Apple TV’s latest series based on the book by Rufi Thorpe channels vibes from Juno and The Girlfriend Experience and delivers a wholly unique story of a girl trying to survive as a single parent in the gig economy / online sex work era of the now.
If Elle Fanning’s Oscar-nominated role as the anchor in a sea of familial unease in this year’s Sentimental Value didn’t sell you on her acting chops, her lead role in David E. Kelley’s new Apple TV series MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES will make you a believer. The first season of the show, which debuts this week at SXSW and on April 15th on the streamer with its first three episodes with new episodes bowing weekly thereafter, is some of Kelley’s best work, which is saying a lot from the creator of THE PRACTICE, ALLY MCBEAL and BOSTON PUBLIC. Fanning stars as Margo Millet, a writing prodigy whose skill seems to make her bound for bigger things, but her socio economic status keeps her at a state college in Fullerton, CA. Her writing professor, Mark (Michael Anguano) talks up her talent and seduces her into bed by making her as margo says eloquently, ‘fall in love herself.’ Their trysts lead to an unexpected pregnancy, one that margo decides to keep despite protests from Mark and Margo’s mother, Shayenne (played by Michelle Pfeiffer). She reaches out to her estranged father Jinx, a recovering drug addict and ex-WWE wrestler played by Nick Offerman, for advice; however, he is in rehab and doesn’t learn about this until after she gives birth. margo tries to juggle being a student, a waitress and a roommate on top of being a single mom, but as her roomates balk at a colicky baby making them unable to sleep or her boss having to tolerate a baby on shift, it all starts to fall apart. Eventually, an option appears – Margo could sign up for the adult website OnlyFans, where she can sell spicy photos of herself while comparing her clients dick pics to Pokemon characters and Margo’s money problems might have a chance to disappear for the moment.
The first thing you’ll notice about MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES, aside from its amazing A-List cast, is how beautiful the cinematography is. The episodes are love letters to the cities they’re shot in, showcasing locals only locales in Vegas in Fremont like The Plaza, The Flamingo, Ocars at The Plaza and favorites in LA like Chili John’s in Burbank. The epsiodes, directed by Dearbla Walsh, Kate Herron and Alice Seabright, draw you in with the bright cinematic visuals often missing in the flat streaming age and Kelley’s sharp character writing and the voice of margo narrating you through the show really suck you in. The writing, acting and directing is top tier to match its casting. Fanning’s Margo reminds you of the type of characters like Toni Collette’s Tara or Elliot Page’s Juno, who are sassy and full of life and possibilities that their circumstances make it difficult to escape from, but they’re doing their best. The show’s intriguing narration with Margo describing herself in the third person is really compelling, seeing her as a character in her life’s story that you want to see pull out the win despite her circumstances. The show portrays sex work as an artistic choice, sometimes a resort for making money under difficult circumstances, but a valid career choice. In this, it seems like a grounded and realistic show, not unlike Starz’ The Girlfriend Experience. There’s characters that are seemingly set up as foils for conflict that surprise in many ways, like Greg Kinnear’s Ken, a church choir director who falls for Margo’s mother and she feels pressured to live up to the idea of what she thinks he might want from her. Pfeiffer makes a meal out of her role as Shayenne and her chemistry with Fanning makes the show feel real and lived in. This is a family drama that feels grounded, it’ll draw tears at times but also the spectre of reality that hooks you. Nick Offerman also impresses here as Jinx, a character that could just be seen as pitiable or a buffoon, but Offerman gives him pathos and a real sense of struggle of trying to do the best for his daughter despite his faults and failings. In a show that treats sex work as a job that people have, it also does so with Jinx as a pro wrestler who is struggling past his fame. He’s not Randy the Ram from The Wrestler, hes someone who got hurt and was maybe a top guy once but thats passed and he doesnt want to do conventions to just glom onto that fame. He wanst to be there for his family and that comes across clearly on the show. As a fan of independent wrestling, its cool to see all the major wrestling promotions in America get a shoutout here and on that front it seems much more of a real presentation of wrestling than say HEELS. It’s also great to see Fanning and Nicole Kidman share the screen again since A24’s HOW TO TALK TO GIRLS AT PARTIES.
Ultimately, MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES is a show that deals with overcoming perception versus the reality of life. Margo might seem like a glamorous and creative artist in her Hungry Ghost person, but she’s struggling to regain her agency of her life and right her ship by her own terms. This is something that Shayenne and Jinx are also struggling with. The supporting roles like Anguano’s Mark and Thaddea Graham’s cosplay roommate Susie also have solid arcs that could make this season just a great one season story but I think this will find an audience.
Well-written, acted and a dropkick to your emotions, MARGO’S GOT MONEY TROUBLES hits Apple TV on April 15th
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VIDEO REVIEW