After a fairly awful September of new show premieres, October is off to a much better start with “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” (8 p.m. Eastern Mondays on The CW), a delightfully note-perfect mashup of genres from Rachel Bloom, who came up through the ranks of “Robot Chicken” and self-produced YouTube comedy videos.
Any show where the narrative is interrupted by big musical numbers has to be categorized as a musical, but “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” spends much more time on its dramedy elements, which gives it depth not found in cheekier fare such as “Glee.” The mix is more like “Bunheads,” where a dance number occasionally, beautifully illustrated a point without dominating the show – except “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” lives consistently in the light comedy zone.
That doesn’t mean we don’t feel for the characters. My heart melted for Rebecca Bunch (Bloom) during the opening flashback where her summer-camp boyfriend Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III) breaks up with her and she responds with “But I love you,” as if that’s relevant. A decade later, after working her way up to a junior partner offer at her Big Apple real-estate law firm, Rebecca spontaneously moves to West Covina, Calif., for a much lower-paying lawyer job in the classic “follow your bliss” plot. She’s sparked by a run-in with the chillaxed West Covina native Josh, who is impressed that she has become “successful and hot,” along with what she takes as signs from above: Margarine ads with the odd pitch line “When was the last time you were happy?”
Meanwhile, bartender and classic good dude Greg (Santino Fontana) is charmed by Rebecca’s flightiness, although not so much her unsuccessfully veiled obsession with Josh, with whom Greg is buddies. This completes the love triangle, but it looks like it will become a love rectangle as the season moves forward: Josh has a girlfriend (even though they’re not Facebook official), and the previews suggest Rebecca will become friends (or perhaps pretend to be friends) with this girl.
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” wonderfully explores the little moments in life where we try to convince ourselves of one truth whereas an outside observer can see the actual truth. Rachel tells anyone who asks that she just wants to live near the beach – even though West Covina is 4 hours from it – but clearly, she moved because she is in love with Josh. In one on-point scene, she texts Josh, goes to brush her teeth, then spits out the toothpaste and races back to the phone when she hears the text chime. It’s just an upgrade offer from the phone company.
Later, Rebecca tells herself “I’m not crazy” so many times that she realizes she IS crazy. Crucially, a potential workplace enemy-turned-friend, Paula (Donna Lynne Champlin), is on hand to tell her that, essentially, being in love is an allowable form of being crazy, and she’s going to help her win back Josh.
Paula’s stance is controversial in 2015, as Rebecca is leaving behind what is socially acceptable (a great job) for something that is not (not even a man, but merely a chance to land a man). At the same time, it’s essential that the main character be a woman, because if a man were in Rebecca’s role, he’d immediately be labeled a frightening stalker. Actually, the “follow your bliss” plot with men usually includes more complexities than just being in love, and “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” could be criticized from that angle, too. At any rate, if this series becomes successful, it will provide endless fodder for college courses on TV gender roles.
While “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is significantly more layered and subtle than most musicals, that element certainly gives the show an extra dash of charm and an additional outlet for social commentary. The pilot episode includes two big musical numbers, and they couldn’t be more different. In the first one, “West Covina,” Rebecca sings about the premise of the show in traditional musical fashion. All of the characters, including extras, join in as if it’s normal to break into song.
The second one, “The Sexy Getting Ready Song,” plays more like a music video, and it takes a decidedly un-family-friendly turn, stopping just short of “Inside Amy Schumer”-level edginess. Rebecca prepares for her date with Greg (where she hopes she’ll run into Josh) with insane levels of waxing, tweezering and primping. We cut to “how guys get ready” and see Greg napping. Then a generic rapper enters the music video, sees the horror show in Rebecca’s bathroom and apologizes to her and – as the joke is hilariously beat into the ground — all the women he’s ever demeaned or sexualized.
“Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” is ambitious, daring and intelligent, but it also shifts between dramedy and musical numbers with such ease that it comes off as breezy. Similar to Rebecca spending hours getting ready for a date, the work Bloom puts into this show as a producer and writer is no doubt substantial. But I’m mainly just charmed by Rebecca’s smile and determination to love life again.