The Massive Little Lies alum stars right here as Rob (the position performed by John Cusack within the 2000 film model), a terminally single, weed-smoking Brooklynite who owns a document retailer that solely sells vinyl — a glowing “No CDs” indicators hangs prominently on the wall — and narrates her interior monologue to us, a la Fleabag. Now Excessive Constancy doesn’t get as deep or as stingingly humorous as Fleabag did, however Kravitz helps it come shut: She has an appealingly chilled-out charisma right here, even when Rob is neurotically obsessing about her dumpster fireplace of a love life, and her to-camera confessions assist us join with Rob as she lists off her all-time Prime 5 most memorable heartbreaks. A type of heartbreaks continues to be very contemporary, too — Mac (The OA‘s Kingsley Ben-Adir), who she’s not completely over but — and seeing Rob pine for the love that they had and misplaced provides a layer of honest melancholy to her story.
As you would possibly anticipate, the present additionally has an impeccably curated music soundtrack: Questlove is credited as the manager music producer, and I discovered myself heading to Spotify greater than as soon as to take a look at songs from the primary few episodes. Music lovers would really feel proper at house roaming the aisles of Excessive Constancy‘s Championship Vinyl, the place Rob and her cohorts go off on sprawling rants about David Bowie’s greatest albums and debate the deserves of nonetheless listening to Michael Jackson and Kanye West in immediately’s local weather. (Not that it’s nice for enterprise: One of many present’s operating jokes is that the shop is at all times empty, with the workers’ music snobbery alienating almost each potential buyer.) There’s a palpable love of music in all types right here, and that bleeds by way of in each scene.
Excessive Constancy does take a couple of episodes to seek out its footing: Too typically within the early going, it performs as a straight copy of the film, right down to the precise scenes and dialogue. Nevertheless it does finally department out, and efficiently so, with Rob getting a couple of new love pursuits, together with Jake Lacy (The Workplace) as a strait-laced blind date and Thomas Doherty (Legacies) as a horny Scottish rock singer. By the point Episode 5 rolls round, with the nice Parker Posey guest-starring as a kooky artist trying to unload her dishonest husband’s mega precious document assortment, Excessive Constancy has established a cool, unassuming appeal all its personal. It’s type of like your favourite native dive bar: nothing too flashy, however a dependable mixture of enjoyable individuals, a killer jukebox and good vibes.
THE TVLINE BOTTOM LINE: Hulu’s Excessive Constancy is a strong cowl that expands on the unique, with an enthralling lead efficiency from Zoë Kravitz.