Schumer learns from her past in the Hulu series ‘Life and Beth’
Amy Schumer’s new Hulu show “Life and Beth” – starring newcomer Violet Young – steals scenes from Schumer’s real childhood and turns them into a great comedy. (March 16)
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You might think you know what Hulu’s “Life & Beth” will be when you hear it from Amy Schumer.
A star with her reputation and credits, who will soon co-host the Oscars, brings many expectations to a new project. Viewers might be a raunchy rom-com like her 2015 film “Trainwreck,” a female empowerment parable like “I Feel Pretty” (2018), or a nasty social satire like the later seasons of her acclaimed comedy Central Sketch Show, “Inside Amy Schumer. . “
But you can find a quieter, more intimate side of Schumer in “Beth” (streaming Friday, ★★★★ by four) as fans have already seen. The 10-episode, half-hour series is funny, safe, but it’s also painfully sad, dealing with family trauma as easy as it makes jokes about mushrooms getting high or bad time broken condoms. There is a depth here that has hitherto been present only in the greatest sketches of Schumer, a historical, thematic and semi-autobiographical story, which is the actress, writer and director’s best work.
Schumer plays Beth, an unaffected wine salesman at 40, who sleeps through her life. She has been dating the same man for 10 years and can hardly gather enough enthusiasm to spend the night with him. She’s a great seller but does not really enjoy it. Her relationships with her sister (Susannah Flood), mother (Laura Benanti) and friends are strained and far apart.
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Beth’s life went up after a death and her family forced her to re-evaluate all her choices and the very core of who she was. Looking for a change, she moves from Manhattan back to her hometown on Long Island, selling wine to a local vineyard. It was there that she met John (Michael Cera in his adult role so far), a playful, funny farmer with which Beth has direct chemistry. The longer she stays, the more Beth reflects on her troubled childhood, showing flashbacks.
The romance between Beth and John is a much more authentic, messy version of court than we usually see in pop culture. Making it from flirtation to relationship is not the end of the story – or the tension between them – as both struggle to figure out how to fit in as a new couple.
John seems to be on the autism spectrum, which Schumer confirmed to USA TODAY in an interview, noting that she bases him on her husband. He is complicated and sometimes difficult, spending a funeral worried that his beloved fishing boat could not be tied down instead of mourning. But where others are distracted by John’s personality, Beth is often attracted to seeing someone who complements her. Their relationship look unfolding is relatable and beautiful.
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But “Beth” is more than just a love story. The series is at its best during the flashback to Beth’s life on Long Island in the 1990s, a child of a bitter divorce who becomes a difficult teenager. Schumer’s scripts evoke the overwhelming emotions of adolescence, treat the major and minor traumas that Beth goes through – from middle-aged boys to a serious injury to mental health problems – with care and finesse. Violet Young, who plays Beth as a teenager, is a wonderful talent who brings these scenes to life.
“Beth” is complex in layer, and a departure for Schumer in the best way. But also the commercials that Hulu sent for the series underline their depth, focusing on romance and comedy. There is so much more for “Beth,” and for Beth. There is something refreshing about the series, and how they resist a proper categorization.
If this is the kind of story that a more mature, experienced Schumer can tell, I can not wait for more.
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