Toxic masculinity, feminism, and many other topics of the same nature have become buzzwords in the 21st century. There seems to be no escape from caging people into labels and roles they never asked for. What does it mean to be a man? What does it mean to be a woman? Can the definitions of these two subjects coexist? Can there be real tolerance or just the appearance of one? Alpha Males, the new Netflix comedy from Spain, talks about these issues and comes to a conclusion that feels somewhat real but also too idealistic.
Alpha Males is a television series created by Alberto and Laura Caballero. The series stars Raúl Tejón, Fele Martínez, Fernando Gil, Gorka Otxoa, Kira Miro and María Hervás. The series tells the story of four friends, all men from a bygone generation, and their inability to find a place in modern society. The series deals with this sad subject with humor and while it tries to explore the subject and try to find an answer to its most important questions, the problem is too complex.
Creators: Alberto Caballero, Laura Caballero
Stars: María Hervás, Fele Martínez, Raúl Tejón
Nowadays, it seems hard to get on any kind of social network, Twitter, Instagram and whatnot, and not be met with a discussion about how men are the worst and sometimes the proposition is that they should just cease to exist. There is a lot of talk about feminism and the search for equality, but the conversation seems to go in only one direction, and the result is the characters that act as the protagonists of this show. Our main characters are lost men who don't know how to proceed with their lives, for fear of being nullified and humiliated.
The four male leads are great, and the chemistry surrounding the actors really makes you believe that they are true friends in real life. The writers have also found a way to make their interactions feel real and very much like what men say and do in stereotypical ways. These men are not bad people, but they are definitely not perfect. However, the show frames them, and only them, as the flawed creatures of the show, so the equality discourse the show is trying to spread rings a little hollow all season long.
Each of our male leads makes a huge mistake throughout the season, but the female leads remain pure and perfect, always holding themselves up as the role model. This, of course, follows the discourse that the media has been trying to portray recently in all aspects surrounding male-female interactions. So in that regard, the show can feel a bit preachy and like something we've heard many times before. Perhaps showing the women in the same light could have made for more interesting interactions.
Kira Miró stands out as the best of the female cast and she creates a very interesting character that seems almost too good to be true. Meanwhile, Raquel Guerrero plays one of the most flawed female characters, but then the consequences of her character's mistakes are passed off as decisions that must be respected. It's interesting that her character makes the same mistake as one of the male characters, but the consequences for both are disproportionately different.
As for the visual, the series follows the same aesthetic as many television programs made in Spain. Lighting, framing, blocking and more seem to be made to the standards of that country's parameters. The result is a show that looks good and is easy to watch, but feels very uncinematic. The director didn't have the time or need to play around with the framing or any level of presentation. The show feels more like a case of point and shoot, with the actors just acting out their scenes and not much else.
As the season progresses, you can really feel that what ties everything together are the actors. Because only the writing falls into the same stories and traps that many other shows have told before, albeit in better ways. Nothing really feels fresh, which is not a requirement for something to be good. However, the execution feels very similar to things that have come before, and also the execution could feel a little thinner and meaner in some ways. It's not a big deal though, as at its core the show is entertaining enough that you can watch it all in one sitting.
In the end, Alpha Males feels a bit archaic, even as it tries to stay ahead of the issues it tackles. The actors have amazing chemistry, and there are definitely some funny bits that will keep you laughing throughout the entire series.
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