The Dekkoo Films February 13, 2018 S1 & S2 DVD of the 2013- ? web series "Wallflowers" reflects a couple of modern television trends. The first is that most of the relationship-challenged characters in this show being straight follows the same broadening of the scope of the gay-oriented Dekko streaming service that virtually every basic cable network is undergoing. The second pattern is that the aforementioned characters belonging to a support group for New Yorkers with trouble finding and keeping a significant other being very reminiscent of the 1988-92 Judd Hirsch "must see" NBC sitcom "Dear John" reflects the increasing reboot of 20th century programs for the 21st century.
The accolades for "Wallflowers" include Best Web Series wins at the 2015 Indie Series Awards and the 2015 Los Angeles Independent Film Festival Awards.
Being a Dekkoo series makes the choice to focus "Wallflowers" around openly gay former child star/now 30-something casting director Bryce Hunter predictable; his being the "straight" man among the central casting sitcom types is amusing. Although he is unlucky in love, Bryce asserts that supporting fellow group member/BFF since childhood/business partner Daisy Loeb is his motive for being in the group.
Much of the Bryce-related humor centers around his experiences in the gay dating world that are funny when they happen to someone else and horrendous when they happen to you. The best story line in the entire series relates to Bryce going on a blind date to appease over-bearing group leader/self-declared relationship expert Janice.
The date is with a Trust Fund Baby who trades comic books; that alone prompts great jokes that include Bryce predicting that that man yells "up. up, and away" during sex.
The real hilarity ensues when Bryce agrees to prolong the agony of their evening at a restaurant because of the potential for ecstasy in the apartment of this poster boy for the Peter Pan Syndrome. Despite Bryce going well above and beyond to be a good guest, the man does not respond. The climax of the evening comes after Bryce calls it a night, and a subsequent wardrobe malfunction requires that he endure one of the worst reel or real-life walks of shame ever.
Although the love life of Bryce dramatically improves in the second season, his deciding to post a profile on a fictional version of grind'r both creates more more embarrassment for him and laughs for us and forces the issue of when a relationship between two men should become monogamous.
For her part, Daisy becomes obsessed with an indie filmmaker whose intentions are unclear and whose schedule often takes him out of town. This brings Wallflowers" fully into "Will and Grace" territory with the highly emotional straight woman agonizing over every aspect of the current object of her affection and falling apart at every setback only to have her decades-long gay best friend offer compassion and sarcastic remarks.
Bryce reflects another sitcom cliche in that the character is recast three times; the series mines good fourth-wall breaking humor regarding the transition from Bryce #1 to Bryce#2.
Writer-director Kieran Turner also gets good gay-themed laughs regarding the group member who is an extreme fag hag; a scene in which several of her "boys" call right after each other to ask her to help with things such as being a wing hag is very amusing.
Middle-aged customer-service rep. Martin fills the lovable loser quota. He spends the first season pursuing a woman who breaks each of their dates. The second-season adventures of Martin revolve around increasingly bonding with a pregnant married co-worker.
On a larger level, Turner does a good job bringing the whole gang together in the S1 finale; intentional and inadvertent guests gather at Chez Hunter to discuss their lives while engaged in a mind-altering activity that will cause every viewer to see the '70scom "The Partridge Family" in an entirely new light. The S2 final scene is similar but is more "Facts of Life" than "Friends."
The final analysis of this show about people receiving peer counseling is that it honors the television shows of the '90s without looking dated.
Anyone with questions or comments regarding "Wallflowers" is encouraged to email me; you also can connect on Twitter via @tvdvdguy.
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