Being Seen in 'Heated Rivalry'

One of the moments that spoke volumes to me from Crave's significant contribution to pop culture in the adaption of Rachel Reid's romance book series Game Changers is that of David Hollander and his panicked and accurate explanation to why he was at his son's lakeside cottage unannounced - he needed the old charger for his phone because all that they had home were the new ones that don't fit into his old phone and he needed the old one to charge his phone which the new ones don't work in and he had left the old charger there. I have been seen in television, it's about goddamn time. 

Jacob Tierney the director, writer, producer of Crave and HBO's overnight phenomenon Heated Rivalry deserves all the praise for creating art in that depiction of modern desperation - David Hollander had presumably tried multiple times to call his son, not wanting to interrupt said son's "silent retreat." But what choice did he have? And what would you have done? Fuck the guy that started it all by green-lighting that fucking lightening port. We live lesser lives with lesser ports in our iPhones and what now? Now David has unwittingly exposed his son's ten-year situationship with hockey rival, ladies man, and known asshole. What the fuck, man? 

Beyond Apple ruining lives, one is presented with opportunities to learn and grow. I, for example, got the chance to sit on plane ride and actually read the book I had packed into my carry-on. Shane Hollander was finally able to face his nightmare telling his parents that he is gay. And that he loves Ilya Rozanov. 

Heated Rivalry is a piece of artwork. The acting is phenomenal and having not read the books and not knowing much about the plot prior to watching the six-episode series, I immediately latched onto the character's inner monologues. These appear on the pages in the books and across Hudson Williams' face as Shane in the television series. It's amazing work. The difference between Ilya Rozanov and Connor Storrie speaks volumes to the art form. From the script to the framing to the shots to the music to the editing - it's such a pleasurable ride. The departure from bullshit and choice to show joy and love and the hardships in joy and love... it's beautiful. And in this current moment of truly fucked up, arbitrary violence, I am thankful to have this kind of beauty and good sex scenes on my television. "The romance genre never disappoints."

Connor Storrie & Hudson Willliams

Lena Dunham's "GIRLS"

HBO's "GIRLS" hits so many notes with me. Maybe it's just my status a twenty something trying to figure out my life. I suppose being a girl also helps me relate. It took a couple of episodes for me to warm up to the series because Lena Dunham writes up a complex set of characters. I find myself rooting for them and sharing in their celebrations. But the characters are also very unlikable and discouraging, as real people always are. They've got twisted ideas about relationships and what life is supposed to be. They mess up and do things I don't agree with. Their friendships are extremely intimate but complicated and wavering. They are confused yet confident about what they think they know. It's a real test to watch them to try to figure them out to align myself with them. Lena Dunham writes up a complex show.

The show is refreshing, shocking. Many of the scenarios are so offbeat, I wonder that Lena must have lived them or had a friend that did. How does she do it? How does one write a show with these characters that have such girth and oddities and are so believable? It's art.

That's not much of a review, but I needed to give the show a bit of a shout out.