While Linda Stasi offers the sophomore season of HBO’s “Girls” three stars “if you’re 26 and live in Brooklyn,” the New York Post TV critic can’t quite seem to make up her mind about the hit “cult” series, guided by creator, star, writer, producer and Brooklyn Heights resident Lena Dunham.
Stasi calls the show compelling—and revolting—deeming 26-year-old Dunham “a pathological exhibitionist.” She also sniffs: “’Girls’ is sort of like ‘Sex and the City,’ if (it) had featured unsuccessful women having a huge amount of bad and sad sex who live in the city, but not Manhattan.”
But frankly, where Stasi crosses the line is in getting personal against Dunham, because she apparently doesn’t meet the reporter’s standards of femininity. She writes, “It’s not every day in the TV world of anorexic actresses with fake boobs
that a woman with giant thighs, a sloppy backside and small breasts is compelled to show it all. It’s a boon for the out-of-shape, and perhaps a giant economic loss for high-end gyms, especially in Brooklyn.”
I am a 30-something year-old woman who is proud of her curves, and who, any given day, would prefer to order up a platter of Tandoori chicken over a scrap of salad with olive oil. Come to think of it, I wouldn’t mind drumming Stasi over the head with a dozen crisp celery stalks for perpetuating the very stereotype of women she at first seems to condemn.
“Girls” may not be for everyone, Ms. Stasi, but it certainly is reaching its target audience. It debuted last April with 3.8 million viewers (including encores and DVR viewings), and saw steady growth throughout its freshman season, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Its overall gross was 4.1 million viewers. It’s my guess that not every one of those viewers is 26, living in our Brooklyn borough. Linda, honestly, why don’t you just keep it to yourself next time? Your review was hardly constructive—and if anything, utterly destructive to all women.
Season two of “Girls” premieres Sunday night at 9 p.m.
