USA TODAY International Edition
Amy Schumer’s ‘ Life & Beth’ is a triumph
You might think you know what Hulu’s “Life & Beth” will be about when you hear it’s from Amy Schumer.
A star with her reputation and credits, who soon will be co- hosting the Oscars, brings a lot of expectations for a new project. Viewers are likely to anticipate a raunchy rom- com such as her 2015 film “Trainwreck,” a female empowerment parable- like “I Feel Pretty” ( 2018) or a biting social satire like the later seasons of her acclaimed Comedy Central sketch show, “Inside Amy Schumer.”
But you’ll find a quieter, more intimate side of Schumer in “Beth” ( now streaming, ★★★★) than fans have seen before. The 10- episode, half- hour series is funny, sure, but it also is achingly sad, dealing with family trauma as easily as it makes jokes about getting high on mushrooms or poorly timed broken condoms. There is a depth here that until now has been present only in Schumer’s greatest sketches, a layered, thematic and semi- autobiographical story that is some of the actress- writer- director’s very best work.
Schumer stars as Beth, a disaffected wine sales rep approaching 40 who’s sleepwalking through her life. She has been dating the same man for 10 years and can barely garner enough enthusiasm to spend the night with him. She is a great saleswoman but doesn’t really enjoy it. Her relationships with her sister ( Susannah Flood), mother ( Laura Benanti) and friends are strained and distant.
Beth’s life is upended after a death in the family forces her to reevaluate her choices and the very core of who she is. Looking for a change, she moves from Manhattan back to her hometown on Long Island, selling wine for a local vineyard. There she meets John ( Michael Cera in his most grown- up role to date), a quirky, terse farmer with whom Beth has instant chemistry. The longer she stays, the more Beth reflects on her troubled childhood, shown in flashbacks.
The romance between Beth and John is a far more authentic, messy version of courtship than we usually see in pop culture. Making it from flirtation to relationship isn’t the end of the story – nor the tension between them – as both struggle to figure out how they fit as a new couple.
John seems as though he might be on the autism spectrum, which Schumer confirmed to USA TODAY in an interview, noting that she based him on her husband. He’s complicated and sometimes difficult, spending a funeral worried that his prized fishing boat might not be tied down rather than mourning. But where others are put off by John’s personality, Beth often is drawn in, seeing someone who complements her. Watching their relationship unfold is relatable and beautiful.
But “Beth” is more than just a love story. The series is at its best during the flashbacks to Beth’s life on Long Island in the 1990s, a child of a bitter divorce who becomes an awkward teen. Schumer’s scripts evoke the overwhelming emotions of adolescence, treating the major and minor traumas Beth goes through – from mean boys to a serious injury to mental health concerns – with care and finesse. Violet Young, who plays Beth as a teen, is a wonderful talent who makes these scenes come alive.
“Beth” is complex and layered, and a departure for Schumer in the best way. Yet even the commercials Hulu has aired for the series undersell its depth, focusing on romance and comedy. There is so much more to “Beth,” and to Beth. There is something refreshing about the series, and how it resists neat categorization.
If these are the kind of stories a more mature, experienced Schumer can tell, I can’t wait for more.