'Avocado Toast The Series' Review: A thoughtful, coming-of-age buddy comedy that highlights sexual politics
Spoilers for 'Avocado Toast The Series' on Amazon Prime Video
Molly (Heidi Lynch) and Elle (Perrie Voss) are childhood best friends. They share a friendship that holds within itself a plethora of secrets from a lifetime together, experiencing a lot of things for the first time together. The two have a keen understanding of each other that they have acquired over a long period of time.
However, when Molly returns home from London after two years, Elle is unaware of the biggest surprise of her life -- Molly likes women. Well, at the moment she is in love with one woman. After a lifetime of dating men, the 31-year-old Molly was surprised her own self by falling in love with a woman. But when the person is right and is 'your person', you can't argue with that logic.
Yet, upon her return, the high school is conscious of her relationship and her sexuality. She can't help but imagine the judgments people would have about her bisexuality. To be fair to her, this restlessness is not completely unfounded when she finds herself suspended from school after what you could deem a breakdown. She also breaks up with "The One" (Faye Marsay) because she posted a picture of theirs on social media although they had decided to keep it at bay till she comes out to her parents.
Elle, on the other hand, is reeling after learning that her parents are divorcing and her mother Patricia (Brenda Robins), who also happens to be her boss, has been having an affair with a man young enough to be her brother. Her immediate reaction to finding out about the affair (and the divorce) is denial as she continues promising her father that she will talk to her mother. But all without once attempting to try and understand beyond her capacities.
We follow the two in their desperate attempt at trying to untangle the sudden messes their lives have become. There are moments where it feels like the show runs at a very chaotic pace, not because the plot has now moved on to a complicated space but because the story needs to be packed within the planned 15 minutes.
Yet there are other times when these 15-minute-long episodes are a breeze to sit through. Broken over ten 15-minute-long episodes, 'Avocado Toast The Series' is a crisp, heartfelt coming-of-age story written by two thoughtful women. If you look closely, there is a coming out story for almost every generation -- Molly coming out to her mother Meredith (Mag Ruffman), who in turn comes out to Molly about her and her husband Francis' (Jefferson Mappin) poly lifestyle. Patricia, in a way, comes out too of the ageist closet that she has been confined to for the longest time.
When Molly decides to put her heart on the line and visit "The One" in London, she is surprised that it doesn't go her way. Elle faces some very unexpected (cough-good news-cough) turn of events after quitting her job at her mother's and venturing on a creative agency of her own.
Of course, there is a conflict between our protagonists. But it comes towards the end and rather suddenly, as if the tensions of a long time just found an outlet to burst. This conflict becomes an impetus for at least one party to try and do better.
'Avocado Toast The Series' is a thoughtfully written, earnestly played out story about love, relationships, expectations and most importantly, the effect of time on intimate relationships. Judgments are at the center of the show. Even as Molly is nervous about being judged for her sexuality, she judges her parents (and her mother more harshly than her father) for their swingers lifestyle.
Watch 'Avocado Toast The Series' for a nice, heartfelt buddy comedy involving sexual dynamics and sexual politics with friendship at its heart. Created by Heidi Lynch and Perrie Voss, the story is cute and (almost) Bildungsroman across characters belonging to a varied age group. There is hope for one and all.
'Avocado Toast The Series' is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.