Cool is a strange thing. We all know people who are ostensibly cool but without an obvious reason as to exactly why. These people might not be funny or smart or interesting or even that fun, but they still manage to be cool...mostly. Is it just confidence? Some kind of shallow charisma? Just looks? Whatever it is, HBO's How to Make it in America is their television equivalent.
Recently finishing up its first season, HTMIIA is a show that's all style and no substance -- but that style can take it farther you'd think it should be able to. It starts with an admittedly awesome title sequence, set to Aloe Blacc's "I Need a Dollar," and progresses to successfully glamorize the dreamer-class of young, good-looking urbanites. And, to that extent, it works, don't get me wrong. I watched all eight episodes and was happy to do so, but I can't praise it much more than that.
The show centers around Ben Epstein (played by Bryan Greenburg) and his best friend Cam (Victor Rasuk) and their attempts to start a clothing brand. Ben is likable and fun to root for and Cam is a classic "easier to ask for forgiveness than permission" kind of guy, but they aren't exploring any new ground nor or they remotely complex individuals. They're not particularly well-acted, but they don't make you wince either, which I suppose is something.
These characters, were they given better storylines, would be more than just the serviceable that they are, but, alas, the plotting is adequate at its best and lazy at its worst. For example, on two separate occasions, the pair happen to run into powerful fashion moguls that they somehow convince to help them out. One of the meetings, at a party, is okay on its own, but as the next is literally catching a glimpse of some designer on the street, it weakens both instances considerably. Granted, they do serve as good chances for Cam to be proactive and work his charm, but it's pretty far removed from the "surprising but inevitable" mantra. Similarly, in another episode, when Ben and Cam are looking for 300 "50/50s" (t-shirts that are 50% polyester and 50% cotton if I remember correctly), Ben befriends/flirts with a girl who works at a thrift store who then is able to take them to a secret warehouse full of such t-shirts. There is an effort to make Ben and Cam's journey difficult and full of obstacles, but when the solutions are just lucky and not creative/interesting it kind of defeats the purpose. Knowhatimsayin?
My other issue with the show is the B-stories that deal with Cam's older cousin, Rene, an ex-convict. While Rene is very well played by famous character actor Luis Guzman, his story doesn't really fit in with the average-NYC-life vibe established elsewhere. That is, if the show is supposed to be about trying to make it in America, like normal 20-somethings do, why do we need a mobster from whom the guys borrow money from and are afraid of? I feel like it shows a lack of confidence from the writers that they can't make the standard trials and tribulations weighty enough and want to add this dramatic, supposedly exciting element. Which is unfortunate sine Rene's criminal persona makes the show worse instead of better. I have the same issue with Friday Night Lights, as much as I love it, in that when they get away from the small town stories and involve murder and guns it makes everything seem less realistic. The extraordinary isn't always necessary to tell an extraordinary story.
And, yet, all those complaints aside, I did enjoy watching the episodes, because the show is still cool. Ben is pretty cool, his ex-girlfriend is pretty cool (until the last episode anyway), they eat at cool places, have cool friends, have cool parties, and so on and so on. That might not be enough to get me to watch next season, if there is a next season, and it's not enough to make it a good show, but it's still enough to make it a not a bad show.
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