Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Why I Am Still Watching Looking (And Why You Should To)

I hate it when character-driven dramas are derided as "boring" and "nothing ever happens." There is valuable criticism in Girls' diversity problems, or the wavering quality of its scripts, but I see just as much of the former in take downs of the show as I do the latter. That said, I had high hopes for HBO's new show Looking, which was billed, tongue firmly planted in cheek,  as "Girls, but with gay guys," but after the first few episodes, I wasn't that impressed. If Girls' storylines unfolded at a meandering pace, Looking was practically inert. But I kept on watching, confident that first season "blahs" are a real thing (see New Girl and The Mindy Project), and it was going to get better. It did.

"Looking For The Future" was the best episode yet by being entirely constructed around the developing relationship between Patrick (Jonathan Groff) and Ritchie (Raúl Castillo). This micro-focusing is largely successful because the interaction between the two (and it was mostly dialogue -- and sex, but we'll get to that in a minute) was so authentic.We learn a lot about what makes Patrick in particular tick, and this makes him much more likable. (I don't have a problem with characters being unlikable -- clearly, I watch Girls. But Patrick never fell into an easy role -- a little to ridden with anxiety, but not dysfunctional enough to be interesting.) If I have one criticism it's that Ritche is kind of pigeonholed into the role of Patrick's sounding board.

It's important that Looking seems eager to show realistic gay relationships that are neither sanitized nor scandalized for straight audiences. And with that comes realistic depictions of sex. Bobby Hankinson from Towelroad writes:
I thought the sex scene between Richie and Patrick was particularly bold. It wasn't scandalous or graphic, but it was realistic. We haven't seen many matter-of-fact rim jobs depicted on television, and Haigh's light-handed approach is a welcome introduction to what gay sex really looks like. Stripped of the dramatic lighting and music, it could go a long way in showing mainstream audiences that it's not as alien as they might have been led to believe.
Looking borrows a page from the book of Girls in that sex isn't always pretty; it's often awkward. Where the two differ is that the characters in Looking seem to enjoy themselves, or least, aren't as fraught with regret. This is also an important piece of its success. I just hope that success can translate into viewers (so far, not so good), because even as America becomes more accepting, there are still few realistic examples of gay relationships on television. You know, ones who actually touch each other and show affection like their straight counterparts have always been allowed to.

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