Skip to main content

"The White Lotus": 2.1

 Season Two of "The White Lotus" takes us to Sicily; we have three odd groupings, and we suspect one might include a murderer.


The first group is a bizarre threesome; Jennifer Coolidge, deteriorating, has brought along her personal assistant, but her husband is unhappy with this arrangement. We know Coolidge enjoys paying people to be around; this was a theme with Natasha Rothwell one year ago. There's no clear reason why Mr. Coolidge objects to Jennifer's behavior--except that Mr. Coolidge seems to be a controlling asshole. Jennifer cannot manage her life, so she barks at the assistant to remain hidden in a small room for the duration of the trip--then she pleads with her husband to acknowledge that a moment of indulgence has involved just three macarons, not five. ("Fine. You ate the whole damn dish of panna cotta at dinner.") All of this is immediately mesmerizing.

In another wing of the hotel, we have two couples; maybe one couple has attached itself to the other just because the other "has money." It seems like there will be bed-swapping--but Mike White doesn't want us to feel certain this will be *heterosexual* bed-swapping. Theo James looks at his man-friend and says, "Well, certainly, I PERSONALLY would do you...." There's also a spotlight on Aubrey Plaza, who can't just hold a prosecco glass during a toast ("I don't need the calories"), and who overrides her spouse's meal-ordering behavior ("If you get that fish, it might be too fishy.")

Finally, we have three generations of men, including the Oscar winner F. Murray Abraham, who farts too much and who might be coping with a concussion. Abraham wants more sex--"I'm still virile"--and he insists that all adult males must ejaculate once per day. ("Doctors assert this.") Abraham's grandson innocently asks if an octogenarian penis might offend some romantic consorts, and Abraham shrugs. "My penis has NEVER been visually stunning. It's a penis, not a sunset."

I see trends from last year carrying over. One year ago, Steve Zahn wrestled with memories of his father, and with the idea of manhood. That's what we're seeing here--with Imperioli and F. Murray Abraham. The Coolidge habit of paying young women to be friendly listeners--this is front and center. And the idea of "trophies"--Jake Lacy's trophy spouse, Theo James as a "trophy" friend--this remains prominent.

How nice to meet these weirdos.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

How to Host a Baby

-You have assumed responsibility for a mewling, puking ball of life, a yellow-lab pup. He will spit his half-digested kibble all over your shoes, all over your hard-cover edition of Jennifer Haigh's novel  Faith . He will eat your tables, your chairs, your "I {Heart] Montessori" magnet, placed too low on the fridge. When you try to watch Bette Davis in  Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte , on your TV, your dog will bark through the murder-prologue, for no apparent reason. He will whimper through Lena Dunham's  Girls , such that you have to rewind several times to catch every nuance of Andrew Rannells's ad-libbing--and, still, you'll have a nagging suspicion you've missed something. Your dog will poop on the kitchen floor, in the hallway, between the tiny bars of his crate. He'll announce his wakefulness at 5 AM, 2 AM, or while you and another human are mid-coitus. All this, and you get outside, and it's: "Don't let him pee on my tulips!" When...

Joshie

  When I was growing up, a class birthday involved Hostess cupcakes. Often, the cupcakes would come in a shoebox, so you could taste a leathery residue (during the party). Times change. You can't bring a treat into a public school, in 2024, because heaven knows what kind of allergies might lurk, in unseen corners, in the classroom. But Joshua's teacher will allow: a dance party, a pajama day, or a guest reader. I chose to bring a story for Joshua's birthday (observed), but I didn't think through the role that anxiety might play in this interaction. We talk, in this house, quite a bit about anxiety; one game-changer, for J, has been a daily list of activities, so that he knows exactly what to expect. He gets a look of profound satisfaction when he sees the agenda; it doesn't really matter what the specific events happen to be. It's just about knowing, "I can anticipate X, Y, and Z." Joshua struggled with his celebration. He wore his nervousness on his f...

Josh at Five

 Joshie's project is "flexibility"; the goal is to see that a plan is just an idea, not a gospel, not a guarantee. This is difficult. Yesterday, we went to a restaurant--billed as "open," with unlocked doors--and the owner informed us of an "error in advertising." But Joshie couldn't accept the word "closed." He threw himself on the floor, then climbed on the furniture. I felt for the owner, until he nervously made a reference to "the glass windows." He imagined that my child might toss himself through a sealed window, like Mary Katherine Gallagher, or like Bruce Willis, in "Die Hard." Then--thank the Lord!--I was able to laugh. The thing that really has therapeutic value for Joshie is: a firetruck. If we are out in public, and he spots a parked truck, he wants to climb on each surface. He breathlessly alludes to the wheels, the door, the windows. If an actual fire station ("fire ocean," in Joshie's parla...