Finding the right ‘flowers’ in a telenovela
AS
I needed to laugh, I went to Netflix and tried some comedies out. I started with some animation by seeing the first episode of Matt Groening’s new show, “Disenchanted,” which is basically “Game of Thrones” meets “The Simpsons” and “Futurama.” I thought I’d enjoy it but it just didn’t reel me in.
Then, I skipped over to “Bojack Horseman” ( 2014) because Aaron Paul mentioned it at SDCC’s “Breaking Bad” 10- year reunion panel. It follows former ‘ 90s sitcom star Bojack Horseman ( Will Arnett) who is now struggling. The show was funny enough for breaks but not for me to binge.
I also watched “Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping” which is a project of the Lonely Island boys Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer, Jorma Taccone. It’s a mockumentary on the career of a boy band member who went solo. I really liked the cameos.
All things considered, I can’t believe what really amused me in the end and got me hooked was a Mexican telenovela called “House of Flowers.”
The show has been compared to “Succession,” “Jane the Virgin” and “Desperate Housewives” but I see shades of “Dynasty” and “Six Feet Under” in telenovela form. You could also imagine “Crazy Rich Asians” but with more rapid- fire headaches for the Michelle Yeoh characters and more bizarreness and ghosts in the closet.
La Casa de las Flores is the name of a flower shop owned by the De la Mora family—it is also the name of a cabaret / nightclub owned by Roberta, mistress of the family patriarch, Ernesto de la Mora. At his birthday party, Roberta quietly arrives and then chooses to hang herself at the flower shop— but not without first writing a letter containing secrets for Ernesto’s wife, Virginia. Things unravel quickly and family secrets get revealed bit by bit—there’s incarceration, financial scandals, a bisexual son trying to come out, sibling rivalry, secrets covering up secrets and illegitimate children.
It has a great cast: telenovela veteran Veronica Castro is Virginia de la Mora; Cecilia Suarez is a standout as the ultra responsible eldest sister, Paulina de la Mora. Then there’s Veronica Langer as the busy body neighbor and “tita;” Carmela, and Norma Angelica as the house mayordoma Delia. We all know these mayordomas may play dumb but they often know more than anyone else.
There are also drag queens and a sock puppet. There are 13 episodes in the first season and each episode is named after a flower—Narcissus, Dahlia, Orchid, Magnolia—symbolizing different things ( lies, gratitude, lust, dignity). A second season has already been ordered. Netflix released “House of Flowers” was released in August 10.