Glee: The Review

I'm going to start this review by stating something very obvious, Glee is a lot like High School Musical. You have the popular jock embracing his musical side, while possibly sparking a relationship with the nerdy girl. There is singing. There is dancing.

The difference between Glee and High School Musical is that Glee isn't really for the tween set. This show is for people who have survived high school, and are now having to deal with this dreadful thing we call the adult world. Where High School Musical creates this perfect little, clean cut world, Glee creates something a little more... bitter, I guess? Yet, the show has something that keeps it from being just another snarky comedy show. Glee has a heart, a big one, and it has hope. It has hope that even adults still need to search for that dream, that one thing that can make them happy.

The kids of Glee are not happy, well-adjusted teenagers. They have issues, they are mean and at the start of the show, they aren't very happy. Being picked on and harassed is a normal part of life for our little Glee Clubbers. Yet, we watch as they come together, and while they don't always like each other (and can barely tolerate each other most of the time) you see them light up when they finally perform. Glee Club gives these kids hope. Not much, but just enough where they aren't always miserable.

Like I said earlier though, this show really isn't for those who are currently in high school. It's for those who have graduated, moved on and entered the real world. The main eyes of the series are those of the director of the club. He's a great guy whose happy being a Spanish teacher. He's stuck in a miserable marriage with a wife who abuses his kindness, and yet he somehow manages to still smile. Why? He remembers the few times he was happy back in high school. He still holds onto some of that youthful hope and joy. Thats the lesson I guess, that even as adults, as our responsibilities mount and the world seems like one huge dung pile, if you hold onto something, make something for yourself that makes you happy, then you can deal. It isn't about winning or being the best, it's about having some sliver of happiness.

Now, this show isn't all feel good messages and group hugs. Far from it. Glee is from Ryan Murphy, the man who brought us the amazing Popular and the amazingly twisted Nip/Tuck. What Murphy brings to the show is an edge, a dash of non-PC humor, high drama camp (hello Jane Lynch and the Cheerleaders), and a harsh dose of reality. The bullies are mean, the popular girls are nasty and the adults are just as bad. There is snarky, dark humor and even our teenage heroes have a dark, bitterness to them. These kids aren't saints. They're kids. Still, under all of that, under all of the biting humor and the gay and cripple jokes (which some how manage not to leave a sting) there is a heart. Murphy proved he is great at balancing human emotion with soapy drama in both of his previous series (both Popular and Nip/Tuck managed to make me cry at least once, if not more).

So, do I recomend Glee? Of course I do! Come on, in this fast-paced, cruel world I can't help but love a show that leaves me with a smile on my face. Glee has an edge, but it has a soul. It understands that life isn't peaches and cream, but it just tells us that maybe it's okay to let our heads drift into the clouds every once in a while, even as adults. Check it out, and trust me, when the first episode ends, you'll feel better than you did at the start of the show.

When Glee starts back up in the fall I'm planning on doing episode reviews. Until then, I urge you to go over to iTunes and check out the first two singles from the show, and if you can find it, the first episode. You won't be disappointed.