You watched the entirety of Stranger Things: Season 2 in one sitting. You’ve been keeping up with Orange is the New Black for years. You keep going back to your tried and true favorites instead of checking out that Aziz Ansari show you keep hearing about, and you definitely haven’t thought of watching that movie starring Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez. It’s time to get out of your Netflix bubble.
Here’s a list of some lesser-known Netflix picks that you won’t regret spending a few hours on this week.
Master of None
Unlike most sitcoms, Aziz Ansari’s Emmy-winning “Master of None” actually feels real. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, though behind its humor and awkward moments (yes, you actually see awkward moments in this show, like stuff that happens in real life) it still manages to be charming and heartwarming and thoughtful. Most episodes of this two-season series touch on weighty topics like race, feminism, and religion, yet it never feels over-the-top. It’ll be interesting to see what turn “Master of None” will take, or if the show will even go on, now that sexual assault allegations against Ansari have surfaced.
The Fundamentals of Caring
This is that movie that features both Paul Rudd and Selena Gomez, but the actor that really makes this movie so great is Craig Roberts, who plays a teenager who never leaves his house, is kind of an asshole, and oh, he’s probably going to die soon from Duchenne muscular dystrophy. Surprisingly, this film will make you laugh out loud more times than you’d expect it to, and even though every character in the movie has an insanely screwed-up backstory, it isn’t cloying enough to make you cry! Isn’t that a nice change of pace from the usual kid-with-a-disability movie?
Girlboss
The true(ish) story behind Nasty Gal. “Girlboss” documents a year in the life of Nasty Gal founder Sophia Amoruso. Sophia (at least Netflix’s version of her) is a garbage person. She knows it. Her friends know it. Her boyfriend knows it. Even her dad knows it. Thankfully, she’s just comical enough to get away with being so awful.
“Girlboss” is light-hearted fun for anyone who is into fashion, self-made women, or mildly dramatic shows about seedy individuals. Ironically, Nasty Gal went bankrupt right around the time the show aired on Netflix. Sidenote: can we please retire the word “girlboss?”
Dave Chappelle: The Age of Spin
Dave Chappelle is a master of the craft. Long-running jokes, political incorrectness, Care Bears, and O.J. Simpson make for a hilarious, if strange, hour of comedy. Even if you’re a self-proclaimed hater of stand-up, you’ll not only enjoy “The Age of Spin,” you’ll find yourself going back to it later when you need a laugh. And if anything Chappelle says offends you that much, you should probably learn how to relax and, I don’t know, take a joke.
Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp
At best, this outlandish spinoff will have you cracking up, at worst, you’ll think it’s utterly stupid. If you haven’t already seen the original “Wet Hot American Summer” that seems to feature every funny person ever before they were really famous, you’ll need to watch that before viewing “First Day of Camp.” If you loved the original though, get ready to roll, because fourteen years later the cast remains the same, and they’ve only gotten better. So dumb. So funny.