You’re the Worst on FXX went from Irritating to Important

You’re the Worst on FXX went from irritating to important in record time.  Hopefully, season three of this FXX show builds on that promising trend.

In season one, I wanted to  give You’re the Worst on FXX a chance.  The problem was that Jimmy and the whole crew were so monumentally irritating with their constantly battling banter that I couldn’t listen anymore.  Not wanting to give up on them entirely, I watched the second half of season one with the sound off.  This was a tremendous improvement.  What I realized is that this FXX show is actually quite pleasing to look at.  The characters, Gretchen Cutler (Aya Cash) and Lindsay Jillian (Kether Donohue), the Los Angeles locales, the cars, the houses, the furnishings, the restaurants, and the clubs, were all, among other things, quite photogenic.

Come season two, I decided to hazard forth and turn up the volume.  It was still pretty crazy on the nerves.  But then, a not-so-funny thing happened about halfway through season two.  It was revealed that the Gretchen suffered from depression.  Some people probably saw this coming, given the one and a half season build up.  While retaining its comedic core, the tone of the show changed dramatically regarding Gretchen.  Suddenly, there was a huge real life problem to be dealt with that was not so easily solved.  Additionally, this problem was dumped right in the lap of Gretchen’s boyfriend, Jimmy Shive-Overly (Chris Geere), who had been shown to be not especially well equipped to deal with anything, much less a serious problem.

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To see Gretchen suffer was difficult.  To see Jimmy stand by, more or less helplessly, was also painful.  But at least Jimmy stood by.  It was an awkward situation for an awkward guy.  As the show progressed through that sad last half of season two, it appeared that there might actually be some substance to Jimmy.  It was hard for Jimmy to know what to do regarding Gretchen, but at least he didn’t abandon ship.  Who knew Jimmy had this kind of staying power?  And that is basically where season two left off.

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You’re the Worst on FXX benefits greatly from the comedic talents of Kether Donohue.  Just looking at her elicits laughs and she is one of the reasons I stuck around with the volume off in season one.  She is quite attractive and her huffing and puffing, crazed bimbo character is perfect.  Then, the addition of Collette Wolfe to the cast as Dorothy Durwood, a competitor and foil to Lindsay, was a brilliant stroke in season two.  Dorothy has a similar appeal as Lindsay, attractive and crazy, but in a different package.  What else is new?  I was already predisposed to liking Collette Wolfe from her characters in the movies Observe and Report and The Foot Fist Way.  The rest of the supporting cast is also hilarious.  This has been a really crazy show.

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One of the things I got the biggest kick out of in the first two seasons of this FXX show was when Jimmy tried to build a nightstand out of a kit.  It was a shambles, but he presented it anyway.  My own file cabinet kit was not quite such a disaster.  I banged away on that thing with a hammer with all my might.  I worked on it for hours.  But it’s still not right and it never will be.  Every time I open it up it, not to far, mind you, I curse its cattywampus hide.

Jimmy’s nightstand may just be the perfect metaphor for his and Gretchen’s multiple night stand, as well as the rest of the characters’ lives, the entire premise of the show, and maybe the world at large.  You work on it hour after hour.  You sweat and curse.  You try holding it together while you bang it with a hammer.  You finally get it to stick together a bit and it’s a disaster.  But you go with it, anyway.  It’s not perfect, but you built it.  Behold, a perfect tagline for an imperfect world.  You’re the Worst:  Here it is America, now deal with it.