A middle aged graphic novelist who mines his personal life for material gets a taste of his own medicine when he meets a photography student.A middle aged graphic novelist who mines his personal life for material gets a taste of his own medicine when he meets a photography student.A middle aged graphic novelist who mines his personal life for material gets a taste of his own medicine when he meets a photography student.
Storyline
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- Quotes
Allison Lizowska: I make work that's not dissimilar to Jacob's... I use myself and my personal life and as a narrative and, um... to bring up important ideas. Um, he uses a pen and paper and I use a selfie stick and an iPhone.
Featured review
Best of the Eight "Easy" Episodes
Of the eight original episodes of "Easy," this one is the most fully realized.
The story involves Jacob Malco (played by Marc Maron), a graphic novelist who makes regular use of his personal relationships as inspiration for his work. He mines his private life without apology.
After speaking to a group of art students, Jacob is forced to examine his artistic choices head on.
Unlike most episodes in the series, "Art and Life" has a clear point of view and leaves the audience with something to think about after the credits roll.
Maron gives a very credible performance as Jacob. Among the rest of the cast, Emily Ratajkowski is a stand out as Allison, one of the art students. Andrew Bachelor also gets noticed in his role as another art student. Jane Adams is also fine in a small role.
In addition to its superior execution (at least compared to the other seven episodes), "Art and Life" distinguishes itself in many ways. First of all, it is the only one (two if you count the Jane Adams role in the "Chemistry Read" episode) of the eight episodes to focus on a character that is over 40 years old.
Rather than focusing primarily on mundane matters involving parenting and interpersonal relationships, "Art and Life" distinguishes itself from other episodes because it forces us to look at the role of various forms of artistic expression in our lives.
Significantly, "Art and Life" is the first episode in the series to feature an African American male (Bachelor) with more than a bit part. "Hop Dreams," the eighth episode, is the only other episode where an African American male has more than one line of dialog. This last fact is particularly surprising given that the series is set in Chicago, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States. The city has long been noted for having a large African American population. While half of the eight episodes in the series feature African American women, African American men are largely absent from their lives. African American men are also absent from the lives of the white women in the series.
"Art and Life" is easily the best of the eight original episodes of the series. If the series continues for a second season, hopefully the show runners will use this as a template for future episodes.
The story involves Jacob Malco (played by Marc Maron), a graphic novelist who makes regular use of his personal relationships as inspiration for his work. He mines his private life without apology.
After speaking to a group of art students, Jacob is forced to examine his artistic choices head on.
Unlike most episodes in the series, "Art and Life" has a clear point of view and leaves the audience with something to think about after the credits roll.
Maron gives a very credible performance as Jacob. Among the rest of the cast, Emily Ratajkowski is a stand out as Allison, one of the art students. Andrew Bachelor also gets noticed in his role as another art student. Jane Adams is also fine in a small role.
In addition to its superior execution (at least compared to the other seven episodes), "Art and Life" distinguishes itself in many ways. First of all, it is the only one (two if you count the Jane Adams role in the "Chemistry Read" episode) of the eight episodes to focus on a character that is over 40 years old.
Rather than focusing primarily on mundane matters involving parenting and interpersonal relationships, "Art and Life" distinguishes itself from other episodes because it forces us to look at the role of various forms of artistic expression in our lives.
Significantly, "Art and Life" is the first episode in the series to feature an African American male (Bachelor) with more than a bit part. "Hop Dreams," the eighth episode, is the only other episode where an African American male has more than one line of dialog. This last fact is particularly surprising given that the series is set in Chicago, one of the most ethnically diverse cities in the United States. The city has long been noted for having a large African American population. While half of the eight episodes in the series feature African American women, African American men are largely absent from their lives. African American men are also absent from the lives of the white women in the series.
"Art and Life" is easily the best of the eight original episodes of the series. If the series continues for a second season, hopefully the show runners will use this as a template for future episodes.
Details
- Runtime30 minutes
- Color
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