‘Nobody Wants This’ Review: Adam Brody and Kristen Bell’s Divine Chemistry Propels Netflix Rom-Com
What if two people are completely perfect for each other, except for one thing?
It’s a question faced by couples every day, but never in the way that it presents on television; where the one thing keeping them together or apart will make or break the show. How can we sustain Ross and Rachel’s tension for 10 seasons? Once Nick and Jess get together, what will drives them apart? Can “Parks and Recreation” continue once Ben and Leslie tie the knot?
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How TV chooses to answer that question varies drastically, as the aforementioned shows demonstrate, including Netflix’s new romantic comedy from Erin Foster, “Nobody Wants This.” The series asks if a rabbi can date someone who isn’t Jewish, and the answer is pretty straightforward. Everything outside of that question, however, is what makes the series worth watching.
The series stars Adam Brody and Kristen Bell (an attack sent straight from 2004) as the aforementioned maybe-doomed pairing. Brody’s Noah is the golden boy of his community except for a fresh breakup from Rebecca (Emily Arlock), who was more than ready to become Mr. Head Rabbi. Bell’s Joanne is an agnostic with a sex podcast, a phrase perhaps directly lifted from Noah’s mother’s nightmares (Tovah Feldshuh).
The show carries a pretty palpable Noah bias, whether that’s intentional or accidental from the writers through to the audience. Every piece of his character and world is more fleshed out than the Joanne equivalent (only one of them has a last name). Noah has the emotional baggage, the extended community, the career that poses a conflict. Frustratingly, Joanne has the potential for all those things, it’s just ignored. The pilot starts with her actively choosing to make healthier relationship decisions, so it’s just a declaration and not an actual journey. She has some close friends, but they only want to talk about her dating life and podcast.
Speaking of which: professional podcasting is interesting territory for a show like this — a decision rooted in Foster’s own sibling podcast — but the show doesn’t explore it much beyond Joanne taking a lot of Big Spotify Meetings. Noah’s vocation gets a lot more attention, admittedly because it’s the show’s central conflict, but this adds to the overall imbalance between their characters. Their partnership could easily threaten the podcast, but instead it becomes a wedge between Joanne and sister-slash-cohost Morgan (Justine Lupe), whose vocal doubt about the relationship is worth deeper exploration that it never gets.
Which brings us back to The Big Question, which is asked up front and hovers over ten episodes. As a result, low-level efforts to keep Joanne and Noah from being together don’t amount to much. One of them wants to open up, the other is reticent; when convenient, they switch roles. Someone supports their love; someone doesn’t. Again, puzzlingly, there are real opportunities here. Joanne could further unpack her aversion to religion. Noah could be opposed to her freely discussing their relationship on the podcast. Someone, anyone, could be concerned about the mental gymnastics at play in a mildly psychotic double con that pops up in the back half, which is wrapped up too quickly and neatly.
But like Noah’s family, I gripe from a place of love. Brody and Bell are irresistible together, and the ease of their dynamic quickly forgives the series’ other shortcomings. It’s also the reason that Joanne and Noah together is infinitely more compelling than if they’re not, and Foster’s team recognizes that. The ensemble is endearing even when their characters are inconsistently so (Lupe, and a criminally underused Sherry Cola), and when they’re not-so-secret MVPs (Timothy Simons as Noah’s “loser sibling” gets a particularly charming Girl Dad B story). Unlike most romances, “Nobody Wants This” spares empathy for Rebecca, and for how it feels to watch her ex dive into something new and serious and emphatically in-her-face — and for Sasha’s (Simons) wife Esther (Jackie Tohn) caught in the middle.
So, can these two people be together even if just one thing keeps them apart? Can the hot rabbi date the pretty gentile and ultimately end up with her? On “Nobody Wants This,” the answer is obvious — but my goodness, it’s fun to watch them try.
Grade: B
“Nobody Wants This” is now streaming on Netflix.
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