It’s funny-in-a-sad-way to think about how your plans change as you grow up. Remember your goals when you were a high school student? An undergrad? A fresh-out-of-college young adult? Presumably, you learned to keep your hopes in check, adjusted your expectations, and tried not to get bogged down by disappointment. This balance of following your professional bliss and embracing your pragmatism is the heart of August’s web series and VOD picks.
“Aroha Bridge” is a web series about Māori siblings Monty and Kowhai Hook and their personal (and inherently political) lives in New Zealand. Monty and Kowhai are wry and self-aware, but also optimistic about their band’s chances of achieving fame and fortune. But they aren’t delusional: they know no one else has faith in their talent.
Give Kowhai and Monty a couple of years and their lives might look something like the protagonists’ of “Shiny Baby Goats.” Best friends and roomies Frances and Jude move to LA right after their college graduation to become, respectively, a composer and an artist. They get with the program fairly quickly and decide to find day jobs, but both characters are wonderfully and believably smug about the success they just know is right around the corner.
On the VOD side of things, there is “Women He’s Undressed,” a documentary about costume designer Orry-Kelly. Career-wise, Kelly is definitely the most triumphant and ambitious of anyone mentioned here: he worked with old-Hollywood icons like Marilyn Monroe and Bette Davis, won three Oscars for his designs, and by all accounts was just as famous as the celebrities he dressed.
Finally, there’s the flailing heroine of “There Is a New World Somewhere.” Sylvia just lost her job, her status as an artist is stuck on “aspiring,” and she cannot seem to pull herself out of her rut. At a friend’s wedding, she finally gets a case of the screw-its and impulsively accompanies a stranger on a road trip, leaving her professional woes behind.
Here are our picks for this month’s women-centric web series and VOD releases.
Web Series
By Rachel Montpelier
“Aroha Bridge” — Written and Created by Jessica Hansell
Let’s say you combined the family dynamics of “Transparent,” the way “Key and Peele” dissects the myriad expressions of race, and the world-building of “Orange is the New Black.” The result still wouldn’t be as interesting and multi-faceted as “Aroha Bridge.”
Evolved from creator Jessica Hansell’s comic strip turned animated short “Hook Ups,” this New Zealand import is about Kowhai and Monty Hook and their coming-of-age as biracial adolescents in “the multicultural melting pot that is Aotearoa.” It also traces the siblings’ extended family, including “jock aunts, ex-All Black fathers, activist uncles, and kooky cousins.”
Like the aforementioned TV shows, “Aroha Bridge” is that rare series that has a defined point-of-view, a balance of specific and universal humor, and the advantage of just being entertaining. The first episode alone, “Angeline in Concert,” hilariously mocks generational resentment, the appropriation of Māori culture, political hypocrites, men’s affection for free food, and vapid pop stars. And it’s only five minutes long.
You can watch all episodes of “Aroha Bridge” here.
“Shiny Baby Goats” — Written and Directed by Alice Nicholas Wood
Weird neighbors. Futile job interviews. Realizing you’re not going to pay the rent with your liberal arts B.A. That’s just a typical day for Frances (Amanda Viola) and Jude (Jennifer Daley).
Unlike other stories about struggling artists — “Frances Ha,” “Difficult People,” and “The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl” among them — “Shiny Baby Goats” follows Frances and Jude in their immediate post-college struggle to “make it,” instead of fast-forwarding a couple years. We don’t know whether Frances will actually find work as a film composer, or if Jude will ever decide art is a hobby, and not a viable career. At this point, we’re just witnesses as they decide to find boring day jobs and pray for a creatively-fulfilling, well-paying career opportunity to present itself.
“Shiny Baby Goats” will resonate with anyone with artistic ambitions that, unfortunately, do not convert to paychecks or health insurance. If you’re one of them, you can catch all the episodes here.
VOD
By Kate Gardner
“Women He’s Undressed” (Documentary) — Directed by Gillian Armstrong
All the glitz, glamour, and drama of the studio system come alive in director Gillian Armstrong’s portrait of Oscar-winning costume designer Orry-Kelly. Kelly’s career spanned over 300 films, including “Casablanca,” “Some Like It Hot,” and “An American in Paris.” The film also focuses on his friendships with some of Hollywood’s most iconic actresses, as well as his close relationship with Cary Grant. You can stream the film on iTunes and Amazon Video.
Read Women and Hollywood’s interview with director Gillian Armstrong.
“There Is a New World Somewhere” — Written and Directed by Li Lu
After being fired from her job, struggling artist Sylvia (Agnes Bruckner) returns to her Texas hometown for a friend’s wedding. The night before the big day, a mysterious stranger (Maurice Compte) dares her to leave town and join him on a road trip through the deep South. Both their lives are changed forever in writer-director Li Lu’s second film. You can stream it on iTunes and Amazon Video.
