Nobody Wants This review: Kristen Bell and Adam Brody are perfect in new binge-worthy rom-com | Web Series
What makes a good rom-com? Honestly, it feels like a dying argument already, where the examples of it are all- what feels like, a lifetime ago. What’s the name of a recent rom-com that made me feel like the world is a better place? I can’t remember. When Harry Met Sally to 10 Things I Hate About You, and ’bout Time, the thread of connection here is that these stories willfully want to make us believe that two people can put their differences aside and treat each other with love. (Also read: One Day review: Netflix hits gold with beautiful, decades-spanning love story)
Everybody wants a good rom-com
The genre has been done so many times, but something is always missing- either the guy is creepy, or there is such not much chemistry to root for at the end of the day. Worse, it is all a bit too optimistic to deal with the world at large. Thankfully and quite unexpectedly, the new Netflix rom-com Nobody Wants This does not fall for all these cliches and traps.
It is a fairly simple, non-fussy series about two people connecting over the course of 10 half-hour long episodes, and it helps that these two people are played by Kristen Bell and Adam Brody. Her Joanne is an agnostic, while his Noah, out of all things, turns out to be a rabbi. Of course, he is called the ‘hot rabbi’ at work.
She runs a podcast about sex and relationships in the modern world, where she overshares with her sister-cum-cohost Morgan (Justine Lupe aka Succession’s Willa) for a living. Meanwhile he takes his vocation with all seriousness, earning the good opinion of his seniors and a few good stares from the older women who want to introduce their daughters to him.
Inspired by creator Erin Foster’s relationship with her Jewish husband, the show retains a perceptive and gentle tone throughout, drawing these characters together with care. Their meet-cute occurs quite unobtrusively in the pilot episode, although Joanne cannot help but decide what she wants for herself. The show does take some time to find its own pace, but even with Joanne and Noah giving it a shot, the big gaping crisis in their relationship is that she is the outsider within the community he thrives in. His parents are scandalized, but they are sure this will last not more than a few minutes.
Nobody Wants This is about an inter-faith romance, but the show does fall short in delving into Noah’s identity as a Jewish person, and begins to feel like it is a part that exists to somehow navigate the more important question that whether the two of them will make it or not. Brody brings more to the screen than what he is given, and injects Noah with an aching sense of vulnerability and pensiveness.
Bell, in comparison, does seem more pragmatic and poised. It certainly is because the show is more focused on Noah’s vocation, and as a result shows more about Noah’s family, his community, his hobbies. Joanne’s podcast is left as a residue, which miraculously continues to grow despite her growing reserve.
Final thoughts
Directors Hannah Fidell, Karen Maine, Greg Mottola, Oz Rodriguez and Lawrence Trilling manage to neatly balance the emotional stakes in these two characters, even when their equation threatens to derail because of miscommunication. It helps that Bell and Brody share an electric chemistry together, which truly holds the show together despite its shortcomings. Brody, in particular, brushes past stereotypical urges to make Noah as somone who has to suffer and cry, and be a complete man-child. He is more than that. Noah asks the questions, is ready to take charge when a situation turns cold, and can talk it out from a perspective not his own. Brody makes us root hard for him to make this relationship work out.
Nobody Wants This feels like a breath of fresh air in the sea of OTT shows obsessed with the pitfalls of modern relationships. Or where the man is not a complete fool. Yes, there is despair and cynicism and the world has so many problems to deal with outside of work. Misunderstanding is a beast. But there can be a safe space if we allow it a little bit of time and consideration.
Nobody Wants This allows that time and energy for Noah and Joanne, patiently waiting for that love to not go unanswered. It is one of the most romantic shows of the year so far.
Nobody Wants This is currently streaming on Netflix.
