THAT I THINK IS SO COOL, YOU MUST LOVE IT TOO. Or else I will be angry. Like when Mickey takes Gus to the Magic Castle in LA which he is a member of, and she thinks it’s totally lame. Essentially a deal breaker.
On Breakups
Breakups just suck. They suck hard. But we can all handle them in a mature, and respectful way. We can mutually separate, and still be in touch, and blah blah, but then sometimes we kind of lose it when our ex tells us they want us to just be true to ourselves. So we tell them that what we actually want to say, is that we want them to die, like Gus. Because in that moment, after the final argument, I want you to f*cking die, or get a disease. Gus is brave enough to articulate this. Then he throws all his Blu-rays out of the window of his car, and wonders why he did that when he gets home and wants to watch a movie.
All the Weird Things We Do In Front of People We Like
When Mickey hates that Gus isn’t paying attention to her at a party she invited him to even though she doesn’t actually care about him. Then he starts talking to another girl, so she does something completely crazy to get his attention, hurts herself, and voila, instant attention. For all us jealous types, this is a foolproof strategy.
Stalking: BUT is it really stalking in today’s day and age?
When Mickey uses her roommate Bertie to go on a studio tour just to stalk Gus at work because she knows he works at the studio, but pretends it’s because she wants to bond. And then sees him TOTALLY by accident. Because it’s normal to know where someone works and stand outside their office sometimes. (Come on, you’ve all at least imagined doing it).
How many times Gus texts Mickey after he freaks out that he hasn’t texted her back because he doesn’t realize her phone is out of service. (Four or Five. He’s totally secure and in control, like we all are).
This truth bomb of an honest moment:
How Mickey expects Gus to be nice to her because he’s “a nice guy” and Gus expects her to be cool and not need him all the time. And this very human screaming match happens:
“Surprise! I’m not the cool girl. I’m not some girl you can f*ck for awhile, to prove to yourself that you can be dangerous, and edgy, and you’re not some huge dork and then you go out and marry whatever boring lady”
“Okay so that’s what I am to you, I’m just this f*cking dork. I’m this f*cking dork who you f*ck and then you can feel like you’re getting your life together cause you’re f*cking a nice guy and you’re not f*cking a piece of shit anymore, okay?
On Sex:
Love is the kind of show that demonstrates the real life sexual paradoxes. Like when two people have amazing. intense sexual chemistry together, but are awkward at going on a date in public together. Or when two people have amazing dating chemistry, and are great together, but have weird, awkward sex and can’t listen to each other in bed.
On Sexting:
Do we like it? Yes. Will we ever admit it? Probably not. It’s too embarrassing. Gus has teens who steal his phone try to heat up his sex life, when they text Mickey he’s hard as f*ck for her.
He panics because he’s not sure how he’s going to react. She thinks it’s hot but in his panic he texts her taking it back before she can reply. Ever tried to take a text back? It’s a lot harder than words.
We are all crazy, and now it’s finally on TV. If you loved all of the above, can see yourself in it, and want to feel less like you’re an insane person, give Love a shot! It is by far my new favorite show, I can’t stop watching it. There are only 10 episodes to binge!
The first episode is a little slow, but keep watching!
