American Woman

I had high hopes for American Woman. The first episode was enough for me to set a season pass on my DVR, however, it seemed to go down from there. The actresses look great on paper, but not so much on the show. I also thought it would be great being set back in the 70s. There could be such great style and music, however, that also fell short. I'll continue to watch, but only when my DVR is empty and I have nothing left to pass the time away.

Just binged watched first 6 episodes and love it. Good characters with room to explore and a great reminder of how we used to live.

I was curious to see this because I am a huge fan of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and so I saw several scenes with Kyle Richards connected to this project. She said it was inspired by her life as a child actress so of course, it made me want to check it out.

I think that the 1970's sets, props, costumes and attitudes were all very well rendered and this is by far the best aspect of this production. The story didn't grab me instantly but I kept watching and it eventually grew on me and I started to enjoy it a lot more as the season progressed.

The most interesting character to me is definitely Kathleen Callahan played by Mena Suvari who shines in the subplot with Cheyenne Jackson as her lover Greg Parker. The other best friend part played by Jennifer Bartels as Diana Vaughan is also interesting which brings me to the leads who are I'm afraid are the weakest part of the equation.

Alicia Silverstone is the main protagonist here as Bonnie Nolan and for some reason, I had a hard connecting with her portrayal. She felt annoying and whiny to me which might be the point but even though Silverstone is a fair actress, her choices in this part might not be my cup of tea.

As for the 2 kids, Makenna James as Becca and Lia McHugh as Jessica are competent but nothing great and I kept thinking that different actresses might have been better choice but I'm not in charge of casting so this is what we are dealt with and I can still enjoy the show.

This said, I was saddened to hear Kyle declare in Real House of Beverly Hills (episode 9.6) that the show was not picked up for a second season which is a shame because I felt like it was getting better but now we will never have a chance to find out if it had the making of a great show.

I can still recommend it and I gave it 7 stars mostly for the feel of going back to the wonderful 1970's and I must say, every detail was perfectly in place to let us wallow in a gone era when everyone smoked, use drugs as casually as drinking coffee and had spontaneous sex whenever they felt like it. I applaud the production side because they did their homework and even though the show is now done, it still represents a nice depiction of a world now gone by that we can revisit with great pleasure.

If you don't mind a guilty pleasure ignore the bad reviews. People are looking way too deeply into the show. The "poor acting" is on purpose, and it's meant to be entertaining not get you to think. The style is super cool and accurate as well.

I love shows set in that decade. I wished so badly it would be good. It's not. The acting seems fake, storyline and dialog are boring but there is one redeeming quality: Diane's character. If only the show would have her at the centre of it and develop her character and an enticing storyline around her. The actress does portray her very well,and you can actually see nuance as opposed to the flatness of the other 2 female leads. Regardless, I won't be watching anymore, which is a shame. The 5 stars are for the costumes, setting, and Diane.