Betty on HBO: TV review
series introduces a group of freewheeling teens who want nothing more than to just skate on their own terms — a surprisingly tall order thanks to the many skeptical dudes surrounding them. Moselle enlists several of the same skaters slash actors she did for “Skate Kitchen,” her critically acclaimed film about a pack of determined, self-assured, casually cool girls and the particular freedom they feel when speeding through the city on their boards.
Janay is sharp and no nonsense when it comes to defending what she loves, but equally joyful when she gets to indulge in it. Her friend Kirt is the chillest person in the world — think “The Big Lebowksi’s” Dude in a teenage girl’s body — until she perceives the slightest hint of a threat to her friends, at which point she becomes a bulldog on the offensive. In the pilot, Janay and Kirt stumble into a series of misadventures and three new friends .
Every actor is the kind of good that’s harder to absorb at first; they’re so immediately comfortable in their roles and rhythms that the show often feels more like a documentary than a scripted show. But it is, and an especially well-plotted one given that it only has six episodes to give everyone a decently satisfying arc. Camille realizes that clout with the boys isn’t worth pretending that her feelings don’t matter when they’re clearly hurt.
That’s what makes Janay’s storyline, the most ambitious of the bunch, so impressive. When she finds out that another girl has accused her best friend, Donald , of assault, Janay goes into a tailspin that starts vindictive, but ends up more cathartic than she ever would’ve thought. The way “Betty” prods this bruise, without pretense or by putting more adult words into teenage characters’ mouths, is smart and compassionate.
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