Joel Fry-days
Daniel (Alice and Steve)
GIF from @derekstilinski (shakes fist at the GIF search function)
I still have a handful of Joel Fry’s past roles to talk about, but this is a new project, which makes me happy! Be warned, this show isn’t for the faint of heart—the premise is troubling, and there’s a strong secondhand-discomfort factor at various points—but it features yet another really stellar supporting performance from Joel.Â
Alice and Steve have known each other for 30 years. While they dated way back when, much of that time has been spent as best friends. When divorced Steve confesses to married-with-kids Alice, “I wish I was in love and…and had a baby!”, she encourages him to look for a younger woman (since most women in their 50s can’t have babies.) Unfortunately for everyone involved, Steve does find a younger woman: Alice’s 26-year-old daughter Izzy, who’s just moved back home after a tough breakup. A drunken hookup turns into a real relationship, and Alice is incensed, ready to burn down all their lives to put a stop to it.
I’m not gonna lie, things get rough. The show takes pains to downplay some of the creepiness inherent in Steve and Izzy getting together, but it obviously can’t be avoided (nor should it.) What’s more, although Alice’s misgivings about the relationship are super valid, she goes about expressing them in the most toxic, scorched-earth way possible. She’s out to punish Steve, and in doing so, she has such tunnel vision that she’s hurting everyone around her, herself included. She interferes with Steve’s career, she humiliates Izzy in front of her friends, she loudly talks about her sexual history with Steve in front of her husband, and just generally, she doesn’t consider anyone’s feelings but her own. Steve is in the most compromised position here, getting together with a woman half his age who he’s known all her life, but Alice’s self-centered viciousness backfires on her to the point where it makes Steve seem more sympathetic by comparison.
While I wouldn’t call it an enjoyable show precisely, it’s a compelling one, full of messy people who are bringing out the worst in each other. It can be too quick to go for predictably lazy “twists” at times, and I think it tries to cover too much within six half-hour episodes—by the time we get to the finale, there just isn’t enough time to deal with it all. Still, it’s fascinating to watch Alice implode and see her scramble to hold her life together even as she’s blowing everything up.
A few fun casting notes here. Steve is played by Jemaine Clement (opposite Nicola Walker’s devastatingly raw performance as Alice)—adding to the list of famous Kiwis Joel Fry has worked with! Also, Daniel’s minor subplot features a coworker played by Lydia Wilson, who starred in Requiem with Joel. The two have a very different dynamic on this show, which is neat!
But okay, let’s talk about Joel Fry’s performance! Daniel is Alice’s husband and Izzy’s stepdad, a sweet guy caught in the middle of a shit storm. In addition to his job as a music teacher, Daniel handles most of the cooking at home and keeps the household running smoothly. He’s not any happier about the Steve/Izzy situation than Alice is, but unlike her, his primary concern is for Izzy rather than himself, and he desperately tries to rein in Alice’s cruelest impulses for the sake of their daughter.
I’m not claiming Daniel isn’t flawed. He can be avoidant, and he sometimes gets petty/passive-aggressive when he feels like it’s the only card he can play, but he’s the one trying his best to keep the peace. While other characters view him as too weak or passive, he’s actually not a pushover. Daniel’s patience isn’t inexhaustible—when he’s able to choose his moment, he’s forthright about what he thinks/feels and doesn’t meekly accept the way Alice lashes out at him in response.
Joel Fry was such a great choice for this character. In someone else’s hands, a quieter character like Daniel could easily get lost in the shuffle amid much louder, more forceful personalities, but Joel’s nonverbal acting is always on point. Even when Daniel isn’t speaking in a scene, his viewpoint still comes through. Additionally, he’s good at playing sensitive without coming across as weak. In this role, Joel is by turns quietly funny, gently rootable, and heartbreakingly sympathetic. Every time Daniel is able to stand up for himself, he makes me want to cheer him on! If you can handle the ugliness this show throws at you, I think it’s worth it to see this lovely, understated performance.
