Love American Style 2019

Despite my recent rant that binge TV watching was not the most ideal way in which to enjoy a television series, the word of mouth from Facebook friends lured me over to Amazon Prime's "Modern Love."   And I wrapped up the eight half hours in just three nights.   Maybe you can blame the Dodgers for falling out of the playoffs early.

So you are probably wondering.   If I watched the show so fast, I must have loved it.

Well, not really.  I enjoyed some elements of this anthology more than others.  You see, each episode was a little movie all to its self.  The only common thread was that New York City (and, in one episode, my favorite Westchester town of Hastings-On-Hudson) provided the back drop.   And the source material for all of this was a "New York Times" regular column of essays on dating, marriage, and love called...wait for it..."Modern Love."   As a non-reader of the Slimes, this was all new information to me.

As I nestled into the first episodes, I was nagged by a strange comparison.  This all reminded me of the old 70s comedy anthology called "Love American Style."  But, while that show featured weekly plots that would have two back number sitcom stars on a date and getting stuck in a tuba (that was a real episode), "Modern Love" is not as comic.   In some cases, it's downright depressing.   But, I guess, what isn't in 2019?

"Modern Love" comes from writer-director John Carney, whose main claim to fame was the Irish musical comedy "Once."  That sense of humor comes through in some of the episodes, but not enough.   You'll get the idea as I relate to you the plot lines.

A young single girl in Brooklyn whose main relationship in the world is with her apartment doorman.

A NYT journalist interviewing the inventor of a dating app, which prompts the two of them to share sad dating stories.

Anne Hathaway as a woman trying to date successfully despite going through almost daily bi-polar mood swings.  (I was on the receiving end of somebody like this back when)

Tina Fey and John Slattery as participants in a crumbling marriage.  They take their anger out on the tennis court.

A young couple on their second date begin to disrobe for their first sexual encounter.  He falls on a broken martini glass and severs a nerve in his arm with a chard of glass.  (Actually this was my favorite for some strange reason)

A young girl cozies up to an older male co-worker because her father died when she was 11.  

Two gay married guys want to adopt a child and engage themselves with a pregnant homeless woman.

Jane Alexander has a widow who finds a second love with an Asian man who then dies himself.

So you can see...no stuck tuba to be found anywhere.   If indeed this is the content of the Slimes column, there are a lot of people on Xanax writing essays about their love lives in New York City.  

You can see my conflict.   I hung in there with "Modern Love" because there was the hope that the next episode would be a little less sad.   But, in reality, that never happened.

That's what I get for binge watching again.   

But, on second thought, I began to think about some of my dating stories.  Hmmm.   Are they still taking submissions?  Because the "Modern Love" TV show has already been renewed for a second season.

Dinner last night:  Had a big lunch so just a salad.