Ever watch a show that makes you feel a bit uneasy, but you can’t stop watching? That’s how we feel about the new Hulu series Phony, which is a teen coming-of-age thriller dramedy. Yes, all of those things.
PHONY: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?
Opening Shot: A car busts through the woods as it speeds towards a lake. As it takes off, about to hit the water, we see a teenage driver at the wheel.
The Gist: Sonny Cooke (Sam Nivola) and his mother Ellen (Connie Britton) live in a small Oregon town; she’s a single mother, and the two of them are really tight, to the point where they signal their love for each other by squeezing each other’s shoulder or arm with their hand. Ellen also happens to be the principal of Sonny’s high school, which should make him an outcast, but instead makes him well-liked by everyone in his class.
The one place where Sonny and Ellen have conflict is with regards to his girlfriends. She didn’t like Mallory Russell (Grace Brennan), who left to get homeschooled by her religious parents, but is back in public school. And she doesn’t like his current girlfriend, Chloe (Mahaela Park), who is eagerly planning their first sexual encounter. Sonny buys a light-up dolphin vibrator for her to use, just in case his performance falls short.
After an argument with his mother, Sonny drives off to have that rendezvous but crashes into the lake after an eager beaver downs a tree that blocks the road. When he wakes up about a month later, Chloe and his best friend Vogel (Maliq Johnson) are there, but something with Ellen seems off. She looks different: Different nose, different eyes, different mouth. As Sonny recovers and returns to school, every photo and video of Ellen looks like the “off” version — except for the Costco card that was in his wallet, which freaks him out. The biggest piece of evidence is that when he squeezes her to say “I love you,” she doesn’t squeeze back.
But, of course, most people think he’s being crazy, or it’s an aftereffect of a head injury. The only people who believe him are Mallory and her conspiracy-loving cousin Weldon (Colter Lee).
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Phony, created by Nick Paley, has a bit of the same uneasy but funny nature of shows like Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed or The Flight Attendant.
Our Take: What makes us uneasy about Phony, but in a good way, is seeing Britton playing the “imposter” version of Ellen in the prosthetics that make her look kind of like Connie Britton but not really. It’s that “uncanny valley” aspect of the Ellen “replacement” that makes us feel squinchy (we think that’s the scientific term) and want Sonny to get to the bottom of exactly what’s going on. That feeling, along with some genuinely funny character moments, is what propels Phony and makes it a very watchable show.
If the “off” Ellen is indeed an imposter, and we see evidence in the second episode that she might be just that, the conspiracy to scrub all evidence of the original Ellen is fascinating. Old videos have the “off” Ellen, and pictures everywhere feature her. But her look is only slightly different from how she used to look, which would make those around her only think that something about her is different, but they can’t pinpoint what. So to see Sonny, with the help of Mallory, Weldon, and Sharla (Meera Syal), an off-kilter private investigator, try to prove what seems to be unprovable is going to be fun — and unsettling! — to watch.
Performance Worth Watching: Britton is a pro’s pro, and seeing her being Ellen-but-not-Ellen is a showcase in playing the subtleties of the imposter version well.
Sex And Skin: The dolphin vibrator seems to be playing a part in the story somehow, but we’re not sure how after the first couple of episodes.
Parting Shot: In the woods by the lake, a body is loaded into the back of an SUV and drives away.
Our Call: STREAM IT. Phony is a funny coming-of-age thriller that makes us laugh but also feel as uneasy as its main character, which is quite a feat.
The first two episodes of Phony are now streaming on Hulu.
Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.