Back off haters, Miranda Sings is here and she has her own Netflix show. The lipstick-smeared face of Colleen Ballinger’s alter-ego is far from unknown, the Miranda Sings channel numbering north of 7 million subscribers on YouTube. But where the video sharing site gives notoriety to a point, Netflix adds a stamp of approval, a prominent position on its carousel away from the cat videos and poor covers of pop songs.
Which of course is where Miranda Sings comes into its own. For the uninitiated, Miranda is a talent-limited singer/actor/YouTube personality who believes she is destined for greatness. Vibrant red lipstick shades every corner of her mouth, an umistakeable trademark of the Miranda Sings brand, for better or worse. Its when she opens her mouth that the magic fails to happen.
The internet and television are no longer entirely separate entities – Netflix, Amazon Video and Hulu among others put paid to the long-held distinction, and indeed some of the best “television” of the past few years has originated online. Miranda Sings, as a YouTube success story, was a natural fit.
Creator Ballinger spoke in interviews before Haters Back Off was released that, after having decided against a film project based on the character, Netflix was chosen as the destination over competitors like HBO because she felt that the streaming giant was aware of the nuances of the character and its online fanbase.
That is something that clearly comes through in the show. At first it feels like the extension (even overextension) of its YouTube origins could work against the show – like when a half-hour sitcom attempts to reproduce its charms in a feature length big screen outing. Yet this is shortlived as Haters finds its rhythm, uneven at times but gradually becomes more confident that this is where it belongs.
It must be emphasised (as can often be difficult to make clear when analysing a character that is only slightly removed in appearance from its creator) that Ballinger’s talents are far more recognisable and authentic. I was only vaguely elightened about the Miranda Sing’s character before embarking on the eight-part Netflix original.
However this whistle-stop tour on a random jaunt through YouTube (yes, including cat videos, haters) included “Becoming Miranda Sings” on Ballinger’s own channel distinct from her character, PsychoSoprano. It demonstrated the skill that it took to transform into Miranda, and the gift that comes in the delivery.
It didn’t occur to me at the time of my initial viewing (the first time in a while that I have binged a show in a weekend) but, on reflection, I saw comparisons in the portrayal with a British cult character. I would put Ballinger in the same category as Steve Coogan’s fantastic Alan Partridge, a comic creation with a similar level of pathos at his heart.
For me potentially the show’s biggest strength is its casting. In addition to Ballinger, Angela Kinsey (The Office) and Steve Little (Eastbound and Down) are the perfect foils to Miranda’s quirkiness and narcissistic tendencies.
Playing Miranda’s uncle Jim, who is open to helping her achieve her outlandish dreams of stardom, Little is incredibly funny, especially in the physical comedy stakes. Kinsey’s Bethany is a tad more straight-laced, hints of her Office character appearing in the portrayal.
One of the most memorable moments is in the farce surrounding Bethany’s hope of staging her traditional one-woman play with Miranda taking on all the parts. Auditions are held in Bethany and Jim’s bedroom – a room with an ensuite of sorts – and rehearsals conducted in the back yard.
After failing to sabotage the results of the callbacks, Bethany calls a plumber to fix their defective toilet, which it turns out has been sending unfiltered excrement onto the lawn. Miranda’s uncomfortable romantic moment as the orphan Annie falling for Daddy Warbucks is thankfully cut short.
The other major player in this saga is Patrick, the male best friend who likes Miranda more than she likes him. But Erik Stocklin (Mistresses) turns this archetypal character into a three-dimensional person within a couple of episodes.
There are some genuinely heartbreaking moments, not least when Miranda mistakes church musician Owen’s (Dylan Playfair) playful overtures for long term happiness. Patrick is there to pick her up again, and again. If there is anyone to ‘ship’ in this show then Miranda and Patrick are the ones.
Haters Back Off is far from perfect, and at times very uneven (a sign of its YouTube roots and quick editing perhaps) but there was enough that was good about it that suggests it should be brought back for a second run.
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