What the Hack, it’s real good
film: Netflix Hacks
Director: Lucia Aniello, Paul W Downs, Jen Statsky
Cast: Jean Smart, Hannah Einbinder, Carl Clemons-Hopkins, Megan Stalter, Poppy Liu, Rose Abdoo
What could a flailing comedian off her heyday and a struggling writer have in common? Triple winner at the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actress (Jean Smart) and Writing (creators/EPs Lucia Aniello, Paul W Downs and Jen Statsky), ‘Hacks’, a situational comedy, is both tickling and thought-provoking.
Legendary stand-up comedian with a plum Las Vegas residency, Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) finds an unlikely partner in struggling writer Ava Daniels (Hannah Einbinder). The duo is in for an adventure as they try to find their voice. Glamorous Deb is one difficult boss, who can slap when enraged, but also passes on her Rolls Royce to her blackjack dealer when she upgrades. She can leave her staff stranded in a desert but also willingly teaches them swimming. Deb and Ava are poles apart and yet bunched together, as one situation after another tests and tries them.
What stands out is two generations put next to each other — Deb with her fountain diet soda, Ava with her soy milk; one a jet-setter, the other with her diva cup. Ava constantly corrects Deb on what now is not ‘right’ — not master bedroom anymore, it’s rooted in slavery; not asking an employee about their sexual orientation; and the constant tussle between what’s already been tried and tested and charting fresher territories. What they share is their values.
The creators build a charming world. Fame in Sin City comes at a price, and Deb wouldn’t let anything, or anyone, come between her and her act. Different strands are at play simultaneously — a single mother raising a difficult daughter, a diligent daughter dealing with her parents’ illness, estranged sisters struggling to bury the past. A sitcom, the dialogues here are crackling. Amongst the different tracks, Jimmy (Paul W Downs, one of the creators) and Kayla (Megan Stalter) in a reverse MeToo situation is particularity endearing.
Jean Smart makes Deb one path-breaking, glass ceiling-breaking woman, who wouldn’t take no for an answer. She is gorgeous and funny, hardworking and demanding, a diva one loves. Smart delivers a role of a lifetime. Ava as a well-meaning but volatile, pot-smoking Gen Z kid wins on the basis of her resoluteness and to-the-fault honesty. Hannah Einbinder performs remarkably well.
Gender politics and the struggle of the early women workforce, with little protection against sexual predators, make for a telling comment. Hats off to the creators for filling the ‘Hacks’ world with endearing characters — workaholic COO Marcus (Carl Clemons-Hopkins), sparkly blackjack dealer Kiki (Poppy Liu), dashing water cop Wilson (Johnny Sibilly), inventive estate manager Josefina (Rose Abdoo) and sincere-to-fault personal assistant Damien (Mark Indelicato). The show brings the best representation debarring ageism, sexism and racism.
By the end of two seasons, our leading ladies are far from done, but that’s what Season 3 is for, and as we know, Season 4 is confirmed. For plenty of laughs, some truth bombs and for the moving chemistry between the unlikely pair, ‘Hacks’ is your go-to series.