«Palm Royale» - Series Review by Kinoafisha

Underwater, a blonde in high heels and an evening pink dress is drowning in thoughts of wanting to become someone in this world. The girl's name is Maxine. In 1969, she came to the wealthiest city in Florida - Palm Beach - with this goal in mind. Illuminated by bright sunlight, surrounded by waters and dotted with palm trees, it is famous for the elite Palm Royale club. Maxine desperately wants to enter the high society of Florida, for which she is ready to climb walls, steal jewelry from her husband's aunt - incapacitated Norma, spread rumors, and weave intrigues. She'll have to compete with Evelyn and Dina, who also aspire to the throne of the resort. Robert, a waiter at the beach club, seems to have eyes on Norma's property. A feminist hippie named Linda wants to recruit Maxine into her activist ranks. And Richard Nixon broadcasts about the Vietnam War in the background. So, as is often the case in satires on the wealthy, "all is not well."

The plot of the new high-budget Apple TV+ series is based on Juliet McDaniel's novel "Mr. & Mrs. American Pie". Directed by Tate Taylor - a director who has often given solo performances to women and demonstrated the emptiness and collective discord of the world of "The Help" and "The Girl on the Train". Taylor's filmography also includes "The Help," "The Girl on the Train," and "Breaking News in Yuba County." In all three, Allison Janney played roles and she also stars in "Palm Royale". The cast of the series includes many other celebrities: from Kristen Wiig and Laura Dern to singer Ricky Martin and model Kaia Gerber - Cindy Crawford's daughter.

"Palm Royale" from the very beginning tries to tell a story in the spirit of the secular drama "Bridgerton," where everyone hates, gossip, and betray each other. But the main location in Florida adds sunshine and the mood of light comedy for background viewing with a low density of humor. The lead actresses cope with different degrees of success. Janney and Wiig are the best at forcing a smile when things don't go smoothly. Wiig, by the way, already embodied a similar character in "Bridesmaids," but she increased clumsiness, tears through a smile, femininity, and tenderness. On the other hand, Leslie Bibb's bitchy comic strips have become less organic since "Confessions of a Shopaholic". It seems that another important reference, judging by the excellent work of the costume department, was "The Stepford Wives". But due to weak dramaturgy, the female version of the popular project did not work out.

"Palm Royale" is like an expanded story of Samantha from "Sex and the City," who in the heat dreamed of getting into the cool Soho club. However, in 2024, it's not so interesting to watch this. And if the series tries to talk about gender equality, it comes out awkward. Maxine, who doesn't want to work, receives disapproving looks from Laura Dern's character. But, on the other hand, should a woman be blamed for being more interested in society news from The Shiny Sheets newspaper, organizing the annual Beach Ball event, bright outfits, and tasty cocktails?

And here, the pearl of the entire series becomes the scenes where Richard Nixon appears as a talking head on a retro television and promises to end the Vietnam War after the inauguration. Meanwhile, Maxine, ignoring the news, engages in sports, whitens her teeth, dresses up, and gets dolled up. Where the sun always shines, everyone is dressed brightly and laughs with Hollywood smiles, thoughts of war are rare. Eventually, Maxine will meet the President of the United States in person. And even before the event, one of the representatives of high society will start a conversation about Nixon's crimes. But Maxine will ask to leave political disputes outside the party. Moreover, the word "party" means both a party and a political party. So with this pun, Maxine hints that politics should be left to the cabinets.

"Palm Royale" is a farcical show about a strong woman who directs her energy in the wrong direction. Maxine is capable of many things, even talking to animals - with a seagull and a beached whale (here, Federico Fellini's "La Dolce Vita" and an episode from "Extrapolations" from Apple TV+ come to mind). Maxine's favorite cocktail, The Grasshopper, is reminiscent of Aesop's fable "The Ant and the Grasshopper" about who spent the whole summer doing nothing, never took care of the house for the winter, and perished. The world of "Palm Royale" is lifeless. In it, choices are made in favor of money, comfort, passions, rather than love.

The first season of the series ends with a hint at the second, although it wasn't easy to watch the weekdays of the exclusive club even within the framework of ten nearly hour-long episodes. And although the series accelerates towards humor and detective intrigue by the ninth episode, becoming more energetic, enduring the previous eight episodes will not be easy. Unless you pre-drink cocktails The Grasshopper.