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NOBODY WANTS THIS: Episodes 1.1 to 1.3

"Can Love Triumph Over All?"

What You Need To Know:

NOBODY WANTS THIS is a romantic comedy series on Netflix. It tells the story of Joanne and Noah, who are both unlucky in love. In the first three episodes, Joanne hosts a podcast discussing her dating woes. Meanwhile, Noah is a rabbi who just broke up with his longtime girlfriend. The pair meet by chance and immediately click. However, Noah struggles with his family and congregation's opposition to the relationship, because Joanne isn't Jewish.

The first three episodes of NOBODY WANTS THIS are well made. They have wonderful lead performances from Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, and great comical performances from the supporting cast. The first three episodes follow a simple romantic comedy structure but feature greater depth in the discussions about the rabbi’s devotion to his faith and his relationship with God. NOBODY WANTS THIS has a moral, biblical worldview. For example, the rabbi delivers a sermon about relying on God's plan to guide your life. The first three episodes also extol the importance of family. However, they feature strong foul language and references to sex, drugs and homosexuality. MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.

Content:

(BB, Fe, O, FR, Ho, LLL, S, A, D, Fe, Ho, M): 

Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:
  An overall moral and biblical worldview where the lead character, a rabbi, delivers a sermon in Episode 1 about the importance of trusting in God’s plan and successfully counsels a couple in his congregation in Episode 2 who are struggling in their first year of marriage, the rabbi and his family’s Jewish faith is depicted as extremely important to them, the lead female character isn’t religious, but she’s also concerned with behaving morally (as shown in Episode 3), there’s an emphasis on the importance of family, and both lead characters are very close to their families and respect their opinions, plus there are brief mentions of feminism in Episode 2 during discussions about lead female’s podcast, Episode 3 shows lead female and her sister on their podcast interviewing an aura specialist, but Joanne makes it clear she doesn’t believe in auras and tells her sister and their listeners that they’re not real, and there are references to lesbians in one scene, and the lead female’s father is homosexual;

Foul Language:
  44 obscenities (including 20 “f” words) and 15 light profanities in first three episodes of series;

Violence:
  No violence;

Sex:
  Several jokes refer to fornication, and there are references to lesbians in one scene, and lead female’s father is homosexual;

Nudity:
  No nudity;

Alcohol Use:
  Characters drink throughout the first three episodes;

Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse:
  Rabbi smokes marijuana in Episode One, and Joanne and Morgan talk about their mother taking ayahuasca; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:
  Joanne lies to a date and sneaks out of the restaurant in Episode 1, characters gossip, but rabbi cites the Talmud and advises them not to in Episode 1, female lead lies to a woman at male lead’s temple to get her to stop bothering her in Episode 2.

More Detail:

NOBODY WANTS THIS is a romantic comedy series on Netflix that tells the story of Joanne and Noah, both unlucky in love. Joanne hosts a podcast discussing her dating woes, while Noah is a rabbi who just broke up with his longtime girlfriend. The pair meet by chance and hit it off, but Noah struggles with his family and congregation’s opposition to the relationship, because Joanne isn’t Jewish.

The first episode introduces Joanne, a dating podcast host who works alongside her sister, Morgan. Noah is a rabbi who recently ended things with his longtime girlfriend, Rebecca. Joanne has the worst luck when it comes to love, and her sister challenges her to start making better decisions in her dating life.

Joanne and Noah meet at a dinner party hosted by a mutual friend and immediately click. However, things stall when Joanne finds out he’s a rabbi. She tells Noah they shouldn’t start anything, because she’s still sticking to the challenge her sister laid out. The pair can’t stop thinking about each other, though. Joanne finds herself attending a worship service where Noah delivers a moving sermon about God’s plan for our lives. The episode closes with Joanne and Noah meeting after the service, to the displeasure of Noah’s mother, who’s upset that Joanne isn’t Jewish.

Episode 2 picks up with Joanne and Noah talking after his sermon. He asks her to wait outside while he speaks to his congregation, but Joanne tries to leave with her sister after thinking Noah is giving her the brush-off. He catches her before she leaves, and he and his brother, Sasha join her and her sister, Morgan, to get a drink.

 

Noah and Joanna discuss her podcast, and he shares his reservations about discussing such personal topics in a public venue. Joanne argues that she’s encouraging people to be vulnerable and genuinely connect with others. Their talk is interrupted by Sasha’s wife, who reveals that Noah was engaged. He and Sasha leave, while Joanne mistakenly thinks that Noah is still engaged.

The pair don’t speak for the next few days. Joanne has frustrating discussions about the future of her and Morgan’s podcast. The studio they’re talking to wants them to play up the sexual nature of some of their podcast conversations, while Joanne wants to stress the importance of being open, even when it’s uncomfortable. Meanwhile, Noah counsels a young couple at his temple. Remembering Joanne’s advice, he tells them to be open about their vulnerabilities. They have a successful conversation.

Noah reaches out to Joanne. Noah and Joanne meet for dinner “as friends,” and he thanks her for what she said, sharing the couple’s story. He apologizes for not being upfront about his romantic past and clarifies that he’s not engaged to Rebecca. They end the evening with a kiss. However, as Joanne drives away, Noah checks his phone to see that Rebecca has called and texted multiple times. The episode ends with him calling her to ask if everything is all right.

In Episode 3, Joanne and Morgan record an interview with an aura specialist for their podcast. Meanwhile, Noah rushes to the hospital, where he learns Rebecca was in a fender-bender and hurt her wrist.

Joanne and Noah grapple with the question, “Am I a good person?” when Joanne’s sister tells her she isn’t good enough to be in a relationship with a man of God. Meanwhile, Noah feels guilty that he broke Rebecca’s heart.

On her drive home, Joanne almost hits a dog and brings him home with her, where she finds Noah waiting. They talk and joke about their kiss and the dog. Joanne intends to take the pup to her friend’s dog rescue. The episode ends on a hopeful note for the couple.

NOBODY WANTS THIS is a high-quality series, with wonderful performances from the leads, Kristen Bell and Adam Brody, and great comedic performances from the supporting cast, like Justine Lupe, Timothy Simons, and Jackie Tohn. The show follows a simple romantic comedy structure but is given greater depth by the discussions about Noah’s devotion to his faith and relationship with God.

Overall, NOBODY WANTS THIS has a moral, biblical worldview. Noah delivers a sermon about relying on God’s plan to guide your life. Also, many characters speak about their commitment to their faith. Finally, Noah counsels a married couple in Episode 2 and Episode 3 focuses on what it means to be a good person. However, NOBODY WANTS THIS features strong foul language and some lewd references. There are also brief references to feminism, drugs and homosexuality. So, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution.