Just as the first series of Friends captured the unrealistically dull day to day lives of the unimaginative youth of the mid-nineties, similar in vein to such films prior such as "ferris bueller's day off" and "the breakfast club", We Need Girlfriends (WNG) has done the same in our neo-communications explosion era.
To fully understand and appreciate WNG, one needs to study the past and recognise what elements of films such as "ferris bueller's day off" and "the breakfast club" made then so unexplainably enjoyable. The main feature is the ability to capture a small part of the experience, the thing which defined an era, and to which the whole generation could relate. In "ferris bueller's day off", the emphasis came from a generation yearning to grow up, to explore the world, to have fun and challenge the system, yet not get caught. It showed the kids in a fantasy world where by the transition from child to teenager was made all the easier by interjections of humorous misbehaviour, all the while reducing the actual stakes of being caught to that of a level of farce.
In the film "the breakfast club" however, though made in the same era, the tone was distinctly different. With a darker look at life and growing up, it centred more on the acceptance of self, a transition from the teenage years to the beginnings of being an adult. It spoke of harsher subjects, dealing with isolation, self image, rebellion against perceived tyranny, and all the other subjects which we take for granted when we leave the spotty teenage years behind. As with both films, the times when they were set was important, the way people spoke, the methods of conduct, and the reactions of the character in question. Not a great deal actually happens in both film, but both films have undeniably defined a whole generation of men and women. In WNG, all these defining characteristics are found in one form or another
With such grand predecessors, it is quite difficult to fathom how a low budget, internet based production company is able to do the same in the year 2007, but done it they have. As with its predecessors, the focus is on the characters, emphasising on the issues which matter, creating a make believe world where the mundane issues of work, everyday chores, and all other non-plot centric issues are removed. WNG focuses in on an issue which affects all the early to late twenties men and women of the new millennia, the issue of finding what we believe to be a 'perfect' relationship.
The struggles of freedom, wealth, self image, etc, have all been tackled in the years prior to us reaching our twenties, we have defined our personalities, chosen our style, and we are set in our ways. The real matter many of us face in this world ridden with methods for communication but lacking in solutions for connections is that of finding a partner. The media has hyped up relationships to a thing of wonder, and we as consumers have lapped this up in the truck loads, desperately seeking to ascertain our own partner, we become desperate islands in isolate waters. WNG is like a mirror, with three characters which we can all relate to, one being our inner self, one being our aspirations, and one being our actual self. I won't say which is which, as it's only my opinion, I'll leave the reader to decide when they view it.
There is many issues in WNG which ring true, using humour as a backing to tackle the difficulties which we all face in our everyday lives when it comes to finding a partner, WNG is a piece of art which is very much ado about nothing, yet to the viewer (as in you and I), it is about almost everything, and that dear reader, is our lives in the year 2007.
Charlie
