Deciphered Zapping likes Chuck Lorre a lot, whether it’s The Big Bang Theory (TBBT), Mon Uncle Charlie or Young Sheldon. Necessarily, when Prime Video suggested Mom, we couldn’t miss it. However, the subject in itself was not sexy: women who fight to fight against addiction, we have known funnier as an introduction. Can we laugh with this theme? Yes. Can we tackle serious subjects while making people laugh? Yes.
endearing characters
To understand why the series is a nugget, we must introduce you to the characters. Christy Plunkett has been an alcoholic since a young age. She also has other addictions, which you will discover in the series. She pushes the door of Alcoholics Anonymous, begins to get sober and makes friends: Marjorie, Wendy, then Jill. It was then that his mother Bonnie came into his life. Marjorie, the oldest of the group and the wisest, tempers the bitterness of the two women.
Marjorie is the mum of the group. She sponsors several alcoholics, including Christy. She has had a very hectic life and takes advantage of her experience to help her friends as best she can. Wendy is the shyest and yet, she has a touch of madness that arises from time to time. Jill arrives later in the series. Very rich divorced, she is the proof that money does not bring happiness and you will find out why. Another woman will complete the group from season 6: Tammy.
Men are not very present in the series. There’s Baxter, Christy’s stoner ex-husband, who has found himself a new wife. There’s Chef Rudy, a cook at the restaurant where Christy works, who’s tried just about every drug and substance out there and there’s Adam, Bonnie’s future husband. He has no problem with alcohol or narcotics, but living with an alcoholic is not always easy. You will also discover some guests, whom we have already seen in the other series of Chuck Lorre.
“Thank God social media didn’t exist when I was an alcoholic”
Christy and Marjorie find themselves living together. Christy plays her mother a lot — who pays her back — and one evening, while Bonnie is fooling around, Christy pulls out her phone to film the scene and put it on YouTube. Social networks, the Web and new technologies are present in small touches in the series.
Can you be an alcoholic, do stupid things and hope that no one remembers? As Marjorie says, “Thank goodness social media didn’t exist when I was an alcoholic.” Indeed, it has become complicated. And if no one has filmed you fooling around, don’t worry: criminal records in the United States are almost open-data. Christy finds out on a date. Her suitor makes a remark to her about her haircut and we understand that he was able to compare by finding the photo of Christy’s criminal record. And if you have any doubts on this subject, look on Twitter or YouTube for videos of Punta Balena (Magaluf).
Unwittingly, Bonnie teaches us a lesson in computer security. She wants to spy on Adam’s phone. Good news for her: the lock is biometric. So she waits for Adam to fall asleep, takes his thumbs up, and unlocks his phone. Christy is moved and asks her mother if she has ever done this with her. The silence that follows makes us understand that yes. Moral of the story: locking your phone with a fingerprint isn’t a good idea, even if you’re not married to Bonnie Plunkett.
The series of maturity for Chuck Lorre
If TBBT, Mon Uncle Charlie and Young Sheldon could seem quite above ground, by their stories – geeks, a millionaire and the childhood of a future Nobel Prize – with Mom, we are in the concrete and the life of all days. Christy has recurring money problems, Marjorie has to face cancer, Wendy works in an environment that reminds her every day how and why she became addicted. As for Jill, the problems she encounters run deep. Only Bonnie seems to float in her ambient doldrums, curiously keeping her head held high. The episode where she is looking for work should be shown in all schools. Again, we let you find out why. Just remember that Bonnie does not have impostor syndrome at all.
It is difficult to detail certain elements without revealing the plot. But, know that we address the issue of teenage pregnancy, sexual assault, drug addiction, abandoned children, sterility, divorce, suicide, cancer, the resumption of studies after 35 years, about becoming homeless and how to wear a strapless dress without showing your boobs.
At this point, my editor is like, “Are you sure this is a comedy show you’re talking about?” “. Yes. And that’s the tour de force of this sitcom. Manage to generate a laugh, with very serious subjects, not to say leaden, without caricaturing the characters or the situations. One would almost want to hate these women. After all, no one put a bottle in their hand. It’s impossible. Because the narration and the characters are constructed in such a way that we identify with them, we understand them, we see the shift. In the end, you realize that anyone can become addicted to something: gambling, alcohol, narcotics, drugs, etc. And by extension, we also understand why on Netflix and Prime, we see the warning “some scenes show smoking, alcohol and narcotics consumption”.
This is not a family series: moreover, some episodes are indicated as reserved for over 13s, others for over 17s. The series is not available on the Prime account child portal. But, it is worth watching it, because it is beautiful. We regret that there are only eight seasons. She does not excessively psychologize the characters and situations, she is “content” with narrating situations. Therefore, our recommendation will really be to devote time to it. If we had to give a rating, it would be 10/10. Mom is available on Prime Video.