by Mike Hilty, Contributing Writer
I’ve only subscribed to four magazines in my life. The first was Highlights, which my mom would subscribe to for my sister and I to learn to read better. Honestly, the main thing I read out of Highlights was the hide and seek page where we would find items hidden in a picture. The next one was LEGO Magazine. I loved LEGOs growing up (still do now that my daughter is old enough to play with them), and the magazine was a way to order some cool and unique sets that I wouldn’t be able to get our local toy store. When I was in high school, I subscribed to Entertainment Weekly because I liked all the articles about movies. Finally, while living in California, one of my roommates got me a Sports Illustrated subscription for Christmas. I was never really that good at maintaining a magazine subscription and even nowadays, it seems a little odd to get a magazine delivered via snail mail when we can get magazines and other content sent directly to us via email or through an app.
Minx is a show that reminded me of how magazines and print media in general had a tough task of readership without the assistance of the internet, but the impact that they can have is still strong.
Minx, created by Ellen Rappaport, is the story of Joyce (Ophelia Lovibond). She has dreams of creating a magazine for feminist-minded individuals and wants to empower and inspire women. When she goes to a convention to pitch her magazine, she gets the attention of Doug Renetti (Jake Johnson), a local pornographer and publisher of erotic magazines. Doug sees Joyce’s potential while seeing an opportunity to strike at a brand new demographic for women’s erotic content. With the help of her team, Joyce sets out to create Minx Magazine, the first women’s erotic magazine. Season one of Minx is streaming on HBO Max and has 10 episodes in their inaugural season.
A few things to get out of the way before we get into the actual show. If you as a viewer are squeamish at nudity, this show may not be for you. There’s a lot of nudity and sexual content in Minx,since this is a show about a female erotic magazine. It’s done in fairly tasteful ways that doesn’t feel predatory or weird. Another thing is that I like this format of episodes that HBO Max is trying with their shows. They released two episodes at a time each week, which I liked because there’s nothing I hate more when an episode ends and I have to wait another week for something I really liked watching. HBO Max has continued this trend with some of their newer shows, and I hope other streaming services take notice of the two episode release and explore options like this in the future.
Minx is set in the 1970s in Los Angeles. The setting, the clothes, and aesthetics are really great. I loved the vibe the show is giving off, and setting it during the ’70s was a great call because of how much change and upheaval was going on. I loved everything from the costumes, to the cars, to the technology, to the look of the magazine. Minx got the ‘70s right and I give props to the team for the set and costume design. I felt like I was watching something filmed in the ‘70s versus it being a recreation of the ‘70s.
The performances for most everyone are fantastic. Shout out specifically to Lovibond for her wonderful portrayal of Joyce. This is the first real thing I’ve seen Lovibond in, and once I realized where I had first seen her in (she was in No Strings Attached as Ashton Kutcher’s ex-girlfriend who finds her way to his dad), I was pretty blown away at how good Lovibond was in her performance. Joyce, as a character, is all over the place with Minx. On one hand, she’s striving to create feminist content for women and wants to create more academic or education content. On another hand, she’s in a bind as this is new territory for her when someone actually believes in her dream. Lovibond plays all the emotions very well, she’s anxious, passionate, feisty, demanding, and funny (sometimes unintentionally). I thought Lovibond had one of the best performances of the year so far, as well as Joyce being one of the more interesting character on TV recently.
Minx’s main message for the magazine revolves around feminism. Joyce has a very narrow vision of what feminism is and is almost stubbornly glued to that notion. One aspect of the show I really liked is how feminism isn’t a set standard or definition — it’s a fluid concept that can look different to a variety of people. I really liked this approach because it gave viewers a chance to see different ways to define feminism but it also challenges Joyce to confront her own views on what she believes feminism and women’s empowerment is. I don’t think she would go so far as to say she’s wrong. However, her eyes are opened at how different women view their role in society and how different they can be from person to person. She learns this while attending a college feminist group and how they have different vantage points and feedback that Joyce didn’t really think about. I like this challenge for Joyce because it’s not only personal growth for her, but also a way to broaden the appeal of Minx Magazine to a lot of different types of people. Joyce learns something from various members of her team like her sister Shelly (Lennon Parham), Doug’s second in command Tina (Idara Victor), and Minx head of centerfold Bambi (Jessica Lowe). While all of these performances are great, in addition to Joyce Tina is a solid character who worked hard to get where she’s at and Victor’s portrayal is amazing. Victor showed Tina’s vulnerabilities while showing her toughness to make it in a male dominated industry. She doesn’t have a problem confronting Doug about problems with Minx and she shows herself as a valuable member of the team.
The role men play in feminism is displayed in this as well. There are two ways that men are portrayed in terms of feminism in Minx. The first is how the majority of men in the show act: they’re afraid or angry. This is shown just by the general attitude a lot of men have about the release of Minx magazine and how it threatens the established ideas of how women should be acting. Men in the show are generally scared of this change and lash out in a variety of different ways. The second is having an idea of what it means to be feminist, but then struggling to figure out how to continue to be supportive in the face of adversity or personal gain. Doug Renetti struggles with this idea a lot not just with Joyce, but with Tina as well. Johnson plays this role so well and I do like his gradual evolution as a character. It’s not without its stumbling blocks, but it’s still progress. I also liked how Minx Magazine’s main photographer Richie (Oscar Montoya) finds his inner strength and how he learns to follow what he’s truly passionate about. He wants to be part of Minx, and he stands up for that in the end.
Minx ends in limbo, but isn’t that how progress is often measured? There’s a lot of conflict in the final three episodes, but there’s a lot of growth among all the characters and the end has a gut check moment about what the magazine means to a variety of readers. I’m excited for more from Minx —the magazine, the characters, and the show in general. This is up there among my favorites of the first half of 2022. It’s a definite recommend from me.
Score: 9/10
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