Never Have I Ever Review: An Emotional Roller-coaster Ride You’ll Enjoy for the Most Part – News18
Posted: April 28, 2020 at 2:47 am
Never Have I Ever
Cast: Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Poorna Jagannathan, Lee Rodriguez
Creators: Lang Fisher, Mindy Kaling
With Never Have I Ever, the inimitable Mindy Kaling, attempts a show for and about teenagers and does so with the aplomb of a seasoned hand. Kaling who has featured in television shows as actor, producer, writer among others puts on the creators hat once again along with co-creator Lang Fisher (The Mindy Project and 30 Rock). Only this once its for a show that does not have her facing the camera. Instead, she gives us a teenage heroine-- sophomore Devi Vishwakumar (Maitreyi Ramakrishnan), who breaks any cultural stereotypes you may have of geeky teenagers or Indian women. Devi is no demure young lady. Or a nervous geek. What we have instead is a feisty and rebellious teen who lets her temper get the better of her more often than not.
Early on in the series, we see Devi recovering from paralysis of the legs caused by the sudden and tragic loss of her father (Sendhil Ramamurthy) who she loved dearly. Her recovery, on the other hand, takes place in a delightfully comic way when she unconsciously stands up from her wheelchair while trying to get a better look at the school heartthrob Paxton Hall-Yoshida (Darren Barnet)! This light comedic touch consistently laces even the gravest and most difficult situations throughout Never Have I Ever and makes it shine. It also helps that the writers dont shy away from unapologetically putting the ethnic eccentricities of Indians on the table albeit with great self-awareness and a healthy dose of self-deprecating humour.
The young Maitreyi Ramakrishnan is superlative as the smart, humorous, and confident Devi. Apart from the trauma of her fathers death, there are multiple emotional issues she is grappling with and yet as a true-blue Indian American, she gets good grades, aims to go to an Ivy League University and is expected to not have a boyfriend for a long, long time. However, rather unfazed by all of this, she marches to her own beat.
Fully aware and dreading that her return to school (post-recovery) will be an object of pity, Devi has a plan to turn things around. She tells her best friends Fabiola and Eleanor (Lee Rodrigues and Ramona Young) that they all need to get themselves boyfriends to shake off the geeky, undateable tag! Devi herself tries to get attached in many ways than one to the hunky Paxton leading to the various complications that make up a large chunk of the show. Along the way, the girls make interesting discoveries--Fabiola about herself and Eleanor about her mother. Devi for one discovers that its actually her arch-nemesis Ben (Jaren Lewison) who brings out the best in her!
Another very significant character of the show is Devis mother Nalini (Poorna Jagannathan). Nalini personifies the tough love integral to good Indian parenting. As the suddenly-single working mother, she reads Devi the riot act every time she is out of line. Jagannathan is excellent in this role and does not miss a beat when seguing from a cordial conversation to turning into a Momzilla! She typifies the Indian American parent who constantly monitors their children's progress and lays down strict cultural Laxman Rekhas that are never meant to be crossed.
The two lead characters of Devi and Nalini are finely etched out and extremely well performed highlighting cultural idiosyncrasies and divisions with an authenticity that is rare. Additionally, for good measure, there is Devis cousin Kamla (Richa Moorjani), a smart young Indian woman primed for settling down in an arranged marriage even though shes studying for a Ph.D. at CalTech. Although she appears to be a corollary, her presence adds a multi-generational perspective that prevents the show from caricaturing its protagonists.
In fact, its a relief to see that Devi is a character that has moved away significantly from the stereotype of the confused desi living in the Land of Opportunity.
The series (all 10 episodes) tackles issues common to all teenage dramasfamily conflicts, friends, teen-sex, and boyfriends not strictly in that order. What Never Have I Ever does exceptionally well is that it steers away from being a meaningless, vapid story about a young girl finding a suitable guy to accompany her to the high school prom. In the bargain what you have is an emotional roller-coaster ride, one that you enjoy for the most part.
Rating: 3.5/5
Follow @News18Movies for more
Read more here:
Never Have I Ever Review: An Emotional Roller-coaster Ride You'll Enjoy for the Most Part - News18
- Rupert Sheldrake Questions Materialism - March 31st, 2021
- Ram Dass - How To Accept Yourself - February 8th, 2021
- Leo Gura - The Collective Ego - January 15th, 2021
- News of the World Review: Quiet Ballad of the Lost and Found - The Wall Street Journal - December 22nd, 2020
- Star Trek: Every Hologram That Gained Sentience (& Their Fate) - Screen Rant - December 22nd, 2020
- Taking Charge Of Your Life: Could Your Questions Be The Answer? - Web Hosting | Cloud Computing | Datacenter | Domain News - Daily Host News - December 22nd, 2020
- Most Organizations Still Miss the Mark on Diversity & Inclusion - GlobeNewswire - December 22nd, 2020
- Has The Mandalorian Succumbed to the Dark Side? - Vulture - December 22nd, 2020
- Can Animals Recognize Their Own Reflection? : Short Wave - NPR - December 22nd, 2020
- Self-Delusion on the Russia Hack - The Dispatch - December 22nd, 2020
- Best albums of all time by Black artists - Grand Island Independent - December 22nd, 2020
- The SolarWinds Hack Is Just The Same Sort Of Espionage The US Government Engages In Every Day - Techdirt - December 22nd, 2020
- Geltzeiler: Knicks have 'least-talented' roster in the NBA - RADIO.COM - December 22nd, 2020
- 3 practices every strong leader should embrace to build trust with their employees - Business Insider - Business Insider - December 22nd, 2020
- From Community Cousin to Canada's Highest Court: Rebecca Olivia Watmough - Vancouver Island University News - December 22nd, 2020
- Business communication during the pandemic grew in three key areas - Financial Post - December 22nd, 2020
- Vaccine effective against the new strain of COVID-19, says UAE - Gulf Today - December 22nd, 2020
- Tower Of God: 10 Differences Between The Anime & The Manhwa, Season 1 - CBR - Comic Book Resources - December 22nd, 2020
- How do men who have sex with men develop resilience in response to HIV? - aidsmap - December 22nd, 2020
- If you say any of these 6 things during the job interview, don't expect to get an offer: Career expert - CNBC - December 16th, 2020
- Niemi: CASEL Is Updating the Most Widely Recognized Definition of Social-Emotional Learning. Here's Why - The 74 - December 16th, 2020
- OKC musician Chase Kerby's new band Hotel Nights' wintry video for 'Pains of the Weekenders' is a mood on an Oklahoma snow day - Oklahoman.com - December 16th, 2020
- Why Carat is putting emotional intelligence at the core of media buying - Campaign US - December 16th, 2020
- Give it some brainvita - The New Indian Express - December 16th, 2020
- Kyrie Irving is once again reminding us who he is, and the Nets need to take notice - CBS Sports - December 16th, 2020
- What Therapy for Narcissism Involves: Steps and What to Expect - Healthline - December 16th, 2020
- An open letter to Lions fans everywhere: I'm always on your side - The Pioneer - December 16th, 2020
- Using art to help kids tap into their creative side - Joplin Globe - December 16th, 2020
- What 2020 has taught us - The Daily Wildcat - Arizona Daily Wildcat - December 16th, 2020
- $15 million in funding to support health and medical research - University News: The University of Western Australia - December 16th, 2020
- Dean Spade: 'Mutual Aid Always Pops Up Where Disasters Are' - Progressive.org - December 16th, 2020
- I Never Thought I'd Say This, but Offset's Defense of Cardi B Was Absolutely Right - POPSUGAR - December 16th, 2020
- The Thing You Need To Know About Letting Go - Forbes - December 16th, 2020
- Cast headed by Meryl Streep makes Let Them All Talk a winner - Detroit Free Press - December 16th, 2020
- If You're Too Busy for These 3 Things, Your Leadership Skills May Need a Tune-Up - Inc. - December 16th, 2020
- Rick And Morty: 5 Ways It's Similar To Community (& 5 Things It Does Differently) - Screen Rant - December 16th, 2020
- Using Meditation to Achieve Mindfulness - Chicago Health - December 16th, 2020
- 7 skills you need to stand out at work - Yahoo Finance Australia - December 11th, 2020
- One Way to Stop Whitewashing: It's Got to Be Taught - American Theatre - December 11th, 2020
- Coach K not the first with concerns about basketball in a pandemic, but he's the loudest - Union Democrat - December 11th, 2020
- Pondering the Question 'Who Am I?' - Shepherd Express - December 11th, 2020
- Review: The Saved by the Bell reboot gave me an existential crisis - Vox.com - December 11th, 2020
- Overcoming workplace bias - The Miami Times - December 11th, 2020
- Manners are important to teach our children | Health | The Daily News - Galveston County Daily News - December 11th, 2020
- How to recognize and stop self-sabotage at work - Fast Company - December 11th, 2020
- 2021 Will Be The Year Of Mind Gyms, Tele-Therapy & The Rise Of Mental Fitness - mindbodygreen.com - December 11th, 2020
- Mank: A Writerly Life of Words, Alcohol and Inner Conflicts in 1930s Hollywood - The Wire - December 11th, 2020
- A Thinking Environment | theHRD - The HR Director Magazine - December 11th, 2020
- What to do when there's 'nothing' to do... - Boulder Weekly - December 11th, 2020
- Parenting through the pandemic - Fast Company - December 11th, 2020
- White clicktivism: why are some Americans woke online but not in real life? - The Guardian - December 11th, 2020
- The Bachelorette episode 9 recap: Just when you thought he was out, one guy (tries to) pull himself back in - Gold Derby - December 11th, 2020
- GTFOH Trump Watch: Hes Taking This Breakup Really Hard - The Root - December 11th, 2020
- This Is How to Make a Reboot in 2020 - The Ringer - December 11th, 2020
- We Weigh In: Is B&B's Liam Spencer The Worst Man On Daytime TV? - Fame10 - December 11th, 2020
- Making therapy accessible - Gainesville Sun - October 28th, 2020
- The 10 Best Ways To Make The Rest Of 2020 Suck Less - Forbes - October 28th, 2020
- Creative Arts Therapy Club Reaches Out to Campus - West Liberty University News & Media Relations - October 28th, 2020
- 'The Craft: Legacy' is the sparkly savior your Halloween needs: Review - Mashable - October 28th, 2020
- Following up with UO's progress on combating racism and systemic oppression - Oregon Daily Emerald - October 28th, 2020
- What it takes to become a collaborative leader - Chief Learning Officer - October 28th, 2020
- The Unspoken Social and Emotional Benefits of a College Education - The Apopka Voice - October 28th, 2020
- 6 soft skills you'll need for the post-Covid working world - Siliconrepublic.com - October 28th, 2020
- My parents gave my brothers and me $8 million in bonds, stocks and ETFs. Id like to use my profit to travel. My parents refuse - MarketWatch - October 28th, 2020
- 'They Look Like People' and the Horror of Schizophrenia [Unveiling The Mind] - Bloody Disgusting - October 28th, 2020
- My journey from being a young-earth Creationist, Dispensationalist Republican to seeing my neighbor as worthy of my vote - Baptist News Global - October 28th, 2020
- Cam Newton says he wont change the way he dresses - NBC Sports - NFL - October 28th, 2020
- Manhood on the ballot: Trump's self-absorbed bullying vs. Biden's compassion and humility - USA TODAY - October 28th, 2020
- Banyan Tree leads by example and rolls out three new staff mental health initiatives - Spa Business - October 28th, 2020
- It doesn't matter what month it is, the work to raise awareness on disabilities continues for this local school division - WYDaily - October 28th, 2020
- What's on TV: Friday, October 30 to Thursday, November 5 - Sydney Morning Herald - October 28th, 2020
- Effective Hybrid Team Leadership: The New Performance Factor For Successful Companies - Forbes - October 28th, 2020
- How masks are helping these Saskatoon residents beyond stopping COVID-19 - CTV Toronto - October 28th, 2020
- 3 Ways to restore Self-Worth in Your Kids after an Uncertain Year - Crosswalk.com - October 28th, 2020
- Breast oncologist breaks down myths, prevention and tell-tale signs - FOX40 - October 21st, 2020
- Why embracing diversity, equity and inclusion matters to financial advisor firms - CNBC - October 21st, 2020
- New Research Shows Why Crows Are So Intelligent and Even Self-AwareJust Like Us - Good News Network - October 21st, 2020
- How Leaders Can Learn To Be Humble And More Effective - Forbes - October 21st, 2020
- 5 Strategies You Can Use to Build an Emotionally Intelligent Team - Entrepreneur - October 21st, 2020
- How music therapy benefits the autistic brain - Big Think - October 21st, 2020