Girls5eva is the endearingly zany tale of a 90s one-hit-wonder girl group seeking a re-ignition of their fleeting stardom two decades later. Created by Meredith Scardino, with heavyweights like Tina Fey and Robert Carlock serving as executive producers, the series soared onto the scene in 2021 with its premiere on the fledgling Peacock streaming service. Despite critical acclaim, it failed to find a sizeable audience.
Enter Netflix, whose intervention rescued the quirky underdog and provided it a potentially much wider viewership. The streamer acquired the rights to the first two seasons and commissioned a third – a six-episode run that represents Girls5eva firing on all cylinders. With its densely-packed jokes, winning characters, and infectious original music, this third season is an uproarious triumph that solidifies the show’s status as a cult comedy gem deserving of mass adoration.
Tour Hustle
The overarching narrative thrust of Girls5eva’s third season sees the titular quartet – Dawn, Wickie, Summer and Gloria – embarking on a lengthy tour across America. Their goal? To drum up sufficient buzz and ticket sales for an ambitious comeback concert at the iconic Radio City Music Hall.
However, their humble “Returnity Tour” begins rather inauspiciously, playing nightly gigs at a Fort Worth bar where their one viral novelty song “Tap Into Your Fort Worth” is the only crowd-pleaser. Desperate to transcend this artistic purgatory, the enterprising yet delusional Wickie books them the Radio City date, saddling the group with hefty financial stakes.
What ensues is a madcap trek through various low-profile tour stops, supplemented by private gig appearances booked to raise funds. Narratively, each girl contends with personal crises – Wickie’s relentless ambition, Dawn’s unexpected pregnancy, Summer’s search for identity, Gloria’s newfound sexual awakening. Yet their collective drive to escape washed-up obscurity propels them toward an entertainingly tumultuous season finale in the big city.
Deliriously Zany Humor
Girls5eva’s third season represents a comedic tour-de-force, sustaining a relentless barrage of jokes that vacillate between cerebral wit and unabashed silliness. The writing exhibits a brand of distinctly offbeat, frenetic humor that keeps viewers on their toes lest they miss the next zinger.
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The season mines large dosages of laughter from seemingly innocuous comedic wells – an extended riff on a fictional hotel chain “Marriott Divorced Dads Suitelets” provides numerous gags about sad single fatherhood. Similarly, a digression about a speculative storyline for The Crown probing Prince Andrew’s stuffed animal proclivities builds into a crescendo of ludicrous yet gut-busting hilarity.
High-minded parodies are also peppered throughout, such as a scathing sendup of multi-level marketing companies and their predatory tactics. An entire episode satirizes the recent celebrity-industrial complex around music documentaries. Social commentary materializes through sly quips about hot-button issues like women’s rights and industry sexism.
Yet the show counterbalances its smarter mockery with an abundance of enjoyably crass, lowbrow humor. Punchlines about bodily functions intermingle with characters engaging in brazen debauchery like a drunken, shirtless Gloria guzzling soda during a heart-to-heart. Crude humor abounds, but always in a spirit of maximizing laughs-per-minute from the audience.
Somehow this entertaining mixture of highbrow and lowbrow, erudite and moronic, insight and idiocy synthesizes into a finely-calibrated cocktail of comedy. Girls5eva delivers a profoundly zany, unrelenting dose of laughter that showcases whip-smart writing from Scardino and her team.
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Shining Star Performances
While Girls5eva’s breakneck comedic pace and musical numbers are immensely enjoyable, the heart of the show remains its phenomenally talented core quartet of actors. The tour setting of Season 3 allows each of these skilled performers to truly shine.
As the egotistical, relentlessly driven diva Wickie, Renée Elise Goldsberry is an unstoppable tour-de-force. She fully inhabits Wickie’s larger-than-life persona and knack for delusional self-aggrandizement, delivering each ludicrous line with flair and bravado. Yet Goldsberry’s deft touch allows glimpses of vulnerability behind the narcissism.
Sara Bareilles continues building out Dawn’s multi-faceted persona, deftly veering between portraying a grounded voice of reason and indulging in manic buffoonery. Her unexpected pregnancy adds intriguing layers and grounds her personal journey in relatable anxieties.
As Summer, Busy Philipps sheds the archetype of a stereotypical “dumb blonde” by investing depth and pathos into her character’s struggle to forge an identity independent from past romantic entanglements. Meanwhile, the ever-versatile Paula Pell is uproarious as Gloria embraces a “later-in-life” sexual awakening with admirable shamelessness.
While these actresses each get chances to sparkle individually, their group chemistry remains the anchor. Their comedic chops allow deft tonal shifts between poignancy and slapstick buffoonery, often in the same scene. With tremendous talent and infectious camaraderie, Girls5eva’s cast keeps viewers endlessly invested through every zany twist and turn.
Infectious Earworm Anthems
One of the most delightful elements of Girls5eva remains its cavalcade of stellar original songs and musical numbers. Season 3 is no exception, delivering several insistent earworms primed to hijack unsuspecting brains.
The songwriting team of Jeff Richmond (music) and Meredith Scardino (lyrics) are in top form, peppering the episodes with deliriously catchy tracks. Standouts include “Tap Into Your Fort Worth,” an ode to the city’s surprisingly vibrant downtown that becomes an accidental girl-power anthem. “4 Stars” is an infectious empowerment bop espousing self-belief.
Throughout, the music organically arises from the storylines rather than feeling shoehorned in. A track like “Returnity” (title borrowed from the group’s new album) encapsulates their struggles with perpetually chasing comebacks. When Dawn experiences an existential reckoning, she unleashes a powerhouse ballad dissecting her principles.
The songs skilfully advance character arcs while still maintaining a humorous, satirical edge – Summer’s failed solo career is mocked through “Yesternights,” a biting send-up of vapid pop trifles. Musical motifs recur in innovative fantasy sequences, cementing the tunes’ memorability.
Fundamentally, Girls5eva’s music mirrors its parent show – an irreverent, high-energy blend of humorous reflections and unabashed sincerity coalescing into an irresistible package. Emerging as full-fledged radio-ready bops, these songs elevate an already stellar season.
Skillful Craft Behind the Zaniness
While the humor and musical elements of Girls5eva frequently steal the spotlight, the overall production values consistently impress despite seemingly modest means. The technical craft behind-the-scenes elevates the zany antics unfolding onscreen.
Director Pamela Adlon, a veteran of shows like Better Things and King of the Hill, brings a confident visual flair. Her lens seamlessly integrates the frenetic comedic beats with occasional poignant character moments. The cinematography strikes a vibrant, effervescent tone befitting the show’s world of washed-up pop idols seeking redemption.
The editing is particularly outstanding, calibrating the whiplash-inducing pace required for densely-packed joke deliveries while still grounding the emotional journeys. Stylish fantasy sequences and fourth-wallbreaches are deftly spliced in. Mundane settings like hotels burst with colorful visual gags via clever background embellishments.
Perhaps most impressively, these polished production values are achieved on what was reportedly a constrained budget. Yet the limited resources are channeled adroitly into realizing nostalgia-steeped period details recreating the trashy late-90s cultural milieu. Creative solutions like resourceful setpieces maximize every dollar onscreen.
Bolstering the strong core ensemble are a number of delightful supporting players and cameos. Standouts include Ingrid Michaelson as a downtrodden folk singer, Catherine Cohen as an eccentric girlhood super-fan, and the ever-versatile John Early as an unhinged conservative senator. Their appearances highlight how Girls5eva continues punching above its weight class.
Showstopping Culmination
Girls5eva’s third season represents a spectacular culmination of the series’ strengths while continuing to raise its ambitions. The zany, joke-a-minute comic escapades remain firmly intact and possibly even more consistent than previous runs. Yet there’s also a cohesive vision binding the narrative arcs together in a way that provides immense forward momentum.
The tour premise allows for deepening character insights and growth amidst the laugh-tornados. Musical numbers feel seamlessly interwoven into the storylines rather than randomized vignettes. Production values belie any budgetary constraints to create a slick, vibrant world for these lovable trauma-coms to inhabit.
In short, Girls5eva’s third season is an unmitigated delight that deserves abundant viewership on its new Netflix platform. It’s the rarest breed of comedy – ludicrously stupid yet undeniably smart. One can only hope the Returnity Tour’s Radio City engagement proves modestly successful enough to secure the show’s future longevity. This criminally underrated gem warrants the pop cultural equivalent of a long, prosperous Vegas residency.
The Review
Girls5eva Season 3
Girls5eva's third season is an audacious, belly-laugh inducing tour-de-force of offbeat comedy brilliance. With an astounding surplus of zany gags and memorable musical numbers, it represents the series firing on all cylinders creatively. Yet it backs up the delirious humor with substantive emotional arcs and a kinetic storyline that propels it forward at a frenetic pace. Grounded by a phenomenally talented ensemble, it's both riotously stupid and undeniably intelligent television that warrants widespread celebration. An underrated gem that everyone should experience.
PROS
- Densely packed with rapid-fire jokes and clever humor
- Excellent, committed performances from the talented core cast
- Catchy, well-integrated original songs and musical numbers
- Strong production values that elevate the zany premise
- Deft blend of lowbrow silliness and insightful social commentary
- Engaging character arcs and emotional journeys amid the comedy
CONS
- Extremely zany, offbeat humor may not appeal to all viewers
- Some of the storylines and character arcs could use more development
- The frenetic pace may make it hard to fully invest in the emotional beats
- Despite its ambitions, it still feels slightly niche and cult in appeal
