Boo, Bitch, a generally sharp but largely uneven eight-part restricted collection from Netflix, appeals to a beloved and oft under-rated custom: the sitcom during which supernatural parts (time journey, foresight, magic powers) underscore the trials of being a teenage lady. Lana Condor’s Erika Vu, a shy, studious senior rendered a ghost after getting smushed by a moose on the evening of her first highschool social gathering, takes after playfully occult protagonists in irreverent reveals akin to Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Wizards of Waverly Place, That’s So Raven and, extra severely and efficiently, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The present’s candy-colored aesthetic and caffeinated vitality jogs my memory of Nickelodeon’s Zoey 101; the costumes seem like a gleefully unhinged tackle mid-aughts TV teen style.
It’s all mild and extra enjoyable than you would possibly anticipate, till it isn’t. Created by Tim Schauer, Kuba Soltysiak, Loopy Ex-Girlfriend’s Erin Ehrlich and Awkward’s Lauren Iungerich, Boo, Bitch straddles the tremendous line between campy and hokey, deliciously ridiculous and dumb, cheeky and cringe earlier than the second half derails into borderline unwatchable, low-cost nonsense. (The title is a cute-ish wink till it turns into an overused chorus within the remaining episodes.) That Boo, Bitch holds the middle in any respect for 5 25-minute episodes is basically due to the dedication of Condor, Netflix’s immensely likable homegrown star of To All The Boys I’ve Liked Earlier than, and Zoe Margaret Colletti as her kooky, loyal finest buddy Gia.
We meet Erika and Gia 48 hours “pre-mortem”, on the precipice of their remaining six weeks of highschool. The inseparable duo are so invisible that they’re not included on the senior textual content chain, so boring that Erika’s mother and father (Cathy Vu and John Brantley Cole) sigh in aid when she says they’re going to social gathering. In one of many higher highschool social gathering scenes I’ve seen in awhile, the duo agree to provide threat an opportunity and say sure to all the pieces. There’s automobile headlights, a scream, and the following morning, Erika awakes to search out herself a useful ghost.
Boo, Bitch initially takes a pleasantly gonzo spin on the afterlife – “If a ghost in Ghostbusters may give a BJ then it is smart that you may nonetheless pee,” Gia comforts Erika on her first confused morning autopsy; Erika later laments that finishing one’s unfinished enterprise could be a superb time to lastly attempt Wellbutrin. Neurotic, obsessive and hiding her situation, Erika has greater priorities than being lifeless: specifically, stealing her crush Jake C (Mason Versaw) from consummate imply lady Riley (Aparna Brielle), going to promenade, and eventually getting consideration. In her phrases: “Until I determine my unfinished enterprise, I’m going to get all the way down to enterprise.” (Once more, the road between hokey and camp is tough to parse.)
The dealing with of Erika’s highschool purgatory is, for the primary half of the collection, surprisingly lighthearted and simply sufficient bizarre. Erika can flicker lights and scramble screens, however nonetheless has to pee and go to high school. Even her goodbyes to her mother and father and brother, earlier than she (would possibly) ascend by kissing Jake C, are performed for laughs, given the identical weight as, say, her remaining mochaccino with Gia. With the intention to fulfill Erika’s presumed unfinished enterprise, the ladies throw a celebration. Seeking any useful data past The Sixth Sense and Patrick Swayze in Ghost, the 2 enlist a scholar supernatural membership, whose medium, Gavin (Tenzing Norgay Trainor) takes a uncommon curiosity in Gia. The gleefully bonkers quartet, together with wannabe magician Brad (Reid Miller) and psychic Raven (Abigail Achiri), are the funniest a part of the present – I laughed at a superb third of their traces.
Some bits develop stale shortly, akin to working gags a few long-bullied scholar framed for a fart in third grade or a classmate who unexpectedly gave start in a scorching tub. Others – Gia’s repeated cracks about Lexapro, or a dialog between the boys about chill v cool women, frequent swearing – give the present non permanent, welcome chunk.
Sadly, the heady buzz of this ridiculousness burns off within the second half, which introduces a deflating plot twist, poorly invokes a cringy charade of TikTok fandom, and turns Erika right into a power-hungry monster. Condor is an interesting actor who appears to relish the 180 – she will be able to pull off the position of stone-faced highschool villain – however even she will be able to’t compensate for the present’s abrupt heel flip, nonsensical plot (even for a narrative a few ghost) and really unfastened dealing with of grief. By the sixth episode, I already missed the innocence of watching the primary half-hour and never understanding how annoyingly, unnecessarily imply Erika would turn into.
Boo, Bitch doesn’t get better from this nostril dive. The ultimate two episodes demand that the viewers acknowledge the demise of a liked one – ghosts can’t stick round perpetually, in any case – however not care sufficient to really take into consideration what which means nor tease it out for something past a fast decision. It’s a disappointing, scrambled end that left a bitter style in my mouth. Supernatural teen shenanigans could be enjoyable, however not when it loses the guts.
Boo, Bitch is now obtainable on Netflix
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