
Mozart in the Jungle is an Amazon series about life in a professional orchestra. It just entered its second season, has garnered several awards, and still has us terribly confused.
Join Madeleine Davies and Kate Dries as we sort out our feelings on a show that both of us watch and neither of us get.
Madeleine Davies: Last night at the 2016 Golden Globes, Amazonâs Mozart in the Jungle won Best Television Series-Musical or Comedy and the showâs lead actor Gael GarcĂa Bernal won Best Performance by an Actor in a TV Series-Musical or Comedy. These victories elicited two responses from the American public:
- âThat Gael is one tiny, smokinâ hot babe.â
- âWhat the hell is Mozart in the Jungle?â
(It was also nominated at the 2015 Emmys and people were just as confused then.)
Earlier last week, I mentioned to you, Kate, that I had spent the entire weekend binge-watching all two seasons of Mozart in the Jungle. I also said that I didnât think I liked it, butâfor an undefinable reasonâfelt compelled to keep watching. Not heeding my warning, you proceeded to binge-watch all the episodes in your own downtime. What did you think?
Kate Dries: Well, a point of clarification: I have not binge-watched all of them, but frankly, itâs only a matter of time before I do. I went to a friendâs house Saturday afternoon and she suggested we watch the Season 2 premiere and a subsequent episode. Despite spending most of that total hour going âHuh?â I went home and watched five more, starting at the beginning of season one. I have a few theories about why, but none of them really stand alone.
- Itâs only half an hour long, so thatâs easy to dig into
- It seems like itâd be a show where everyone is stabbing each other in the back, but in actuality (because itâs produced by Jason Schwartzman, giving it a very Bored to Death vibe) everyone is pretty decent to one another and just wants to play some classical music and be happy?
- The cast is sort of mesmerizingly quirky
- Bernadette Peters has stunning cleavage and amazing hair
- Continue onwards for approximately five bullet points, all of them minute details that are hardly enough of a reason for a show to win numerous awards
MD: You see, I wasnât aware of who Lola Kirke was, so I kept getting frustrated in this they think they can cast someone who looks exactly like Jemima Kirke, not say anything, and get away with it? way. But then I googled the cast, found out that Lola was Jemimaâs sister, and felt very dumb, indeed. (I should have felt dumb earlier because Jemima Kirke, believe it or not, does not own her face shape.)
I will watch basically any drama about the fine arts. I even watched Starzâs Flesh and Bone up until the episode where someone takes a shit on a characterâs pillow and I finally realized, âToo much.â But the thing with Mozart is that all of the dramaârealistic to the symphony worldârevolves around union disputes and keeping the New York Symphony Orchestra relevant to young audiences. (Note: the New York Symphony Orchestra of the show is fictional, but the series is loosely based on Blair Tindallâs memoir of the same name.) So, as that relates to your second point, it all feels very low stakesâeven as Gael GarcĂa Bernal (as the cool, young conductor Rodrigo) is brought in to replace the more stuffy and conservative Thomas Pembridge (Malcolm McDowell).
Hereâs the real rub, though: The writing is kind of... terrible? Mozartâs pilot features a young oboist going to a cool orchestra party (in her own apartment) where she plays a classical music version of spin the bottle and all of the guests are just so. fucking, psyched. that sheâs playing Bach. In a later episode, Bernadette Peters makes a joke about not understanding social media, saying that something is so exciting that it âeven makes me want to twerp out an Instapic!â The moment was beautiful and I laughed a long time, but for none of the right reasons.
KD: Yeah itâs like the show canât figure out if itâs a comedy or a drama or⌠what. Sometimes Rodrigo is seen talking to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (briefly played by Crazy Ex Girlfriendâs Santino Fontana)âyou know, the composer who died a long time ago and from whom the show gets its nameâwhich means all of a sudden heâs speaking to this dude dressed in period garb who no one else can see.
Mozart in the Jungle is also, at the point that Iâve seen, trying to amp up this supposed to chemistry between Lola Kirkeâs character Hailey (who plays Rodrigoâs assistant) and Rodrigo, which I just do not buy. Rodrigoâs âthingâ is that heâs super erratic and while I guess other people might find him sexy, the hair (regardless of its styling) is just too much for me.
Maybe the issue is that my brain canât place what the show is trying to explore exactly, because itâs really all over the place in its tone. (Like Rodrigo! Symbolism!) Sometimes it seems like itâs poking fun at itself, other times it seems like itâs trying to present the artistic world as full of kooky weirdos by beating you over the head with their kooky weirdness.
But then other times I appreciate the fact that the percussionist in the orchestra is an aging stoner dealing drugs to all his colleagues, or the fact that most of the orchestra doesnât make much money, so a few of them supplement their income by playing in the orchestra of Rock of Ages, which is (according to the show) a decidedly unglamorous and relatively easy gig. I just donât know! (But I clearly know enough to keep watching, a move that is made easy by the fact that itâs all available on Amazon streaming.)
MD: I definitely get the appeal of Rodrigo, even with the hair. Gael GarcĂa Bernal, I think, is very good in the role, bringing to it a very fun mix of weighty genius and childlike enthusiasm. The mix of comedy and drama doesnât bother me, either. Maybe what makes me feel so uneasy about it is that itâs just so hokey. Iâm really surprised that itâs getting so much positive critical attention! Then again, I played episode after episode, so there must be something special about it. (Or not. I mean, Iâm also binge-watching Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Season 2 right now, so thereâs no accounting for taste.)
How do you feel about Mozart in the Jungle in comparison to the other TV shows (musical or comedy) that it was nominated against at the Globes? I couldnât believe that it beat Veep and Transparent, two series that I unequivocally find great.
KD: Maybe thatâs whatâs special about it to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and othersâthat itâs hokey and so hard to predict. That being said, it is wildly inconsistent, and in no way should have won, especially against Veep (I havenât watched Transparent, but assume I would like it). It also beat out Casual, which I love, but frankly, Bernal winning over Rob Lowe seems alright by me.
MD: We should all beat Rob Lowe.
KD: I guess in conclusion: Mozart in the Jungle is pretty strange, and not always in a good way, but if you have Amazon Prime you can roll through two seasons of it in a day so why not?
MD: Iâm just so happy that the Coppolas are finally getting some opportunities to direct.
Contact the author at madeleine@jezebel.com.
Image via Mozart in the Jungle/Amazon.