PLATONIC is a relatable show for me that I quite enjoy. I think it also has a lot of potential, but so far, it’s just good, not great. Even for a comedy, there’s a lot of genuine emotion brewing below the surface as two adults try to recapture the magic of their friendship made decades earlier. So far, it’s more fluff than substance. Like its APPLETV+ predecessor, SHRINKING, I hope it gets to business soon.
My history with Seth Rogan comedies is mixed. I keep asking myself – Is this one of those comedies from him that I’m going to laugh at now and then a few years from now realize was actually pretty misogynist? At this point, I don’t think so. But let me explain. Rogan has been in many funny films at the time of their release but haven’t aged too well. 2007’s KNOCKED UP is a classic example of this. When I saw it, I laughed a lot. As time passed, I started to poke holes in it like: Why didn’t Alison (Katherine Heigl) have any other friends? She was smart, successful, and likable, but Ben (Rogan) seemed to be her only hope at raising their child. And why was then 35-year-old Debbie (Leslie Mann) treated like an elderly woman at the Hollywood club? I’ve been to many a club in my years, even several velvet rope types, and that was never my experience – yes, even at over 35 years old. I hate to say it, but most Alisons of the world probably would have opted for either an abortion or just to raise the child herself. Ben was a loser that we were somehow led to believe deserved Alison, even though he was incredibly immature and spoke down to her in several scenes.
Hollywood and Rogan, along with it, have grown creatively in the last 16 years. And as lovely and talented as Rose Byrne is in PLATONIC, Rogan is still the bigger star in the US. When Sylvia (Byrne) and Will (Rogan) first reconnect in E1, Sylvia is portrayed as really having her life together. Great marriage, three kids and is on the precipice of her next personal and professional challenge. Will has a great new business going, but he’s recently divorced and having major problems with his work partners. By the time we reach E5, it’s clear that Will has upended Syliva’s life for better or worse.
What I enjoyed about MY WIFE’S BOYFRIEND was the focus on Will and Sylvia’s husband, Charlie (Luke MacFarlane). Charlie is close to being the perfect spouse, and the show is better for not portraying him as an asshole in any way. It’s easy to see how Sylvia loves him and why their marriage works. The fact that he and Will have known each other for 15 or more years but don’t really “know” each other is incredibly relatable. I have several married friends that, for whatever reason, I’ve never gotten close to their spouses as I did with them. And in those instances, both parties have tried to bridge the divide with invites and hangouts with varying success.
As likable as Charlie is, every member of Will’s bar team is pretty awful. Even Andy, who is supposed to be on Will’s side, doesn’t treat him respectfully. I love the idea of Will being part of a busy downtown Los Angeles brewery, but it’s clear that this is a good example of friends and acquaintances who should have never gone into business together.
So why my middle-of-the-road rating? I want more than silly arguments and Will getting Sylvia into trouble again. These are two friends in their 40s who have known each other since college. I get they’re just getting back into the swing of being friends again, but this show works best when emotions are on their sleeve, and it’s real-life success and consequences knocking at their door. Like I said at the start, PLATONIC has a lot of potential, and I hope it finally reaches it.
PLATONIC is available on Apple TV+.
