Hulu’s new series “Dollface” explores the necessary relationship between a woman and her girlfriends.
Within the first few minutes of the show’s beginning, Jules, played by Kat Dennings, gets dumped by her boyfriend of five years. Her ex-boyfriend, Jeremy, played by Connor Hines, claims he is ready to move on and start a new phase in his life, which, unfortunately, does not include Jules in it.
The series focuses on how out of touch one can be to one’s own personal life when the person that they’ve spent almost every day for years leaves.
After Jules becomes newly single, she tries to reconnect with her college girlfriends. One sorority sister she crawls back to is Madison, played by Brenda Song. However, since Jules hasn’t tried to rekindle her and Madison’s friendship since her relationship with Jeremy started, Madison rejects her efforts to be besties again. Jules then realizes that she must reevaluate her knowledge of girl code and find a way to get her old friends back.
On that quest, she re-friends Stella, played by Shay Mitchell, and becomes friends with co-worker Izzy, played by Esther Povitsky. The duo helps Jules reconnect with Madison, who, after much begging, agrees to rekindle their bond.
Altogether, Jules finds herself understanding the true meaning of womanhood and sisterhood through her friendships as those relationships let her know that she is loved by people who won’t just leave if they want to go into a new phase of their lives.
The show speculates that women are supposed to go to the bathroom with each other, dance to the same songs and treat Sunday brunch like a religious church service. However, some viewers believe that these characteristics feed into female stereotypes.
Even through the show’s pro-women stance, it can make women seem superficial and cliche. This is seen in the first episode where women who like sports and chicken wings are called out because they must be trying to attract male attention. But, of course, not every female who watches American football and like to get elbow deep in hot sauce are trying to find a significant other.
It’s also ironic that Jules doesn’t keep up or establish any female relationships even though she works at a company where women empowerment is one of its main missions and women make up the majority of its employees. She must learn the “rules” of keeping up these connections, even if at one point that means lying to Madison about her boyfriend’s affair with Jules’ boss.
Throughout the episodes, Jules goes through exaggerated stories where the viewers are able to dig deeper into her thoughts and feelings. During these scenes, viewers glimpse inside her mind and understand her thought process as to why she does things like she does. For example, viewers come to learn why she hides in a mummy tomb during a museum lockdown because she finds Jeremy with his new girlfriend. These clips are often accompanied with a cartoon-like cat lady that helps guide her through her decision making process. These insights give the show a spark that aren’t usually shown on other series. It also takes a refreshing, comedic break away from Jules’ hectic lifestyle.
The 10-episode season of this American television series shows the difficulties of maintaining relationships, primarily with other women. People spend so much time with their significant other that it is hard to go out and talk to people. While digging into the struggles of being a woman in 2019, it is also entertaining to watch a dysfunctional mix of old best friends trying to rejuvenate adult relationships.
“Dollface” is available for streaming on Hulu now.
By Cammie Dutchess, Features Editor
jonesdca17@bonaventure.edu
