Tuesday, May 15, 2007
The O C
The OC is by way of being yet another guilty pleasure.
Where to begin? Peter Gallagher as the poor kid who marries the rich heiress, Adam Brody their mixed up Christmakuh celebrating son, and Benjamin McKenzie the kid from East LA who lives in their pool house. Although the adults in this series have well-developed plot-lines in the end this is a high school soap opera. The soulful-eyed, brooding Ryan doesn’t look like a prize fighter but he’s more likely to lead with his right than with a closing argument as Sandy, the man who gave him a second chance would. As the boy born with a silver spoon Seth redefines the term geek and seems to have trouble living up to his responsibilities.
The young people in this series often seem more mature than their parents. To a poor country boy who didn’t get a driver’s license until his mid-twenties and his first car until he was 30 the things these kids take for granted boggle the mind. Palatial ocean-front palaces, designer clothes, and all the fanciest toys. The high school coffee-shop would have been welcomed at the university I attended.
I suppose I’m not all that familiar with the soap opera genre but these people seem to lurch from one crisis to the next. For all their golden opportunities these kids seem to be pros at squandering their chances. For all the sanctimonious lectures on teenage pregnancy the plotlines here tend toward heavy petting, advanced bedroom activities, booze and drugs. With all the partying, booze, drugs and late hours he keeps it’s hard to believe that Volchok could keep that ironman physique of his or maintain his balance on a surf board.