The simple pleasures of 'Platonic'

by Linda Holmes

Welcome! It was the week when another Barbie trailer arrived. It was the week when we learned that there's no business that won't at least try for a second chance. And it was the week when another season of Survivor came to a close. Let's get to it.

The simple pleasures of 'Platonic'

Some of Seth Rogen's best chemistry with women has bloomed in properties that pair him with someone whose vibes are, or can be rendered as, vaguely patrician. Katherine Heigl in Knocked Up, Charlize Theron in Long Shot, and Michelle Williams twice, in Take This Waltz and The Fabelmans. And now Rose Byrne twice -- or thrice, in Neighbors/Neighbors 2 and the new Apple series Platonic, created by Francesca Delbanco and Nicholas Stoller, who previously teamed on Friends from College.

In Platonic, Rogen plays Will, a brewpub owner and beer genius who long ago had a falling-out with his best friend Sylvia, played by Byrne. Sylvia took exception to the woman Will wanted to marry, and they fell out of touch. But now that he's divorced, they break their years-long silence and start hanging out again. Will is a spirited and bar-oriented guy who is approaching middle age with the questionable help of his friends -- business partners Andy (Tre Hale) and Reggie (Andrew Lopez), and employee Omar (Vinny Thomas). Sylvia, on the other hand, is a stay-at-home mom (having left a legal career) with three kids and an adoring if slightly stiff husband Charlie. (Charlie is played by Luke Macfarlane, the co-lead of Bros as well as a goodly number of Hallmark movies, who is one of our current masters of bringing shape, personality and warmth to what could be thankless roles of lovable boyfriends and husbands.) The renewal of their friendship is bumpy and complicated, but also, in some ways, exactly what they need.

Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen in Platonic / Apple TV+

Elements of Platonic, including the title, suggest that perhaps it's a love-triangle story about the threat that a relationship that is supposedly scrupulously platonic presents to a mature marriage, but it's hardly that at all. It does explore some thorny questions about the emotional real estate that close friends can occupy in the lives of married people, and about how the confidences shared with friends and with partners are different. What it doesn't do is tease much in the way of romantic or sexual chemistry between Will and Sylvia. What they are to each other is complicated, but not quite like that.

Still, while it certainly has emotional ideas that it's playing with, Platonic is mostly happy to be its truest self: a broadly goofy comedy in which a lot of really game actors have a lot of fun. Yes, it's about the ennui of middle age, and yes, it's about aspects of intimacy, but a lot of it is also about things like ... a group of drunk friends going out in the street in the middle of the night to hurl electric scooters like it's an Olympic event. Or an accidental act of property damage that leads to a long night of desperate searching for help that takes characters to weird corners of their personal and professional communities.

The supporting cast shows up in spades: not just the brewpub friends, but strong turns from Carla Gallo as Sylvia's friend Katie, Janet Varney as Charlie's colleague Vanessa, and Guy Branum as Charlie's work friend Stuart. (Full disclosure: Branum is a friend to both me and the PCHH podcast, so you don't have to take my word for it, but his particular take on a husband's work friend is marvelously specific and fresh.)

There's nothing wrong with a high-concept comedy or dramedy, or with a great show that mines its laughs from the same parts of life that horror and misery come from: your Only Murders in the Building, your Barry, and your many lesser imitators that have gone for "black comedy" and landed on "non-comedy." But alongside the sparkling Abbott Elementary and some other nice network efforts, what a pleasure to see this team deliver a sturdy vehicle for jokes, for physical comedy, for silliness both familiar and less so, and for Rogen's wackiness to perhaps be turned down 10 percent and Byrne's turned up 10 percent, so that they meet in the middle, less opposites than complements.

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We Recommend

I am currently listening to the audiobook of the Jenny Jackson book Pineapple Street, about a wealthy Brooklyn family, and it is very engrossing. (This is a book that comes from a division of Penguin Random House; a different division publishes my books.)

Also recently in my book-listening ears: Adam Sternbergh's twisty, complicated The Eden Test, about a couple who gets in way over their heads on a marriage retreat undertaken to reconnect them.

Eric Deggans shared some thoughts about the future of Max as it took over some of the branding from the former HBO Max.

What We Did This Week

Ben Wang and Michelle Yeoh in American Born Chinese / Disney +

I recapped episode 9 of Succession's final season, "Church and State."

Aisha wrote a review of the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid. She also discussed it with Stephen and Marc Rivers in our Friday episode.

Aisha also spoke to Kristen Meinzer and Regina Kim about the Netflix show XO, Kitty.

Glen checked in with Walter Chaw and Mallory Yu about the Disney+ adaptation of the graphic novel American Born Chinese.

Ann Powers joined Aisha to talk about the legendary, unforgettable Tina Turner.

Stephen completed one of his biggest projects of every year: his ranking of all the season's Saturday Night Live musical guests.

Stephen also talked to Ann Powers (two PCHH intersections with Ann in a week!) and Ari Shapiro about the new Kesha album Gag Order.

What's Making Us Happy

Every week on the show, we talk about some other things out in the world that have been giving us joy lately. Here they are:

Marc Rivers: You're The Worst
Aisha Harris: 60 Songs That Explain the '90s
Stephen Thompson: Little Moon winning the Tiny Desk Contest

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It’s not too late to plan for the long weekend ☀️

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Life Kit — Tools to help you get it together.

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Hannah Sampson has two rules for every trip she goes on: She always visits a bookstore (ideally one that sells used books), and she always tries some local ice cream.

Beyond books and ice cream, Sampson, a staff writer at The Washington Post who covers travel news for By The Way, has tips on making the most of a long weekend trip.

If getting out of town this weekend isn't in the cards for you, here are a couple of other ideas to consider:

🌻 Plan a staycation: Sampson recommends planning a "tourist" adventure even if you aren’t leaving home this weekend. Write down a list of activities or places nearby you've wanted to explore but haven’t had the time to check out. Or, go on your usual walk but try and see it with a new lens. Really paying attention to a familiar place, like noticing flowers at a park or learning about local history, can help you play tourist without leaving town.

🏠 Tackle your home: Clean that junk drawer or reorganize your kitchen cabinets. If you're too tired to clean, use this tidying method that’s quick and won't wear you out. If you do feel ready for a deeper clean, remember to go from top to bottom so you're not dusting onto freshly mopped floors.

🎨 Start a creative habit: Creativity is good for your health, but focus more on the process than the final product. Just mess around and see what creative activity engages you. Maybe it's something you did as a kid, like making bracelets or coloring. Some more ideas (not an exhaustive list): sewing, cooking, writing, singing or baking. But don't feel like you have to stick to one thing – the art therapists from our episode on a creative habit told Life Kit you still get the same benefits of reducing stress and anxiety no matter the activity.

🫶 Spend quality time with loved ones: Call a friend who lives far away, try this playtime ritual with a little one, or express your gratitude to someone you've been thinking about. Maybe this weekend is a time to remember lost loved ones – to grieve and celebrate those who aren't with us.

However you spend it, enjoy your weekend (whether it’s long or not).

-Clare Marie Schneider, Life Kit producer and editor

We want to hear from you!

What are your tips for enjoying a long weekend? How do you make the most of an extra day off at home or a short trip away? Email us with your full name by Monday, May 29. We may feature your response in an upcoming newsletter or on our website.

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Your tips on making friends

Last week, we asked readers for tips on making friends in a new place. Here are two of your ideas:
(responses have been edited for length and clarity)

Try volunteering: "Find a local group that is doing work you admire and volunteer! I volunteered for a community cleanup day in 2019, and now I'm a co-director of the group; I've met loads of people in the community through our organization's work." – Lindsay Koehler

Create a welcoming space: "I have moved many times over my lifetime. This last time was to an apartment. To make it clear that I was interested in meeting people, I sat on my patio and waved to people as they walked by. The interested ones would come over to my patio to talk. I decorated my patio with flowers (real and artificial) and added a couple of weird things. At holiday times, I decorated accordingly. Some people would come to my patio to see what I was doing or ask questions about my decorations. I met a best friend because I had a hummingbird feeder." – Barbara Doebele

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AI Hype or History in the Making?

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"Not since the emergence of cryptocurrency have we seen so much buzz. DeepMind's founder is telling Google that traditional search will expire in 10 years, and many want to know if the Ask Jeeves-ification promised by generative search is being done for people or the profits of shareholders. We'll look at Google's I/O rollouts, and a timeline of AI chat launches to help you predict the SEO future."

- Miriam Ellis, Local Subject Matter Expert, Moz