The next big Netflix Original Series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt comes from creative kingpins Tina Fey and Robert Carlock (SNL, 30 Rock), who bring us a new protagonist - one that is beaming with positivity: the stupendously awkward Kimmy Schmidt. She's a small town sweetheart who's rescued from a cult ran by a manipulative preacher, where she was kept for some 15 years along with other "mole women." The preacher told the then-young teens there had been an apocalypse that wiped out every living thing... even... the... rats! Unbreakable, Kimmy Schmidt starts anew and adjusts to life in New York City, leaving her past behind and freeing herself from the "victim image" that's accompanied with a media frenzy, leachers, and Kimmy's archenemy: sympathy.
If you aren't
immediately sold by the opening theme song, a "mole women" interview remixed à la
Charles Ramsey's "Dead Giveaway," you will be for countless other
reasons. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt feels like an old comforting sitcom that you can't wait to be home with. It's infused with familiar characters and references, yet comes with a free booster of modern panache. Although the tone is very similar to 30 Rock, and the series shares the same New York City setting, Unbreakable wins having more heart. It's another smart cheeky show from Tina Fey, who is clearly doing the Lord's work.
Kimmy Schmidt, as played terrifically by Ellie Kemper (The Office, Bridesmaids), is one of the most likable main characters to ever grace the small screen. Kimmy's everlasting positivity (considering her scarred past) is both infectious and inspiring. A girl who's been kept underground half her life knows how to drop kick and/or skillfully chop someone and make a quick getaway when her defensive skills are ignited. But nothing can take Kimmy's enthusiasm back underground because of that constructive attitude. This is a positive protagonist that viewers want and need to root for right now. In her underground life, Kimmy Schmidt had served as protector to the other imprisoned girls. Just as her character naturally seeks to help others around her, we also want to protect Kimmy from harm because of her bubble-girl past. Even the flashbacks of Kimmy's life in the cult are Tina treated humor. Adults will have the most pleasure from the hilarious Unbreakable script because the brilliance lies in Kimmy not having been above ground since the late 90s. She is a product of the 90s, as are all of her unintentional references. Kimmy still thinks Moesha is airing in the top spot, JanSport is the only backpack manufactured, and that she still has to pay for her Columbia House subscription to keep getting those free cassettes. Yes...those were the days.
Ellie Kemper's strong performance also shares the screen with veteran comedian, the lovable Carol Kane (Annie Hall, Addams Family Values), who is still at it just being kooky Kane. Carol plays a supportive landlord hellbent on saving their neighborhood from gentrification. She's the most entertaining landlord since Mrs. Roper in her heyday. Residing with her are Kimmy and Titus Andromedon, Kimmy's gay Diana Ross-loving-robot-superhero-for-Times Square roommate who will do anything to save face, including an unauthorized belting out of Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love To You" at an elderly Korean's funeral. Tituss Burgess is only playing a failed Broadway star - he is one in real life. His performance being equally as addictive as Ellie Kemper's could already book him a spinoff. Titus offers support back to his roommate by saying things like, "I'm so proud of you Lil' Kim, going back to school like a little redheaded Rodney Dangerfield." Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) plays Kimmy's boss Mrs. Voorhees, an ultra-rich Manhattanite married to an absentee husband with a foot fetish. The thing is... She's secretly a Native American from South Dakota.
Tina Fey's hand carved humor and subtle, witty dialogue exists scene after scene, bringing a reviewer's ears to a permanent state of bliss. Everyone has felt a little out of place... not up to par with the latest and greatest. The series shows how people hide their pasts and start new lives, thinking they need to recreate the person that their past molded, ashamed by their upbringings. The characters on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt struggle with putting out the image of who they think others will accept them as, unaware that everyone around them is putting up the same facade. New York City offers them a glimmer of hope where some dreams do come true, and they're grasping onto it! No harsh reality is going to stop this colorful Unbreakable foursome. Go on Kimmy. Quote Bill Bellamy verbatim. It's all you girl.
If you aren't
immediately sold by the opening theme song, a "mole women" interview remixed à la
Charles Ramsey's "Dead Giveaway," you will be for countless other
reasons. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt feels like an old comforting sitcom that you can't wait to be home with. It's infused with familiar characters and references, yet comes with a free booster of modern panache. Although the tone is very similar to 30 Rock, and the series shares the same New York City setting, Unbreakable wins having more heart. It's another smart cheeky show from Tina Fey, who is clearly doing the Lord's work. Kimmy Schmidt, as played terrifically by Ellie Kemper (The Office, Bridesmaids), is one of the most likable main characters to ever grace the small screen. Kimmy's everlasting positivity (considering her scarred past) is both infectious and inspiring. A girl who's been kept underground half her life knows how to drop kick and/or skillfully chop someone and make a quick getaway when her defensive skills are ignited. But nothing can take Kimmy's enthusiasm back underground because of that constructive attitude. This is a positive protagonist that viewers want and need to root for right now. In her underground life, Kimmy Schmidt had served as protector to the other imprisoned girls. Just as her character naturally seeks to help others around her, we also want to protect Kimmy from harm because of her bubble-girl past. Even the flashbacks of Kimmy's life in the cult are Tina treated humor. Adults will have the most pleasure from the hilarious Unbreakable script because the brilliance lies in Kimmy not having been above ground since the late 90s. She is a product of the 90s, as are all of her unintentional references. Kimmy still thinks Moesha is airing in the top spot, JanSport is the only backpack manufactured, and that she still has to pay for her Columbia House subscription to keep getting those free cassettes. Yes...those were the days.
Ellie Kemper's strong performance also shares the screen with veteran comedian, the lovable Carol Kane (Annie Hall, Addams Family Values), who is still at it just being kooky Kane. Carol plays a supportive landlord hellbent on saving their neighborhood from gentrification. She's the most entertaining landlord since Mrs. Roper in her heyday. Residing with her are Kimmy and Titus Andromedon, Kimmy's gay Diana Ross-loving-robot-superhero-for-Times Square roommate who will do anything to save face, including an unauthorized belting out of Boyz II Men's "I'll Make Love To You" at an elderly Korean's funeral. Tituss Burgess is only playing a failed Broadway star - he is one in real life. His performance being equally as addictive as Ellie Kemper's could already book him a spinoff. Titus offers support back to his roommate by saying things like, "I'm so proud of you Lil' Kim, going back to school like a little redheaded Rodney Dangerfield." Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) plays Kimmy's boss Mrs. Voorhees, an ultra-rich Manhattanite married to an absentee husband with a foot fetish. The thing is... She's secretly a Native American from South Dakota. Tina Fey's hand carved humor and subtle, witty dialogue exists scene after scene, bringing a reviewer's ears to a permanent state of bliss. Everyone has felt a little out of place... not up to par with the latest and greatest. The series shows how people hide their pasts and start new lives, thinking they need to recreate the person that their past molded, ashamed by their upbringings. The characters on Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt struggle with putting out the image of who they think others will accept them as, unaware that everyone around them is putting up the same facade. New York City offers them a glimmer of hope where some dreams do come true, and they're grasping onto it! No harsh reality is going to stop this colorful Unbreakable foursome. Go on Kimmy. Quote Bill Bellamy verbatim. It's all you girl.
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