This is the hottest show on television. My inbox has filled up for weeks with people asking me, "Have you seen it?"
I hadn't. But now that it's all over I decided to binge it, to see what all the hoopla is about.
It's very simple, it's on HBO.
Over two decades, HBO has built its credibility to the point where the outlet has the imprimatur of quality, if it's on the service people will check it out, and give it the benefit of the doubt.
But not so much on HBO Max, even though the app comes free with an HBO cable subscription. Not a single person has ever e-mailed me about "Love Life," even after I wrote about it, even though it's the modern "Sex and the City" and if you liked that show you'd love "Love Life."
More people have watched "Hacks," but it still hasn't penetrated the national consciousness.
Proving that HBO is for older people, for those who still watch TV in real time, who see streaming as secondary. As for youngsters, they're never gonna wait week by week for a service to dribble out a show, they can't handle the dissatisfaction of waiting, and neither can I.
So how good is "White Lotus"?
It's good, I wouldn't say very good, somewhere in the B territory if you're into letter grades, maybe with a +, but I find it hard to give it one. Because "White Lotus" is too often slow, and too often predictable.
I know, I know, it's supposed to have the pace of a vacation. But when I think of the foreign series I'm watching now...it rolls right along, it keeps your attention. Not that a show has to be outrageously dynamic to grab your attention and keep you watching. "Six Feet Under" is the best example of this, it's subtle but riveting.
So, the word on "White Lotus" is the people are hateful and someone dies.
Unfortunately, that's the set-up from the very first scene, who dies, and you keep thinking about it, believing you have it figured out, and then you get to the point where you don't really care.
And the truth is Armond is so over the top as to be unbelievable.
SPOILER ALERT
When he steals and keeps the drugs and the girls don't press him on it... I mean really?
As for his devolution into drugs...that's not wholly believable either, ditto his seduction of Dillon.
But having said all of the above, I'd recommend watching "White Lotus" sheerly for the acting. Connie Britton and Steve Zahn are so good it's nearly unbelievable, Britton rings so true, and Zahn supersedes his stoner/dumbass personality to be warm, yet he sometimes moves into the unbelievable too.
But the best thing is the fight between the two parents. Whenever we went on a family vacation there was a fight, always.
And my father was like Zahn, getting reflective, talking about the family and how great it was we could all be there together. And he insisted we all go, no one could be left behind, no excuses, you were in. But sometimes you could bring a friend.
As for the son's exclusion... Welcome to my life. Sydney Sweeney eats up all the atmosphere, like my sister. She talks back to her parents yet needs to be soothed by them and...I felt isolated and misunderstood just watching "White Lotus."
Sydney Sweeney. Her performance is nearly in the league of Britton and Zahn's. She stays true to her character, a child of privilege who is against all the philosophies and actions of her parents, yet enjoys the trappings and never questions the contradiction.
And every character is flawed. Britton is understanding, but she's myopic when it comes to her work. And she wears the pants in the family. Who is in control? Usually the person making the money. You can see why Zahn had the affair, he needed the validation. Which he ultimately gets from Britton, bringing the couple back together, because there's so much invested in the marriage that the couple soldiers on. The poor get divorced, not the upper classes, they realize how much there is to lose, they invested in education, they climbed their way up the business ladder, they're not impulsive in major decisions, they can weigh the consequences, they ultimately hew the line.
As for Shane Patton and his bride Rachel? It's hard to believe Rachel went into the marriage with so little knowledge of Shane and his family, what she was getting into. As for Shane himself... The higher you go on the economic totem pole the more narrow the vision. The rich believe they're entitled to their wealth and that things should always go their way, and when they don't they pout and seek revenge. Never underestimate the power of a rich person to be petty. They cannot handle a chink in their armor, they must appear together at all times, they must come out on top.
The piece-de-resistance is Molly Shannon as Shane's mother. Crashing the honeymoon without thinking about it. Unfortunately Shannon does not wholly ring true, but her words ultimately do. She implores Rachel not to work, to revel in being rich, you don't want to have a job, you're so much more powerful being your own boss sitting on boards and throwing parties. And Shannon says all this with absolutely no self-knowledge. She'll apologize for her behavior at times, but never for her status.
As you can see, "White Lotus" deals with serious issues of wealth and privilege, most people couldn't even afford this trip, which Shane actually says to Rachel.
So the wealth disparities and the political viewpoint of the youngsters is spot-on, but they're not enough to make this series a classic. Then again, maybe the people talking about this show hunger so much for the truth that when they find it they talk about it, since it's not in evidence in the superhero movies and other fictions foisted upon us.
And despite the voice that always begs you not to take Jennifer Coolidge seriously, her performance rings true, as the scion of a rich family who is hobbled by her money and upbringing. Without the traditional challenges of an education and a job, her life is consumed by the misdeeds of her parents and the abuse of alcohol. But at least she knows herself, when she talks about being so needy...nothing turns others off as much as being needy.
So what you've got is a show that's trying to be highbrow that could have focused a bit more on the script than the visuals, which are exquisite. As for the music, I know they were setting the tone, but I could have used less, as well as that constant shot of the waves breaking across the rocks.
But at least HBO is greenlighting stuff like this. We need it. But even more we need the American audience to broaden its horizons, there's so much better stuff out there in the world. But it's not on HBO. And it might have subtitles. And one thing "White Lotus" illustrates is the wealthy want everything to be easy, to be served up to them in a palatable fashion, and that's HBO.
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