Baby’s lack of actors with a certain It factor, and generic writing, make it one of the dullest teen dramas you may ever watch.
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Baby‘s lack of actors with a certain It factor, and generic writing, make it one of the dullest teen dramas you may ever watch.
| Network | ||
| Netflix | ||
| Creator | Grams | |
| Director(s) | Andrea De Sica | |
| Writer(s) | Isabella Aguilar | |
| Air Date | 11/30/18 | |
| Genre(s) | Drama | |
| Good If You Like | Teens Behaving Badly
Good Girl Gone Bad |
|
| Introduced This Episode | ||
| Chiara | Benedetta Porcaroli | |
| Camilla | Chabeli Sastre Gonzalez | |
| Damiano | Riccardo Mandolini | |
| Ludovica | Alice Pagani | |
| Fabio | Brando Pacitto | |
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The Introduction
Chiara is a mostly unremarkable girl. She does track, her parents are separated, and she mostly hangs with her friend Camilla and a boy named Fabio. Also, in secret, it seems Chiara has a thing with Camilla’s brother. However, with him dating some tart, she finds herself single and taking notice of the new boy – Damiano. Someone who bullies Fabio, multiple times, but not to Chiara’s knowledge. Maybe because she is caught up in how different Damiano is or because of Ludovica.
Who is Ludovica? Well, she is the bad girl, the one who has a sex tape, and that has made her a bit of a social pariah. Yet, there is a certain freedom to her, even when she cries, that allures Chiara. Thus leading to them getting closer and Chiara slowly venturing into Lucovica’s world.
Criticism
There Is No Real Hook
It seems clear that between Damiano and Ludovica, one of these two should be the hook. Problem is, both come off as your generic bad boy/ bad girl and don’t have that certain oomph. For Damiano, you can see what should be a classic bad boy who really is just a guy hurting. You know, because his mom died, he found out his dad was rich and letting them suffer, and he owes a drug dealer money so he isn’t so much bad as he is troubled. Making him someone you should feel sympathy for.
Same goes with Ludovica. Her mom only dates losers but is very close to her. Yes, she seems to enjoy manipulating people, partying, sex and all that, but she was also taken advantage of by someone. Yet, despite being the victim of the scenario, she is the one who has to deal with weird looks and harassment. Again, crafting someone you should feel sympathy for.
But, in that, there lies Baby’s problem. Each character is buried so deep within a trope that it’s hard to get into any character. Even Chiara, our lead, with her being the track star, the good girl you know is going to become bad, the desire to stop watching this and venture to one of the hundred other productions Netflix has is high.
First Impression: Negative (Niche Show)
To put it frankly, the reason Baby is being labeled negative is because it is frustrating. In the worse way possible, it forces you to realize how low the bar is to craft a teen drama. All you need now is a lead who is like unmolded clay, someone who could be anyone and so you should be able to relate to them. Then you add someone you could easily demonize who is going through stuff. Most of which they didn’t cause but are having trouble dealing with. Add our lead having a strange attraction to them, thus causing chaos in their life, and you have a show.
Thing is, while that blueprint does often work, you need actors with a certain oomph or good writing to get away with following the trend. Both are absent here and because of that, you’ll definitely be left wondering what else came out this week rather than wanting to see if this gets better or not. That is, unless you are a diehard fan of teen soaps – no matter the quality.
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