Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt arrived on Netflix three years ago. At the dawn of season 4, it's time to (re)discover this kind of UFO with crazy humor. But then, who is this famous Kimmy Schmidt? And how is it "unbreakable"?
Kimmy Scmidt is a 29-year-old American from Indiana. So far nothing abnormal (except his smile much too insistent). Except as a teenager, Kimmy was kidnapped by the guru of an obscure apocalyptic cult (played by Jon Hamm, totally unrecognizable after Don Draper). Held against her will in a bunker with three other inmates, she was finally found by the authorities after 15 years in captivity. Far from letting herself down after this traumatic experience, Kimmy decides to move to New York to start a new life. Free.
… Free, perhaps, but above all well lost. Because after 15 years of absence, Kimmy is a bit behind the 21st century.
We then find ourselves with a young woman full of optimism, in a hurry to live life to the fullest and make up for everything she has missed in recent years. And she missed things. Between the arrival of smartphones, the explosion of Uber and the disappearance of Michael Jackson and Whitney Houston, Kimmy has something to feel lost. Fortunately, our survivor can count on Titus, his gay, black, coated, poor and failed singer roommate with an oversized ego. The only person around him who knows about his misadventures. But we will come back to this character a little later.
While drama series like 13 Reasons Why, House of Cards or La Casa de Papel are a real success, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt takes as a starting point an absolutely horrible ordeal to create hilarious situations. It is in any case the bet that it is given Tina Fey (30 Rock, Lolita despite me …) and Robert Carlock (30 Rock, Saturday Night Life…), creators of the series. And it's worth a look.
The funniest credits of all time
From the first minutes of the first episode, the series lays the foundations. We start strong with the interview what the fuck of a neighbor who witnessed the liberation of the "Mole Women" ("the mole-women", the prisoners of the sect). The testimony is edited and remixed auto-tune, a bit in mode It's not your fault or Hypocrites with Mélanchon for those who know. This killing is the official theme of the series. And just for that already, respect.
That's it, so Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, that's IT. Forget any notion of realism or credibility. The sitcom doesn't bother with these kinds of futile concepts. We will dwell very little on Kimmy's traumas or what may have happened in the bunker for example. We swim in a sea of absurd humor. The goal here is above all to create comic situations even if they seem unlikely. In the genre, we can mention this hilarious scene where Titus makes his roommate believe that he wrote him a song for his birthday when it is Firework, Katy Perry. Or Kimmy's ultra-armored boss who wants to reconnect with her Sioux origins while the girl is just the archetype of the WASP.
A compendium of pop culture references
The series has a lot of fun with the codes of pop culture. This is the case with the credits in troll mode but not only. There are a lot of allusions to Beyoncé, the Breakfast Club, The Lion King…
But the best is Titus Andromedon, this meme machine. At least once a season, if not more, Titus gives us an artistic performance to cry with laughter. The first has become a classic for fans: Pinot Noir. While trying to break into show biz, Kimmy's roommate releases a video clip with the means at hand. That is to say, the instrument turns out to be his phone ringtone, the accessories of random objects found at hand, the lyrics make no sense, his eccentric outfits are made from sheets… All filmed in a snatched set (because apparently, a staircase is a set). We can't resist giving you a little overview:
Every gesture, every punchline of this character is a potential GIF.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, a story out of breath
Despite the crazy starting level for a sitcom, the series tends to run out of steam over the episodes. If we can not blame much for the first season, it is unfortunately not the case for the rest. Humor becomes heavy, forced, less effective.
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is one of those series where you get tired of the main character. Typical of How I Met Your Mother syndrome. In the genre, we can mention Orange Is The New Black too. Sympathetic at first, Kimmy quickly goes from touching to silly, even annoying. The other characters end up having more interest. Besides, let's talk seriously: when will there be a series focused solely on Titus?
On top of that, the sitcom loses rhythm and the delirium of the bunker is only a distant story arrived in season 3. We even wonder if an umpteenth season is really necessary…
In short, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt is a small treat, colorful and sweet, which we delight in the first season. Then, like any foodstuff, the candy loses taste, until it becomes obsolete. Hoping that the fourth and final season, which arrives in just a few days on Netflix, does not cause us food poisoning …
