'Happyish' episode 3 review: 'Starring Vladimir Nabokov, Hippocrates and God'

“You don’t have to like it, but you can’t ignore it,” 20-something Gottfrid (Nils Lawton) tells Thom Payne (Steve Coogan) and his middle-aged co-workers as he revamps their plummeting, old school marketing firm. He says this in relation to making realistic Keebler elves and cutting ties with the all-so-serious New York Life, but something about lil Gottfrid’s words rings true for Happyish as a whole.

There’s a lot to Shalom Auslander’s new Showtime series that should be respected, and lauded, if under the right terms. It’s somewhat self-aware, it’s fiercely written and it's quite smart. The main problem is Happyish seems to know all this already, and assumes this is enough to make it all come together. Although as seen in the last two episodes and still here, there needs to be a greater method to the madness. It has a lot of keen points, some interesting stylistic choices and some marketing leeway to pull in some major brand names. But its sloppy, knee-jerk need to pound its fist, raise its voice and point fingers at those who wrong Auslander and his target audience can’t compound a coherent or, more disappointingly, likeable show.

That said, I can’t quite ignore what good is infested in its DNA. The cast, while often underused or misguided in supporting terms, is game; the writing is inspired; the claws are ready to pounce. It just doesn’t have a clear direction, but as it goes along it does grow more clear-headed and character-driven, and it’s a start. I don’t quite like it yet, but I'm not ready to brush it off just yet.

Happyish has a monotonicity to its unyielding desire to belittle and poo-poo everything about capitalistic and pop culture society, and often its inability to move beyond petty rants grows irksome solely because these arguments feel indicative or repetitive. That said, “Starring Vladimir Nabokov, Hippocrates and God” shows signs of the show finally relenting from endlessly ranting and cussing to actually focus on the characters at hand. Sure, there’s yelling and screaming here, especially at the beginning when Thom flips off God or during his multiple, profanity-laced conversations with a relentless, loud mouth version of the Geico gecko. But there are genuine efforts to make these characters, and their struggles, feel more palpable and therefore relatable.

Of course, this is mostly in relation to two characters in particular: Thom and Jonathan Cooke (Bradley Whitford). A moment in a clothing store where Jonathan talks about his failing health gives him more to do than just remind Thom to get with the times, and it's mostly nice because it's stripped down and without any big, heavy social talk. Well, at least mostly. Plus, as Thom becomes more vulnerable, he does seem to become more than just a talking figure for Auslander’s beliefs on the tech-heavy world of today. It’s just a shame everyone else on this show seems like figure points or Auslander doesn’t know what to do with them.

Debbie (Carrie Preston) is fun when given the chance to be, and Preston seems to have fun with her. Yet she often serves no purpose, and comes into a scene with no clear motivation or need to be there. Likewise, Dani (Ellen Barkin) walks in-and-out of Happyish so often you’re caught off-guard by her presence solely because you forget she’s in this at all. After some more focus last week, Lee (Kathryn Hahn) is resorted to little more here than the caring Jewish mother who doesn’t trust modern medicine for their sick son Julius (Sawyer Shipman), which lets Thom go into his parables about Catholicism and God. Then the rest are mostly just youngsters for Thom to scornfully shake his head upon.

Also, Happyish still doesn’t seem to trust its audience, and this is where the divide punctuates. It may be witty, but it doesn't speak on a higher level than the rest of us, and it’s often when it feels more universal that it actually resonates. This week’s best and most honest moment doesn’t come from shouting or cussing, but when Thom sits down and talks bluntly about why New York Life are the adults of the insurance. It’s not preachy. It’s not profane or loud. It’s an unusually comforting moment in the hour-and-a-half produced from the program so far, and makes Thom finally seem personable. Of course this is fleeting, but its inclusion is a sign of promise one would hope.

“Starring Vladimir Nabokov, Hippocrates and God” is the closest to complete Happyish has been yet, but the bar wasn’t quite that high after such a disappointing pair of opening episodes. Now already half-done with its season, it feels as though Auslander and director/executive producer Ken Kwapis have just started to make their their work sensible. As mentioned, this is, by and far, the most confidant Kwapis looks behind the camera on this show, and the writing is much more focused than it was before. Even if the show picks up after this next handful of episodes it’s unlikely to get an audience for a second season. It probably won’t deserve it regardless, but at least Happyish is the kind of confused show with a desire to shake things up.

So often TV is content to stick with the norm, and to see a program try to say things against the curve deserves a little bit of credit. And it’s somewhat less smug now than it was during its rough beginning weeks. That’s a start. So I won't ignore Happyish quiet yet, but I won't say I like it. I want to change my opinion on that sooner than later. Although, another common phrase here is “It’s the hope that brings the pain.” I don’t want my mild faith to fall into this particularly cynical brand of idealism. Like Thom, I already have enough things to worry about already.

Image courtesy of ACE/INFphoto.com