Thanks, but I don’t need the condescending lecture. I’m good.
I don’t need to hear, yet again, how the Amazon series “Transparent” is (insert preferred superlative here) in telling the story of LA dad Mort Pfefferman’s (Jeffrey Tambor) transformation into Maura Pfefferman — and how it affects him, his ex-wife and their three grown kids.
I watched Season 1 and enjoyed it, and I was glad to see Tambor win both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his portrayal of Mort/Maura. He deserved it. The series deserved it. The medium (streaming television, in this case) deserved it.
“Transparent” wants to push some boundaries? Fine. That’s been the intent, whether stated or not, from series creator Jill Soloway from the get-go. I’m all for it.
Consider it mission accomplished — and then some.
But there are boundaries and there are boundaries and “Transparent,” now in its second season, crossed over into creepy, gratuitous territory all in one scene.
I’m referring to the second episode of this season, entitled “Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump.” In the scene, Maura’s ex-wife, Shelly (Judith Light), lolling in a full bathtub, convinces Maura — who’s perched within striking distance as they chat — to perform a certain sleight-of-hand that worked wonders when they were married: the “Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump” of the episode’s title.
Maura agrees, reluctantly, if only to placate Shelly, who’s letting Maura live in a storage shed outside of her (Shelly’s) condo. The pleasure is a one-sided affair. Shelly is happy. Maura is bored (context: she’s moving on with her new life).
We’re grossed out.
Call me old-fashioned, but I’m fairly certain that few people want to see a transgender woman, wearing a dress, pleasuring her white-haired, 70-something ex-wife — the mother of their three children — while Mother writhes around in a bathtub. That the ex-wife is played by Light — who overdoes the Jewish-mother bit to the point of being insulting — is even more disturbing. It’s like walking in on your parents bumping their uglies — and no one wants to see that. (If they do, might I recommend a good psychiatrist?)
I’ll continue to watch “Transparent” (I’m on the sixth episode of Season 2), if only out of a sense of commitment to soldier on and finish the season, despite my growing misgivings (including those other distracting plot points i.e., pre-World War II Berlin flashbacks). The “Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump” scene is part-and-parcel of the show’s emphasis on sex and nudity — cloaked in a smug sensibility — that’s segued from daring into “enough already” territory. It’s the old saw: You don’t have to follow broadcast network rules, so you go over-the-top. Happens all the time.
As far as the “Flicky-Flicky Thump-Thump” episode, don’t say you weren’t warned. I watched it so you don’t have to.
You’re welcome.