Minx Review: Not Like A Shvantz Right In The Face / Au revoir, le double dong (Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2)
It’s the sexual revolution, baby — and HBO is here with a brand new show!
Premiering with its first two episodes, Minx Season 1 Episode 1 and 2, “Not Like A Shvantz Right In The Face / Au revoir, le double dong,” start strong as a funky 1970s period piece about the opening of the first female erotic magazine.
Jake Johnson plays well off Ophelia Lovibond, with both actors fully embodying their characters.
Maybe it’s the support of her dreams, or maybe it’s just the chemistry between the actors, but I am rooting for some romance between Doug and Joyce (Johnson and Lovibond). Their unusual partnership seems on the route to friendship, and it is already fun to watch them push each other out of their comfort zones.
Lovibond embodies the character of Joyce insanely well.
She emanates the prestigious college drive and the bit of stuck-up energy that comes with it. While this can come off as annoying, it’s understandable that she doesn’t want to sell her dream magazine idea to a porn publisher.
Even now, there is not much erotic content made for women, so to tie something like that to her feminist ideas is a hurdle that would take more than a second thought to jump.
There is a softening to Joyce over these first two episodes in how she approaches female sexuality. It’s nice to see her loosen up a bit and learn how empowering it can be to talk about things like female pleasure.
She is so caught up in her mind and thinking of things academically instead of instinctually when it comes to sex that it seems to hold her back. I picture that this will be part of Joyce’s character growth through the season.
The women at Joyce’s work finally standing up to one of the creepy men after seeing the Cosmo centerfold drives home to Joyce, and us, that women deserve a seat at the table. There is more at stake than just sexy images.
The addition of the Burt Reynolds centerfold and his interview on late-night after is a nice touch. It places Minx in actual publishing and sexual liberation history.
The conversation Joyce has with her sister, Shelly (Lennon Parham), when they are looking through sex toys to advertise in Minx, is one of the most authentic conversations I have seen about female pleasure on television.
The honesty from Shelly about feeling like something was wrong with her at the beginning of her marriage because she wasn’t having orgasms with her husband was refreshing. It says that talking about these things is taboo, but maybe they shouldn’t be.
The relationship between Joyce and her sister is an unexpected but nice surprise.
To see her sister all gung-ho in her support of the magazine is not what you would expect from a 1970s housewife, which makes it even better. Shelly also wins the stand-out line of the first two episodes.
Shelly: So the only way you can get pleasure is when you’re with a man? That’s not very feminist, Joycie.
As a massive New Girl fan, it is difficult to separate Johnson from Nick Miller, but he has a bit of extra swagger about him as Doug. Specifically, at the country club during “Au revoir, le double dong,” where the 70s fashion brings out an extra attitude in him.
Doug has confidence, and it is sexy.
He also seems to have a good heart underneath, like when he admits to Joyce that he did think for a minute about promising a night with Bambi to a potential advertiser.
He doesn’t bend to the temptation of using people on his team for money. However, one has to wonder how realistic it is that a publisher of an erotic magazine empire in the 1970s is not a scumbag?
Another stand-out character is Bambi.
She is sweet and ditsy in a way that you have to hope good things are coming for her. Played by Jessica Lowe, she also seems to have solid comedy timing. Bambi has already spoken out about wanting to do something with her life like Joyce, and you can’t help but root for her.
As a show set around erotic magazines and airing on HBO, one should expect a lot of nudity. Well, Minx does not let us down there.
There is lots of full-frontal, especially in the scene where they are casting for their cover star. It is comedic and shocking when they plaster all the different penises as a collage on your screen.
With decades of seeing plenty of women naked on screen but few shots more than a male behind, it feels like it hits the show’s purpose to even the score a bit.
The audition sequence also gives us a great range of male bodies and penises. I love seeing this acceptance from the team — there was no belittling of anyone who came through.
Minx hits well with the 70s fashion and sets. Nothing seems crazy out of place, but that could be a factor of current trends recycling the 1970s style. It’s all very are cool.
What is not cool is the sexism, but it adds more weight to what they are doing with the magazine.
Finally, Joyce feels like someone who always feels out of place, but I am sensing a found family for her with the magazine crew. It feels like an “I found acceptance where I least expected it” storyline in the making.
I am excited to see what comes up for the rest of the season. Unfortunately, it looks like the magazine is in for some backlash and censorship — both from feminist and conservative circles.
Overall, this is a fun concept for a show that is perfect for HBO. It has a solid cast of characters, with strong side characters, that I am excited to see grow and evolve with the story.
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What did you think of these episodes of Minx? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of Minx air Thursdays on HBO.
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Julia Dolinish
Julia is a business owner and a writer who loves all things pop culture. From classic sitcoms to period pieces of any time period, she is TV obsessed. She is down to talk about her new TV binge to anyone who will listen.