Too Much

Overall, a good storyline and premise but there are so many unfortunate issues with everything.

1. The way the lead female has been written as an insufferable, overly dramatic, whiny "quirky" girl is frustrating to say the least. It unfortunately leans into so many damaging stereotypes of women.

2. Costumes for lead female - what were they thinking?? Not justice for her at all.

3. Generally not the lived experience of "chubby" girls. I hate that it insinuates this is the lived experience of a confident woman who feels sexy and pulls men instantly. This is NOT the experience for 99% of larger women, and it's ridiculous to suggest so. I am so glad there is space for stories like this, where larger women get the man & enjoy sex and are confident in themselves. But I think this is overdone and almost offensive.

4. The script. Just frustrating and annoying. Tries too hard to be whimsical, quirky and candid but again, comes across as trying to hard and it's so obvious.

The biggest issue for me was the main character. She comes across as incredibly over-the-top and grating. It's frustrating that the "big girl" trope still leans so heavily on being loud, overly dramatic, and supposedly funny, while also trying to present her as someone the audience should root for romantically. Her personality was exhausting, and it had nothing to do with her appearance (though the heavy rouge didn't help).

Felix, on the other hand, was a standout. He was kind, grounded, and genuinely likable. Frankly, she didn't treat him well, and he deserved better. I really wanted to enjoy this show because I was a fan of Girls but the writing just didn't land for me this time.

The premise of this show - moving to a different country for a fresh start - is always an interesting setup, and the meet-cute early on was genuinely cool and believable. It pulled me in right away and made me curious to see how things would unfold.

However, the main character, Jessica (played by Megan Stalter), is likely to divide viewers, and unfortunately, I landed on the negative side. While some people loved her performance, I found the character mostly insufferable in the first half. Jessica came off as self-absorbed, whiny, and often made her own life more difficult. Later in the series, I did begin to feel some sympathy for her, especially after we get a bit of backstory involving her ex and see her becoming more caring toward Felix. Still, I never quite warmed up to Stalter's acting. Her interpretation of the character often felt strange, with facial expressions I couldn't quite read. One scene in particular - where she takes ketamine - stood out as especially cringeworthy for me.

Felix was unrealistically cute, but I guess that's part of the rom-com fantasy. I never really noticed Will Sharpe before, even in shows like The White Lotus, but in Too Much, his acting was outstanding and he was perfect for the role. He looked perfectly "not put together." I loved the messy hair, his outfits, the nail polish, everything. I loved that his character was lost, damaged, vulnerable, but also understanding, healing and sweet.

On the other hand, I really enjoyed the side characters. Auggie was a great addition - quirky, but not in an annoying way - and I appreciated how his friendship with Felix helped reveal more depth in Felix's character. I also loved the brief appearances from Stephen Fry, Naomi Watts, Andrew Scott, and Kit Harington. And while Adwoa Aboah only had a tiny role, so I can't really judge her acting from this, I have to say I'm completely obsessed with her voice.

While the show tried to be witty, most of the jokes didn't quite land for me. That might be because English isn't my first language, so it's possible some of the humor didn't translate. Still, at some point, the characters and the storyline started to feel a bit too stereotypical and cliché. Also, unfortunately, the ending felt extremely rushed.

After watching the entire series, I realized it felt like a social commentary on our individualistic and narcissistic culture. It made me sad, and I think it was supposed to make me laugh. It felt like everybody was so egotistical in this series there was not one redeeming character, including the protagonist. I wanted to like her a little more, but I just couldn't. She just kept sabotaging herself. Also, this series felt like it lacked a really good, strong plot sometimes it felt quite boring and like they were stretching the series for more episodes. I gave it a higher score because I loved all of the actors performances. It was nice to see Lena again, and I know she created this. I would say this had a beautiful moments and very disturbing moments, but I'm not going to be recommending it overall.

I didn't research any of the actors/producers/writers/creators before watching. Not too long into the first episode, I immediately clocked Lena Dunham's touch. If you've seen Dunham's "Girls" (HBO) you will get immediate Hannah energy from the main character. From what I've seen so far, a lot of the situations Jessica herself into are very similar to Hannah from Girls. BUT, it does not have quite the same wit and bite as the dialogue in Girls. Girls felt messier without TRYING to be. Jessica is just a tinge over the top to where it's borderline unbelievable that anyone is friends with her or wants to be with her. Lena's previous characters, like Hannah Horvath, were more fleshed out. They are trying TOO HARD to make Jessica a "mess".