Tootsie

Tootsie didn't work for me. The 1982 film was about a cis man who disguises himself as a woman to get a role on a television soap opera. The musical had him win a role in a Broadway musical in 2018, yet the characters seemed to have learned nothing more about gender, sexuality or hiring practices since 1982. Putting it in a contemporary setting only made the sexual politics seem more retro.

The leading man's arc was also lost. He claims that his time as Dorothy has taught him humility and compassion but nothing in the libretto allows us to see that. At the performance I saw he didn't seem to grow or change one bit.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Season Two

I got nervous around the middle of season two. The story was wandering and I wasn't sure what the stakes were. Everything started to feel less... well... crazy. The season finale had to cram in a lot of plot to ramp things up again. Afterwards I listened to several interviews with the series creators. They described Season Two as having a three act structure. Looking back I can see it. I also respect how the characters can have multiple ups and downs without hitting the "reset button" and forgetting what they've already learned.

Favorite songs this season include:

Ping Pong Girl

Research Me Obsessively 

Remember That We Suffered

Tell Me I'm Okay

and my number one favorite: The Math of Love Triangles.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - Season One

"She's so broken insiiide!"

The song that won me over was "Feeling Kinda Naughty" in episode 2. That was the moment I knew this show would be appointment television. Other favorite songs that season include:

A Boy Band Made up of Four Joshes
Settle For Me
I Give Good Parent
I'm the Villain

Rachel Bloom and Aline Brosh McKenna are writing about mental illness in a way I haven't seen in pop culture. The protagonist is coping with an abusive childhood, depression, anxiety and self-loathing in a mix of healthy and incredibly unhealthy ways. She's tried therapy and over-medication. Now she's diving head first into the fantasy of a romantic relationship and destroying everything around her in the process. The show still doesn't have the ratings it deserves but it has won awards and critical acclaim.

The people who love this show reeeally love it. I'm one of them.