It's called 'Somebody Somewhere,' and Bridget Everett told me it taps into some of the real, conflicted feelings she has about her hometown. By the end of episode 3 when, with the light of an electric crucifix glowing behind her like a sacrilegious halo, she belts the final notes of “Piece of My Heart” and rips her V-neck T-shirt to reveal her bra and cleavage, you can see a person whose spirit has been transformed. Well, the new show on HBO imagines what would happen if someone like her, a character named Sam, went back to live in small-town Kansas, where the real Bridget grew up. That often amounts to an impossible task for some, there’s no summoning the required energy to overcome the inertia. But once you’re there and invested, you won’t want to leave.Įverett’s Sam is a character who, like so many of us, has work to do on herself. This is a series that takes its time to establish a sense of place, who these people are, and what they want from the world. Even if you were among those who stanned hard for her breakthrough performance as a domineering, absent mother in the Sundance cult favorite Patti Cake$, you’d be surprised by how much she’s capable of as an actress. He drags Sam there, and as she finds her voice on stage, the empowerment and satisfaction echoes through the other complicated areas of her life.Įspecially in contrast to her cabaret persona, Everett is doing stirring, soft character work in this series. Instead, he uses it to stage an open mic night, his own cabaret of sorts, where the town’s queer folk, artists, and anyone who feels lost and yearns to express themselves can commune and perform. ![]() He tells a white lie to the reverend, asking for church space for choir practice. Through Joel, who volunteers for a church, she finds a bit of salvation. It’s a complement to her warmth and compassion, her desire for the best for everyone that she loves, even if they can’t be bothered to do right by her in return. And, maybe more terrifyingly, could she ever be happy.Įverett plays Sam, who is snarky and sarcastic in a way that puts off some members of her small-town Midwest family, but thrills others like her new friend Joel (Jeff Hiller), who works with her at the brain-numbing center where they grade standardized tests. If you’re familiar with Everett’s cabaret work, you’ll be blown away by what you see in Somebody Somewhere, a profound and meditative-dare we even say quiet-series about a middle-aged woman who is back in her Kansas hometown following the death of her sister, wondering, maybe a few decades later than she should have, what the hell she is going to do with her life.
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