“Smiley”: The Kitsch We Needed This Holiday Season

Smileyamp8217s two thirtysomething heroes come from different worlds While Bruno works a 9to5 job in a prestigious architecture firm amp192lex spends his days hooking up with men from Grindr and his nights serving margaritas at a popular gay bar amp192lex is a healthobsessed hunk who belongs to not one but two gyms the arm machines at the first gym just arenamp8217t quite good enoughamp8230 while Bruno is content to cuddle up each night with his dog on his lap and an old romantic movie on TV Each man hates what the other stands for but they share a desire to find love in a world where true human connection always seems just out of reach That it takes eight episodes for amp192lex and Bruno to realize that they may have found what they have been looking for is the result of all the usual romcom hijinks misinterpreted text messages denied attraction secondbest love interests and dramatic goodbyes en route to the airportWhile Bruno and amp192lexamp8217s winding path towards love is entertaining in large part thanks to an energetic emotional performance from CuevasSmiley is best when exploring the two other relationships longstanding but complicated that lie at the seriesamp8217 center that of amp192lexamp8217s coworker Vero Meritxell Calvo and her longtime girlfriend Patri Giannina Fruttero and that of Brunoamp8217s coworker Albert Eduardo Lloveras and his wife Namp250ria Ruth Llopis Portraits of what happens when new love fades these engrossing side plots are bolstered by excellent performances from Calvo and Lloveras whose characters are the truesttolife of the series While most of Smiley is straightforwardly optimistic these stories provide nuanced and complicated accounts of settled life when both parties are going through the motions of love rather than feeling it With the holidays bringing a spirit of reckoningamp8212and of beginnings and endingsamp8212to both couples they are forced to ask themselves an important question when is love worth savingUnfortunately given the stellar ensemble performances many of the seriesamp8217 characters feel less like full personalities than standins for identities in conversation with one another the hunk the nerd the semicloseted lesbian the polyamorous lesbian the repressed older gay man If the thesis of Smiley is that love can take root regardless of how different people seem the series isnamp8217t doing itself any favors with its reinforcement of the social categorization that it purports to disrupt Perhaps a more nuanced approach to the development of Bruno and amp192lex could have allowed Smiley to be not just a story of a hunk and a nerd who fall in love against all odds but rather a story of two people who together refuse to be categorized in a world that seeks to put them into boxesThat being saidamp160Smiley is just a holiday romcom and the series does an excellent job of infusing some feelgood energy and hope into an amusing story With the new year on the horizon it seems like maybe even the spinster drag queen who works at the bar portrayed with charisma by Pepamp243n Nieto will finally find someone to love Even if predictable Smiley winds its way towards a joyfulamp8212and surprisingly thoughtfulamp8212conclusion a reminder that every ending is the beginning of something newClick the social buttons to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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“Smiley”: The Kitsch We Needed This Holiday Season

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Ben Kramer

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“Smiley”: The Kitsch We Needed This Holiday Season

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