Crashing, the 2016 miniseries created by Phoebe Waller-Bridge, isn’t super popular. You don’t hear people talking about it all the time. (Unlike Fleabag, another series written by and starring Waller-Bridge and to which I think Crashing bears a remarkable similarity. That’s another article for another day.) And yet this little show that adds up to less than three hours of total watchtime is a diamond in the rough which I, for one, think is well worth watching.
Summary
An eclectic collection of 20-somethings are living in a disused hospital in London, England. Anthony (Damien Molony) and his fiancée Kate (Louise Ford), are trying to save up for a house. Fred (Amit Shah) is trying to save up for a house. Sam (Jonathan Bailey) is trying to have some amorous adventures in the morgue. And Melody (Julie Dray)… well, actually, no one is quite sure what Melody is trying to do.
Anyway, all of their lives change when loveable, cheeky, outrageous Lulu (Waller-Bridge) comes to visit Anthony. Love triangles, sexuality struggles, jealousy, drunkenness, and curry all make appearances, and chaos abounds.
It’s glorious.
The Bad
I’ll start with the bad stuff, because I want to get all of this out of the way. I could offer elaboration on each point, but instead I will let them speak for themselves.
Crashing relies heavily on cringe humour.
The show deals with possibly upsetting things like heavy drinking, infidelity, smoking, and plenty of other vices.
The ending is ambiguous, and it’s a limited series — we’re not going to be getting resolution.
Someone vomits into a curry pot and then someone else ends up eating the curry.
If you’re my mom (or are at all like her), this will be enough to turn you off. If not, you are a brave soul, and let’s continue onward!
The Good
I love this show. I love it so much that I’ve rewatched it probably ten times. Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s writing is, as always, human and grounded and hilarious and solemn and real. The jokes hit hard, the characters are loveable, and the story is highly entertaining. All of this is generic and cringy, so I will over a counter list of counter points to the listed flaws.
Crashing is, at its heart, wholesome and heartwarming.
When a joke is off-colour or uncomfortable, it’s often serving a higher purpose than being “just a joke” — it’s furthering the story in some way.
The ambiguous ending is deliciously awful.
There is, of course, no counter point for the vomit-curry. That’s just horrific.
Conclusion
So there. That’s what I’ve got.
Crashing is most certainly not for everyone. It’s a specific brand of humour and a particular type of storytelling that plenty of people won’t enjoy.
But to those people for whom it is, the gross and slightly painful parts are more than worth it. The heart and humour and relatability and uncommonness of it are incredibly redemptive.
I’ll still respect you if you don’t watch Crashing. If the bad bits of it don’t sound insurmountable, though, give it a try. You might be glad you did.
