The shows vague title means thatLovemay have flown under your radar, but it also comes with benefits.
It succeeds regularly on all three counts.
If anything, it garners more chuckles than the average rom-com by making its characters so relatable and damaged.
They manage to screw things up in their personal lives even when theyre trying to be nice.
They fall out, they fail, and they arent always there for each other.
Yet, somehow, its still a lot of fun to watch.
Its hardly a story it’s possible for you to imagine someone regaling to their kids.
From this jumping off point,Lovepushes its characters into a number of tricky situations.
Unlike the traditional rom-com, theres no knight in shining armour or manic pixie dream girl here.
Casting was a vital component.
And if that had happened, a lot of what makes this show special wouldve failed to flourish.
All those years that Jacobs Britta was the butt of the joke onCommunityseem like a real waste now.
Its obvious that shes a genuine talent, with so many nuances to bring to the table.
Rust, to put it simply, was born to play Gus.
As much as I love him, Gus can be overbearing.
He puts too much pressure on Mickey, and often makes things worse in trying to make them better.
He also bottles things up and sometimes explodes with rage.
But Rust ensures that theres always an honest, decent human being underneath.
Like real people in the real world, these characters arent caricatures.
They have traits that you like and they also have flaws.
Oftentimes, you wish you could reach out, osmose through your telly and give them a hug.
This might sound like an insignificant or obvious thing, but its actually vital to making the show unique.
She moves in with Mickey brings a nervous humour with an improvised feel to the show.
These three all bring laughs, but in very different ways.
Plus they write damn good movie theme tunes.
Didnt go down well, though).
We see the turmoil that a lengthy work trip can cause.
We see two people deciding they should move slowly before ignoring their own advice.
So I just keeping believing in this fucking lie, that a relationship evolves and gets better.
Its like, why do I believe that?
Where do these lies come from?
Gus starts gesturing at the box of high-def discs on his lap.
All these movies Ive watched, theyre not real.
Theyre lies like me and Natalie were lies.
What am I doing with these?
He takes a look in the box.
Its like, fuck youPleasantville.
He throwsPleasantvilleout the window of the moving car, before feeling a bit bad about it.
Gus looks in the box again.
!Pretty Womanis such a lie.
AndPretty Womanflies to the curb.
Lies!What Women Want?
Lies!When Harry Met Sally?
Fucking lies!Homelandseason 3?
Gus pauses, so Mickey jumps in.
Very confusing, she offers, getting Gus back into the flow of it.
Yeah, like she could ever just sneak into Iran, Gus adds.
And out it goes.
Gus throws the rest of the box out, and the two drive off.
They get back to Gus apartment, and Gus apologises for flipping out in front of Mickey.
Mickey reassures him: Dude, Im the queen of eating shit, she says.
You should never feel embarrassed.
Youll find yourself wincing at certain moments, but willing them to stick with it anyway.
Its certainly not a big romantic ending, which is very fitting for this show.
InLove, things are similarly complicated.
This is rom-com as realism rather than escapism, and its ruddy brilliant for it.
The first two seasons ofLoveare available on Netflix now.
Season 3 is currently in production.
