Light and Powerful

Seeing this MacBook for sale, I’m reminded of the scene in Barry, Bill Hader’s assassin-turned-actor comedy on HBO, where [SPOILER ALERT, sort of] the titular character, Barry, is so incredibly socially inept that, after a one night stand with his crush, he buys her a new MacBook. It’s a weird scene: it’s almost sweet, but really it’s just incredibly (and intentionally) uncomfortable. It also features a moment where one of his acting classmates asks Barry about his wardrobe–surprisingly hip, especially considering the drabness of his clothing to this point–and he says something about how it was what one of the mannequins at the mall was wearing.

I bring this up for two reasons:

1. There’s not much I can really say about a MacBook Air that’s going to sway your decision to buy one. For the record, I am very pro MacBook Air. It’s super easy to take anywhere. It works great. This write-up was written on a MacBook Air, in fact. But, if you’re not into Apple stuff, there’s no pivotal piece of information I can impart that will change your mind; and…

2. More importantly, as a lover of comedy, I’m concerned for our future.

The aforementioned scene is a reminder of everything that makes Barry great and everything that makes most other prestige comedies frustrating. The show is dark from scene one, but the episode featuring the MacBook really sets it on the track towards utter depravity. Yet, it’s still ridiculous and laugh-out-loud funny. Which is to say, Barry never forgets that it’s a comedy.

I wish I could say the same about so many other dark comedy shows, but oftentimes, they focus too hard on the dark and forget about the comedy. Furthermore, that darkness is usually of a very domestic nature. Meaning, what begins as a wryly funny comedy ends up being little more than a quiet soap opera, dominated unoriginal joke-free discussions of depression, disillusionment, or infidelity. They loose track of the cheekiness that made them popular, made them resonate, made them ENJOYABLE.

Barry never does that. The mounting suspense is complimented by truly hilarious moments, like a discussion of self-help literature between two rival crime bosses, or Henry Winkler’s attempts at romance. The show derives its power not just from Barry’s character arc and the intensity of his predicament, but also from how fluidly those elements mix with all of the light-hearted fun. This is what we need more of in modern prestige comedies: power and lightness at the same time.

Now if only there were some way to relate this all back to the MacBook Air we’re selling…