Girls5eva Season One Review

Girls5eva follows the titular 1990s one-hit wonder girls group as they reunite and attempt to stage a comeback after an up-and-coming rapper samples their hit song as part of their own song. Making up the group were Dawn Solano (Sara Bareilles), the chill one, Summer Dutkowsky (Busy Philipps), the hot one, Gloria McManus (Paula Pell), the always working one, and Wickie Roy (Renée Elise Goldsberry), the fierce one. Meanwhile, their leader Ashley Gold (Ashley Park), the fun one and glue of the band, unfortunately died in an infinity pool accident in 2004 and was memorialized by a bench paid for by her bandmates.

Those familiar with the girl groups and 90’s culture will feel right at home with Girls5eva. One of its greater successes is its melding of parodic instincts with a genuinely earnest affection for a supposedly bygone era. The girl group at the center of the series would be one of those cheap ersatz knock offs meant to capitalize off the popularity of groups such as the Spice Girls, while still evoking memories of our modern day girl groups like Fifth Harmony and Little Mix. Everything about it is effective on a comedic level right down to their squirmingly trashy backstory. There is a certain appeal to this series that would be understood by those who were not born in the 90s but have a genuine fascination with and passion for that era. In its own way, the time period is universal in the way that almost all time periods are, and the appeal can be all encompassing, especially when it comes to how they tie into future generations. As for the comedy, this will sit well with those already familiar with Tina Fey’s particular sense of humor. But that influence doesn’t necessarily suffocate the series so much as the series feels at home. This is a credit to Scardino and the other writers that create such a unique identity out of familiar elements.

It also helps that the performers are giving it their all. Each member of the group has a self-proclaimed personality that feels particularly well-suited to the actors playing them. Bareilles can totally sell being inherently cool and easy-going, but can also be rather neurotic. The whole ‘New York Lonely Boy’ montage comes to mind when it comes to showcasing her comedic chops. Philipps has the look and timing to pull off ditziness without ever veering into stereotypical territory. Goldberry stands out as a fierce presence whose defiance masks insecurity, especially about her living circumstances, hence why she pretends to be far more glamorous and affluent than she actually is. Pell conveys Gloria’s work-hard ethic and the sense that she is often pushing the group to push new creative bounds. All this with the memory of the late Ashley Gold in mind, and one could understand why she was such a commanding figure and effectively led the group.

Beyond the face of it, Girls5eva understands the struggles of being a late 30’s/early 40’s adult struggling to keep afloat in a city like New York. Many people in this day and age, particularly young adults, are struggling financially due to economic inequality which makes it harder to live in a big city, especially those next in a position of privilege, despite the prosperities. And yet, it is an exciting prospect, getting a taste of the big city life and being able to just soak in all the places to explore and connections to make. The lives these characters lead are varying levels of satisfactory, but for them at least, it can’t quite beat reliving glory days when the right opportunity arises. This comes with learning to do things on their own when they can’t rely on help from old sources, like a Max Martin-esque caricature of a pop producer-songwriter; the song ‘4 Stars’ is an absolute highlight of this idea of self-sufficiency and perseverance.

The season does however feel like it drags a bit by the third episode where it became easy to start losing hope, thinking that some of its humor and jokes were going to feel worn out and stale until it turned those expectations around by the end.

In the end, Girls5eva is the perfect series to have on for those in need something to get them out of whatever funk they happen to find themselves in. Not only is it a whole lot of fun, it can even inspire those who are having a hard time. What more does one need from a feel-good throwback/parody of 90’s girl groups?

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Gabe Guarin

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