‘Too Much’ review

‘Am I the Meghan Markle of, like, fat white bitches?’

Lena Dunham is BACK! With the Gen Z answer to the post millennial-depression that the lack of ‘Girls’ left. Too Much follows Jess through her anti-Emily in Paris move to London to reconnect with her passion for work after a tumultuous break up. The ten episodes were far too easy to binge watch in two sittings; Dunham can go from punchy one liners that will have you giggling for days to come to the most gut-wrenching scenes (no spoilers but prepare yourself for episode five). Dunham’s ability to write powerful (and realistic) dialogue shines through in Too Much, with Megan Stalter’s performance as Jess being the cherry on top of the fabulous show. Too Much explores workplace/creative burnout, the complexities of a messy break up and the emotional fallout that comes with it.

Although Jess moves to London temporarily for work, the focus of the show is on her love life; she meets musician ‘Felix’ on her first night in London and falls into a whirlwind romance whilst dealing with the trauma from her ex-boyfriend. Dunham beautifully and hilariously depicts the chaos of meeting someone new and unexpected whilst dealing with a breakup and all the ‘love-bombing’ from previous relationships. From Jess’s secret online diary where she uploads ‘letters’ to her ex’s new fiancé to googling ‘red flags to look out for’ whilst at work, the show exemplifies the all too relatable feeling of simply wanting to be loved and respected whilst dealing with the many hurdles that life throws at us.

My favourite element of the show (very difficult to pick just one) was the depiction of complicated, “messy” women. Since Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s ‘Fleabag’ I feel that modern TV has been seriously lacking a somewhat unlikable and imperfect female main characters. Too Much depicts men, whether they are partners, peers, fathers or father figures; trying to quieten the female experience or take away the sparkle from a bold, wonderful woman. The show is unapologetic in depicting the “messy” misunderstood woman, who is more often than not, just a human trying their best in this messy modern world.