Madden Girl: An Anti-Bullying Web Series REVIEW

3 Mar

There is nothing quite like LA traffic to make a person question whether or not their destination is worth all the trouble. I contemplated that Saturday as I sat in the parking lot known as the 101 North at 1:30pm. I was on my way to the premier of the new web series, Madden Girl. Created and starring Britt Elexandria, Madden Girl is a comedy about an overweight high-schooler constantly being bullied not only by classmates, but also by family about her weight. Besides just being a comedy, it was created in part as an anti-bullying campaign. Since it is a show and not a 30 second PSA or a one page article, the show has the ability to really delve into ways of dealing with bullying and how important it is to stand up for yourself and your friends.

The show has great potential, but you just have to make it through the first episode. “Who Am I,” is a true pilot, in that it tries to give too much information in too short a time, making the 10 minute episode feel rushed and semi-jumbled. Filmed the first day the cast met, the bonds of friendship seem slightly strained as well, almost forced. But, if I judged every show based on the pilot, I probably wouldn’t have fallen in love with half the shows I love. By the second episode, the cast and crew seems to find themselves and their relationships off screen translate to friendships in front of the camera.

The premier Saturday was the first time the cast had seen the final cut of the pilot, and it was nice to see their reactions and genuine laughter while they viewed it with the rest of us. The cast is multi-talented, and performed both smashups and original songs before the show started. Madden Girl has a good message about being oneself and dealing with not just bullying, but also societal pressures to fit in and be a certain way. The show will follow Elexandria’s character Madden through many of high school life’s challenges, from weight loss and fat camps, to first loves and mean girls. Get through the overload of information from the pilot episode, and enjoy the rest of the webshow.