The Girlfriend - (Prime Video) 

By: Rachel Brodeur

Everyone wants to make a good first impression, especially when it comes to meeting the parents of someone they are dating. Prime Video takes this premise to new heights in its comedic thriller The Girlfriend. What starts as an awkward dinner descends into a much darker battle of wills.

The strength of the show is its two female leads. Robin Wright (House of Cards) plays the wealthy conservative mother Laura to a favored son, Daniel, played by Laurie Davidson (The Sandman). Although he’s an adult, he’s still very much his mother’s baby. Their relationship is affectionate, entangled and interesting to say the least. Meanwhile, Daniel is very much in love with his new girlfriend, Cherry, played by Olivia Coleman (House of the Dragon). Both Wright and Coleman are captivating on screen. They convey layers of emotion with just a look or a gesture. The fun of the show is in analyzing these gestures, because they change.

The Girlfriend experiments with changing point of view in order to propel the drama. Some scenes the audience sees from Laura’s perspective, others from Cherry’s and some moments we see twice. The structure adds a layer of mystery to the series. Clearly both narrators are unreliable, so what’s seen as comedic in one moment is seen as cruelty in the eyes of the other. The audience is left figuring out the intentions of the other, and having to piece through what they actually believe. Both Wright and Coleman make believable villains in the other’s story. One has to ask: is Laura caring or controlling? Is Cherry’s spirit unbridled or manipulative? Do we side with the mother or the girlfriend? Are their actions justifiable?

The behaviors in The Girlfriend are sometimes strange, or illicit,  and often unexpected. However, while Cherry and Laura can be extreme, and push the audience’s sense of plausible believability, the family dynamics explored are relatable. Most can identify with Cherry’s feelings of inadequacy as a fish out of water in a sea of wealth, or her simple wish to want to be accepted and liked. Also, it’s understandable that Laura, as a mother, would want what is best for her son, and that no matter how old our children are, they will always be at the center of our hearts. The show hits at these emotions but still offers the escapist voyeurism of watching flashes of wealth and gaping at reckless decisions. At only six episodes, and with the ever-growing need of the audience to discover who is right in the situation, it makes for an incredibly bingeable show.

Rachel’s Rating: 7/10

The Girlfriend (Prime Video) turns a seemingly ordinary introduction to a partner’s family into a sharp, darkly funny psychological showdown. The clever use of alternating perspectives keeps the series comedic and suspenseful.