S Poddar
A rabbi and a non-Jewish woman stroll into a pub—not once, not twice but three times—in Netflix’s rom-com Nobody Wants This, loosely based on the experiences of the show’s creator, Erin Foster.
For many, that is the appeal of Nobody Wants This: it is familiarly fun, if conventional, for a rom-com. Even though it feels, from start to finish, like a laugh-out-loud, feel-good sitcom, Kristen Bell and Adam Brody still display undeniable on-screen chemistry. You just cannot help but go a little bit retro and nostalgic with the early 2000s, when both of them had great success starring as smart-mouthed high schoolers on their respective smart TV shows. Twenty years later, they seem to grow effortlessly into parts that just make fun of how gracefully they aged.
Beneath the show are Bell and Brody, an area of itself a proud heartbeat, and then a cast of seasoned scene-stealers that can take an admittedly puerile sitcom and invest it with serious depth. Yes, the central premise revolves around their relationship, but it is Erin Foster’s infusing that sets this show apart from run-of-the-mill romantic comedy clichés: this isn’t just about mismatched lovers ending up together, but into cultural complexities and peculiarities about their characters’ lives.
Yet, with this specificity comes its own problems. While it does not claim to deal with the questions of whether culture is or should be represented at a depth that will force one to question the identity of their culture, some viewers of Nobody Wants This will be steered that way. While many will not be caught up in internal debates about cultural representation, those who are or are closely related to the culture or culture portrayed will have difficulty steering clear of such reflections.
The show is incredibly resorting to traditions and stereotypes, totally going all out on its heavy dose of Jewish culture. A romantic lead spewing words like bashert (Yiddish for a predestined match) and a scene in which the Jewish havdalah ritual is depicted with romantic undertones is charmingly done. But when the series tries to balance its humor with its portrayal of Jewish customs, it even relies on overused tropes. For every moment that subverts a stereotype, there’s another that feels too familiar. At its best, Nobody Wants This genuinely decided on several plot scenes to feature Jewish actors in pivotal roles, adding authenticity to the presentation of characters. At other times, this borders on the dangerous line of using antisemitic stereotypes as comedic traits-most readers will be disturbed by this. It barely crosses the line, never really entering destructive territory, but at times, it skirts uncomfortably close while banking on these quirks to be funny.
It stars Kristen Bell as Joanne, the unlucky-in-love protagonist who, based on his own dating life minus the part where Katharine McPhee becomes his stepmother, was inspired by Foster.
Joanne spends her days recounting her misadventures through a string of disastrous first dates to her sister, Morgan (Justine Lupe), on their not-so-fittingly titled podcast Nobody Wants This. Ironically, the poorly named podcast itself becomes popular because of these tales of dating disasters. Joanne sees it as empowering, while everybody else thinks of it mainly as a sex show. It complicates the situation further that Joanne unexpectedly falls in love with Noah, a rabbi played by Adam Brody, just gotten out of a long-term relationship with Rebecca, played by Emily Arlook, whom he nearly proposed to. His past relationship was something everyone in his life was rooting for: his family, friends, and even the broader expectations of his community, not something he truly wanted for himself.
Noah is far from all the guys Joanne had been head-over-heels in love with. He is sweetly self-deprecating and, of course, a rabbi. Being a rabbi makes things quite complicated when he is dating someone outside his faith. Joanne is the “shiksa,” according to Noah, whom he playfully said is a Yiddish term originally used as an insult for non-Jewish women but was now used more casually-even playfully-to describe women like Joanne.
In one of the many wittily spoken lines of the show, Noah explains, “Technically it’s a Yiddish insult that means you’re impure and detestable, but these days it just means you’re a hot, blonde non-Jew.” Joanne says with characteristic self-awareness, “That’s actually a perfect description of me,” acknowledging her lack of spiritual grounding and her obliviousness to Jewish traditions, despite living in culturally rich Los Angeles.
He is a junior rabbi at a rather progressive synagogue, and he hopes someday to become a senior rabbi there.
But dating a non-Jewish woman could be the end of his future at the synagogue, something his family’s ultra-conservative view will only make worse. His parents, Bina (Tovah Feldshuh) and Ilan (Paul Ben-Victor), are immigrants who believe in following some things strictly as they’ve been done for ages, though his brother Sasha (Timothy Simons) really doesn’t see much of a problem with the woman. But enough beefiness binds both of them to feed off of Esther Sasha’s (Jackie Tohn) full-scale resentment toward the two.
While, at its heart, Schitt’s Creek may rely more on its central comedic odd-couple dynamic between Joanne and Noah, so often plot lines outside of this axis feel played out and formulaic.
Underneath its surface, the show leans into familiar sitcom archetypes and obvious plot machines. There are times you will probably find yourself sitting there thinking, “Really? With this tired old plot twist? ” And while Netflix gives the show license to get a little edgier, such as in a more graphic scene in a sex toy shop, the humor too often feels thin and shallow, with many of the jokes and situations not sharp enough to realize their promise. Misunderstandings and miscommunications are legion, often feeling too predictable to truly surprise.”.
Despite its lopsidedness, Nobody Wants This is still rather charming. Bell and Brody’s effortless chemistry kept the series afloat, and for viewers who love a good rom-com—even one packed with clichés—the show delivers enough heart to keep them engaged.
