Friendships take work. Like any other relationship, friendships need to be nurtured and tended to. They’re also very fragile regardless of how long a friendship has lasted. A hard truth that Alice and Steve found out the hardway. The new Hulu series, ‘Alice and Steve,’ takes a darkly comedic look at those relationships and what it takes for them to implode…spectacularly…at a dinner party. While ‘Alice and Steve’ is not without it’s flaws, it’s also a hilarious look at aging and friendship, particularly the role our friends play in our lives as we get older. ‘Alice and Steve’ with all of it’s humor and wit will most certainly be one of this years breakout hit shows.
Alice and Steve have been friends for a really long time. Though they dated briefly, their romance was better suited as a friendship. That is, of course, until Steve, after a night out with Alice, hooks up with Alice’s 26 year old daughter. Chaos naturally ensues. ‘Alice and Steve’ is a darkly hilarious look at friendship, getting old, and the trials that test our closest relationships. It will be this summers must see TV.
Friendship Requires Chemistry
Friendships take chemistry. For a show about friends to connect and feel authentic with audiences, the cast members MUST have at least a modicum of chemistry. Fortunately, what ‘Alice and Steve’ absolutely nails is cast chemistry. Jermaine Clement and Nicola Walker are a laugh riot. The way that they play off of and with each other is exactly the type of cast interactions that any showrunner would dream of. When their characters are at their most vulnerable and angriest, Clement and Walker are at their best. Walker lands barbs with venomous accuracy and, to his credit, Clement’s Steve takes his licks until things progress too far. There were genuine times when I sat with this show and had to rewind because of how hard I was laughing. It’s that kind of funny.
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Clement and Walker are not the only stars, however. The supporting cast each get their moments to shine, providing a grounding sense of drama to the level of chaos created by Alice and Steve’s antics. Yali Topol Margalith is a fresh of breath air, playing the level headed, driven, Izzy. There are moments where you can see Izzy struggling with who she is due to her age and Margalith protrays that magnificently. Being young and making adult decisions can feel impossible, Margalith nails that aspect of the human experience. Joel Fry, who many will recognize from ‘Game of Thrones,’ plays the straight man with the best of them. Daniel’s role is not necessarily to be funny, but to be grounded in love and reality, but Fry definitely lets his comedic chops shine.
Friendship Is A Rocky Road
As with friendships, plotlines and TV shows can be complicated too. ‘Alice and Steve’ does a lot right when it comes to their characters and character development. The show, however, loses the plot a bit towards the end of the season. The chaos becomes TOO chaotic and too much to be considered relatable or authentic. It feels as though a lot of the time spent with the characters is wasted at times. I spent a lot of times really enjoying a direction a character was going, only to have that character take a different turn that didn’t necessarily make sense.
All of this to say, the season did land the plane. It was just turbulent. This is, of course, just the first season and from the quality of the show overall, there will most certainly be a second season, but it is worth mentioning that the show does make some missteps from time to time. While the show may be less than perfect as it stands right now, there is plenty of room for growth and perfection is just around the corner.
Final Thoughts:
‘Alice and Steve’ is darkly hilarius look at friendship and the difficulties that come with getting old with your friends. While the show is not without it’s flaws, season one provides a mostly hilarious good time that is sure to, as with people, age gracefully from season to season. Go ahead and add this one to your viewing list.
