#too old

which means i have to hear lemongrab reading the titles of all of his episodes

I mean... most Lemongrab Episode Titles are literally taken from quotes he says during the episode...

When “Overcompensating” first showed up on Amazon Prime’s menu, I watched maybe 2 minutes, then turned it off. Later, a friend commented on it, saying that for a story about a college student coming out as gay, it was bland.

“Overcompensating” was created by, written by, and stars Benito Skinner. He made a name for himself on YouTube and TikTok doing celebrity impressions and lip-syncing songs. He must be popular enough for Amazon to give him a TV series.

Benito plays a college freshman coming to the realization that he’s gay. Anywhere else, that story would be covered in one or maybe two episodes, but Benny’s journey takes the entire eight episodes, and he doesn’t actually come out of the closet at the end. Maybe my friend thought it was bland because very little of importance happens in each episode. There’s lots of talk about sex and lots of simulated sex, but nearly all of it is boy-girl-straight sex.

Who is the target audience? Can it be gay men? Are they that interested in listening to straight frat boys talking about fucking pussy and saying “No homo” all the time? Maybe the real audience is straight women who might find Benny’s non-threatening closeted gay boy charming.

That brings us to the show’s co-lead, Wally Baram, as Benny’s BFF, Carmen. With a name like Wally, you might think Carmen is somewhere on the LGBTQIA spectrum, but I think she’s a woman. Baram is the best thing on the show. Her character is more complex than Benny’s, and she is a much better actress.

To be honest, Benny’s acting style is pretty mid— mostly consisting of a confused expression. The show may be based on his own college experience, but even in 2015, coming out had to be a lot easier than this.

That brings me to the biggest problem with the show (aside from Benny’s limited acting skills). Benito Skinner is too old. He’s 32 playing a 19 year old college freshman. Watching him moon over another guy is weird and unbelievable. Why is this obviously gay man on the cusp of middle age, pretending to be a closeted boy toy?

Benny is obsessed with Miles (Rish Shah, who is 28 years old playing 19). While he’s central to the story, Miles’s character is underdeveloped… bland even. We eventually meet Benny’s high school crush, played by Lukas Gage (also in his 30s playing a 19-year-old). All of this coming-out dramedy would be a whole lot more compelling if it were performed by guys who looked a lot younger.

On the whole, I found the character arcs of Benny’s sister Grace (Mary Beth Barone) and her douche of a boyfriend (Adam DiMarco) more interesting than Benny. At least they had character arcs.

And after 8 episodes of watching Benny lie to his friends, betray them, and reject gay friends, Benny is still a spineless closeted jerk.

The only time I laughed out loud in the entire series was when an improv group asked for a word to use as the basis for their next skit. Someone shouted out “queef”. It was such a random word. And as a gay man, I should not know what it means! (A vagina fart).

There’s lots of nudity - women bare their boobs, and there are a few scenes where guys drop trou to show off their butts (including Benny). Benny has a roommate played by Austin Lindsay. He appears in a few episodes, but he’s less than a character - his sole purpose is to appear fully naked, cock exposed. (I did laugh when he used a towel to floss between his butt crack.)

Too Old: Finn and Princess Bubblegum find that things in the Lemon Earldom are worse than ever.