realistic approach
The writers of "My So-Called Life" had a very realistic approach in portraying today's 15-year-old girl. Although the clothing and the 'teen angst' viewpoint are practically out of style today, everything about this show was a warm welcome toward teen compassion, instead of fear, envy, or disgust.I believe that, although the situations were original, any kind of cliche character was a cliche in the mind rather than on the screen. Meaning, if Jordan Catalano and Rayanne seem 'all-too familiar' it's only because, if you were a teenage girl when this came out, you know exactly what it's like to fall for the "quiet, but deep" (but not *really* deep) grunge type, who has only smiled at you once, but when it happened, it melted your heart. The acting was just as realistic as the writing, although the writing/dialogue itself was unarguably outstanding.
Also, the show did have morals, but wasn't obvious about shoving them down our throats. Rayanne as a weird and self-destructive person is not simply a 2-d character inserted just to titilate everyone and push Angela in the wrong direction. She is used as a real teen; so YES, her mother is shown as responsible for her drinking problems(and what not), but it is shown clearly that Rayanne, despite her resentment, is happy to have this friendship type relationship w/her mother, who loves her very much.
Another (strikingly) realistic character is Brian Crakow. There is probably not one girl I know who hasn't been unwantingly persued/stalked. Crakow embodies the 'i've secretly had a crush on you since we were 10' persuer. But what's good is that he doesn't act nice to everybody, he is pained by teen frustration. Since everyone seems to be in the same boat though, he comes across as the "jerk." Especially since the 'object of his affection' is always either absorbed by Jordan or her own insecurities.
Unlike many teen dramas(of then and still today), the lead character's family relationship was virtually as realistic as her school and friends life.Her parents have great chemistry with each other, and Angela and her mother have an extremely emotionally-charged chemistry. You can tell this woman is more ambitious and moral than the world around her; she also happened to have won beauty pageants at Angela's age. Angela is, of course, self-conscious by her mother's still apparent beauty, and what she expects her Angela to look like. This situation worked well for the show, because you can see that its tension is only caused by the mutual admiration each has for the other. I liked also, the intertwining of the parent stories with Angela's while having their own lives.
What made Angela and the show appealing was that it was fresh. The audience knew Angela was confused enough with her place in the world, thus questioning things many of us now probably take for granted. At the same time, Angela was too smart to fall into a teen cliche (like drugs, alcoholism, or pregn.); so viewers could watch a whole episode without rolling their eyes at how predictable things are gonna be.
The direction of this show was also fresh, consisting of many facial close-ups. The score was 'James Taylor'ish; really down-to earth. The lighting always seemed crispy, but rather dim.
All in all, great performances and direction, outstanding script. Also, a proof that Claire Danes is MUCH better for *contemporary* roles.
-Sep
score /10
renaldo and clara 13 September 2000
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw0333319/14518
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