Lena and her leading men - Girls (2012) Discussion

[–] Calcifer93 7 years ago

I think people tend to be influenced by Adam being portrayed in a more attractive manner later on and being shown in more handsome positions, as well as gaining success. When I started watching this show (towards season 2), this board was full of talk of how disgusting Adam was. I remember thinking they were well matched, he has some pretty wonky features (remember him telling Ray they're both kind of funny looking... funny because it's accurate) and his lifestyle, living on his grandmother's money while being full of talk about not taking anything from anyone and not wanting to buy into the corporate spiel. Not to mention the mess his house was, his odd sexual preferences and the way he treated Hannah.
That's the other thing, if you go back to the start, Adam was actually fully treating her like a booty call and obviously found her alright enough to *beep* but not the kind of girl he'd fall for. He eventually came around after Hannah kept reaching out to him and chasing him. He wasn't in a hurry to get together with her in any way.
And in terms of them having a "grating personality" in common, Hannah was very gracious about his quirks (you think another girlfriend would've been as touched by a necklace he made her with his own tooth?) and they were sexually compatible.

As for Wilson, I do agree that he's lots better looking but at the same time, Hannah just happened to fall into his lap and offer herself. She's significantly younger than him. And while she is grating I think she was also disarming to him in the way she just popped up. There was never any implication that they might get together, in fact he might not be looking for a relationship in general after his divorce. And it was absolutely shown that he got fed up with Hannah's self-absorbed attitude later on. I don't think a man like Wilson would've chased Hannah or made her his girlfriend, but I think you'd be surprised at how much many men are willing to lower their standards if sex is thrown at them with no effort from their side.

Tv is fiction, of course it's a fantasy. I just don't understand why it irks people so much if they feel Lena doesn't "stay within her league" while [even if we for the sake of the argument say that the guys would indeed never throw her a second glance] older, less attractive men with stunning leading ladies are pretty much the norm in movies. What made me do a double take was Adam landing Mimi-Rose after already having dated Nathalia. Okay, Nathalia and he were set up, they had obvious chemistry, fine. But I don't think it's that likely either that someone with his looks would be sleeping with women like her, Mimi-Rose and Jessa in real life, yet no one bats an eye at that...

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[–] azurit 7 years ago

Adam is ugly but some girls find his odd face attractive and his body physically fit. so yes he could get Mimi-Rose and Natalia as girlfriends. a woman normally doesnt choose a guy who is more attractive than the woman and if she tries, the guy wont date her or he wont stay very long with her.

i see nothing nice in Hannah, just a spoiled egocentered person who still behaves like a kid and sometimes like jessas twin. no reason why any of these guys would fall for Hannah irl. so yes this is totally Lenas fantasy.

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[–] Melancholy11 7 years ago

Adam Driver, the actor is very handsome. If someone says that his ears stick out or his face is odd -- he takes care of himself and works out. Unlike, the actress, Lena Dunham. Her body is that if someone that is incredibly lazy. In real life, I find it hard to believe she exercises.

When you say that women don't choose men (mates) that are more attractive then they are themselves -- that is nonsense. I see great looking men with homely women all the time. The only exception is when it comes to being fit. It is extremely rare to see a fit male with an out of shape woman.

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[–] ceric-703-490951 7 years ago

I see fit males with out of shape women all the time. Usually, it's a married couple where the woman has had a few kids, doesn't have time to work out anymore, eats the kids' leftovers, and generally has let herself go. Maybe she started out thin at the beginning of the marriage but gets fat later.

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[–] LovesConfusingJoy 7 years ago

I hardly ever see that.

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[–] StrangerTheHorse 7 years ago

He's got very intense eyes, great cheekbones, and a strong nose. And his thick longer hair is super appealing (and covers up his wonky ears). He's like that guy in high school was kinda dorky, but especially once he finished college, really matured and became quite a stud, even if still a bit unconventional. But the unconventional keeps him approachable.

***
"Only a man who's been burned knows what hell is truly like."

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[–] Jupiter555555 7 years ago

Yeah this is exactly what Jerry Seinfeld did, never bedded less than a 10 and he's not an attractive man, plus his character was not wealthy. Completely unrealistic...countless other examples of men who are the leads or producers of shows and movies doing the same thing, so yeah now that there are women in lead positions and consulted on the hiring of their romantic interests, they're doing the same thing. Deal with it. Btw people like you are exactly why imdb is shutting message boards. You are using them to express a petty, immature, patriarchal pet peeve. Pretty useless waste of internet space.

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[–] Babyfat101 (221) 5 years ago

Great post, Jupiter.

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[–] Pumpyjones 7 years ago

My husband calls Lena the female Woody Allen, because Woody's leading ladies were all way too attractive for him, too, but he was writing his fantasy.

What really struck me about tonight was how awful her personality was. Like, okay, maybe Riz is out of her league, but if she were a fun time I could see him hanging with her. But Hannah was lousy in bed in this episode - like so so bad in bed with him. And she was super negative - hating everything he loved. And she outed everywhere.

If a guy had a one night stand with a woman like that, he wouldn't be begging her to hang out the next day, the way he was. It was unrealistic and weird. They should've had them connect first (like they did later on) and then it would've made more sense.

And btw, I don't know why you think Hannah and Adam were sexually compatible. He was into some kinky stuff she was not interested in, and they even showed her feeling terrible about herself and used for doing it. Remember when he made her pretend to be underage? Or when he used her as a visual jerk off aid? Or when they had sex on the couch from behind and she was upset about it? I don't think she was getting off on those fantasies. I think she indulged a lot of his sexual weirdness but wasn't turned on by most of it. That's one reason I thought Jessa/Adam worked - when they were role playing she was just as into it as he was - she was the one who started it!

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[–] Melancholy11 7 years ago

Woody's fantasy? Have you not watched his films? His muse was Mia Farrow, whom he married. She was also in many of his films. She was dead drop gorgeous when she was young.

It was not his fantasy.

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[–] Pumpyjones 7 years ago

Yes, Mia was/is gorgeous but she was his actual partner. I think he was talking more about like when he had Julia Robert, Debra Messing, Mariel Hemmingway, Helen Hunt, Mira Sorvino and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as his romantic leading ladies. Like, I'm guessing his changes with those women irl would not be big. It's amazing enough he got Mia, but I'm sure if she were much younger (like these women), and he were in his 60's-70's like he was in most of the movies with here women, she wouldn't have been with him.

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[–] emo_ville2002 7 years ago

Yes, Mia was/is gorgeous but she was his actual partner. I think he was talking more about like when he had Julia Robert, Debra Messing, Mariel Hemmingway, Helen Hunt, Mira Sorvino and Julia Louis-Dreyfus as his romantic leading ladies. Like, I'm guessing his changes with those women irl would not be big. It's amazing enough he got Mia, but I'm sure if she were much younger (like these women), and he were in his 60's-70's like he was in most of the movies with here women, she wouldn't have been with him.

Mia's ex-husband, the composer Andre Previn, left his long term wife and writing partner, Dory, for Mia.

When she was very young, Mia was married to Frank Sinatra, that was another bizarre pairing. I think this was during "Rosemary's Baby". Frank complained that he hated Mia's short haircut. There were rumors that it wasn't a real marriage, especially as Sinatra was usually attracted to voluptuous shapely women. During their marriage Mia resembled the model Twiggy.

When it comes to famous people and the want-to-be famous, we have no idea what makes them gravitate to certain people, it's surely more than looks.

Besides the fact that most celebs are wealthy and powerful....that appears to be a huge draw for some people. Look at Harvey Weinstein's gorgeous fashion designer wife, Georgina Chapman! She's stunning. It's definitely a very odd paring. Georgina is British, gorgeous and much younger. On the surface, their relationship seemed very weird, it was as if she was barely in the US a few months, then she quickly married him. It seems like a marriage of convenience. Of course, many of Georgina's designs are worn on the red carpet by most of the actresses in Weinstein's films. Wow, what a coincidence. 

There are many celebrity couples who are not physically compatible, you have to figure the physical attraction is not a major factor in many of these marriages and relationships. It's likely more about these people wanting to marry a powerful and wealthy person who can help them with their career.

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[–] Melancholy11 7 years ago

That's pretty much common knowledge but I agree

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[–] Melancholy11 7 years ago

Regarding Mia, it was during the filming of Rosemary's Baby that Sinatra wanted a divorce. It had nothing to do with the hair. He wanted her to stop acting and just be his wife. It was far from a fake marriage. He was absolutely in love with her and her son is most obviously his -- not Woody's. So after the divorce, Sinatra and Mia had a long term romance.

As far as her not being gorgeous. Give me a break. She was drop dead gorgeous during that time.

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[–] emo_ville2002 7 years ago

Regarding Mia, it was during the filming of Rosemary's Baby that Sinatra wanted a divorce. It had nothing to do with the hair. He wanted her to stop acting and just be his wife. It was far from a fake marriage. He was absolutely in love with her and her son is most obviously his -- not Woody's. So after the divorce, Sinatra and Mia had a long term romance.

As far as her not being gorgeous. Give me a break. She was drop dead gorgeous during that time.

There are a lot of young people posting at IMDb, teens, as well as people in their early 20s and from the looks of some posts, possibly children.

Basically, there are many here who have no clue who Mia Farrow is, let alone Frank Sinatra, there are people here who are not even familiar with pop music from the 1990s, others claim they have no idea who The Beatles were. That said, no, this information is not common knowledge for many who post at IMDb.

Sure, as a fan of Mia's you must surely know the minute details of her life, others who aren't fans, know little or nothing at all about her private life before Woody. Some movie fans only know Mia as an actress who worked with Woody Allen and was in a relationship with him.

I didn't post Mia's Vidal Sassoon haircut was the reason Sinatra asked for a divorce, I posted he did not like her very short haircut. Sinatra being in love with Mia doesn't make it a real marriage...in a real relationship, love is a two way street....did SHE love him or was the marriage about helping her career? At the time, I was way too young to know much about this relationship Not everyone knows all the details about pop culture icons from every era.

I also DID NOT post that Mia was not gorgeous at the time, she was always a very attractive woman. I did say Mia was very thin during her marriage to Sinatra, she resembled the famous 1960s model Twiggy. FYI, Twiggy WAS gorgeous too, just extremely skinny.

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[–] Pumpyjones 7 years ago

That Twiggy look was what was in at the time. Even Barbra Streisand looked rail think back in the day. I'm guessing there were a lot of coke parties happening?

It's funny Mia's haircut was such a scandal bc it's super chic now.

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[–] emo_ville2002 7 years ago

What really struck me about tonight was how awful her personality was. Like, okay, maybe Riz is out of her league, but if she were a fun time I could see him hanging with her. But Hannah was lousy in bed in this episode - like so so bad in bed with him. And she was super negative - hating everything he loved. And she outed everywhere.

If a guy had a one night stand with a woman like that, he wouldn't be begging her to hang out the next day, the way he was. It was unrealistic and weird. They should've had them connect first (like they did later on) and then it would've made more sense.

Isn't Hannah's awful personality a huge part of the series? Mostly the main aspect? Hannah is self-absorbed, abrasive, annoying etc...Hannah has an awful personality...the character didn't suddenly become this way...she's always been awful and immature.

Most men could care less how lousy a woman is in bed, as long as there is the promise of sex, men are there. Recall how Paul-Louis almost immediately shut off the lights when they got to his room? Paul-Louis likely wasn't all that turned-on by Hannah, but was somewhat drunk and wanted to get laid! That was a given. 

Hannah is spoiled, coddled and basically cannot navigate real life. Of course, this series is about her specific group of friends, not all millennials are like Hannah & Co.

You do have to wonder, does Lena want us to believe such a character should be embraced as 'cute' let alone bearable? There is almost nothing likable about Hannah.

When Hannah first arrived at the surf club, opened her suitcase and noticed the sunscreen tube had opened, she then proceeded to put on the sunscreen in such a childish manner. Hannah is basically an overgrown child. Hannah, for all her advanced degrees, and so-called intelligence, is quite immature and most of all, delusional and utterly self absorbed.

This is why most of her romantic pairings are ridiculous, especially the last boyfriend! If I'm recalling correctly, the guy was completely normal and decent. I don't recall anything being particularly offensive about that boyfriend. Remember, most of these guys have pursued Hannah. Nothing in Hannah's extremely negative, and self-absorbed, personality would draw a normal man to her.

Hannah's dumpy body aside, her repugnant personality would turn off any normal decent loving man, yet week after week, we see this woman attracting men like a magnet. Attractive and interesting men no less. Pure fantasy!

The people here comparing Jerry Seinfeld's character with Hannah, don't seem to get it. Jerry, though extremely annoying at times, was never as over-the-top ridiculous as Hannah.

As for Hannah's latest conquest....we didn't get much to go by re Riz's character Paul-Louis, he was presented as a guy who loved life and possibly wants to experience all types of women.

Paul-Louis was a kind of hippie-ish guy of this era. After their initial awkward sex experience, there was no other explanation why he chose to spend more time with Hannah. Perhaps Paul-Louis simply wanted to get laid again. But, he did seem sincere when he kept apologizing to Hannah about having a girlfriend.

They had little to bond over, Paul-Louis was from a working class background which was dysfunctional, Hannah from a loving middle class upbringing where education etc was stressed.

Of all the attractive, though likely extremely shallow, women at the surf camp, Paul-Louis chose to spend an entire weekend with Hannah?! A women who spends an extreme amount of time whining and complaining? In the real world, this wouldn't be happening. Unless the guy was completely desperate for sex and any type of companionship.

It didn't appear as if Paul-Louis was lacking in the female companionship department. Didn't he tell Hannah he was having sex with most of his female surf students!? Then, when discussing Hannah's pubic hair he did tell her he'd seen all sorts of vaginas all over the world. The writing was great on last night's episode! Very funny stuff. 

In fact, Riz did mention he really enjoyed working with Lena and really respects her as an artist. Riz basically gushed a lot about Lena. He was impressed by her work ethic on the set, that she was nice to everyone and always managed to get the days shoot done by 5PM.

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[–] LovesConfusingJoy 7 years ago

I agree with you. The fact that it is so unrealistic keeps you from rooting for most of her pairing. It's not wrong to say it's unrealistic.

Having said that her real life boyfriend used to date Scarlett Johassan

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[–] starbuck-19011 7 years ago

He was having basically a fling with her. He had a girlfriend already. I don't see this the least bit unrealistic. I have know women who aren't even as attractive as her have fings with attractive men.

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[–] emo_ville2002 7 years ago

He was having basically a fling with her. He had a girlfriend already. I don't see this the least bit unrealistic. I have know women who aren't even as attractive as her have fings with attractive men.

Were we watching the same show? It was solely just about Paul-Louis?

Sure, a fling for Paul-Louis, who was obviously a very sexual being...before they hooked up, at the bar he told Hannah he was having sex with many of his female students...yet after the sex with him, Hannah seemed to have other thoughts.

While Hannah did tell Paul-Louis she wasn't upset by his revelation of a girlfriend and his open relationship lifestyle (while he and the girlfriend were apart, they both had sex with others)....Hannah did seem to be thinking about Paul-Louis as a potential boyfriend. Beyond the sex, Hannah was clearly attracted to him.

Guess you missed the dialog before Paul-Louis revealed the girlfriend...Hannah told Paul-Louis that she was thinking about renting a place in Montauk. Obviously, Paul-Louis was the reason Hannah would entertain the idea of doing such a thing....she doesn't like the sun, the beach etc.

Did you see the expression on Hannah's face when Paul-Louis then mentioned having a girlfriend? Despite her denial of not caring....she didn't seem too pleased.

This is what happens when two miss-matched individuals have drunken sex, there was a lot of miscommunication.

While the episode was extremely funny, it was a bit sad. A lot of the writing on "GIRLS" can be depressing. The end shot of Hannah's face said it all. Watch the episode again. Great acting all around.

We can hope Hannah learned something from this 'fling' and that by the series end, she finally becomes an adult.

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[–] Melancholy11 7 years ago

People have flings at all stages of life and that doesn't contradict being an adult.

Hannah is very screwed up. The male actor was the best thing about that episode. He was a good actor. That's probably why people are talking about it.

Besides them being unbelievably unmatched. I'm sure if we were to see the surf instructor's girlfriend she would be way prettier than Hannah.

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[–] emo_ville2002 7 years ago

People have flings at all stages of life and that doesn't contradict being an adult.

Hannah is very screwed up. The male actor was the best thing about that episode. He was a good actor. That's probably why people are talking about it.

Besides them being unbelievably unmatched. I'm sure if we were to see the surf instructor's girlfriend she would be way prettier than Hannah.

Re people having flings...that was not my main point about what transpired btween Hannah and Paul-Louis.

Most mature intelligent adults in LTRs....do not have a lot of flings. Of course, some people might have an affair with one person. What Paul-Louis was doing is not normal behaviour for mature adults, he was having sex with a lot of different women and he even mentioned participating in orgies. Men too? AIDS and STDs are still out there.

With Hannah, was a condom used? I didn't see anyone with one.

As Hannah spent more time with Paul-Louis, it appeared she didn't think of their weekend as a mere fling. Hannah is now single again, she's possibly looking for a new relationship. Beyond sex, she was definitely attracted to Paul-Louis.

There is no argument about Paul-Louis being very open about his sexuality and the amount of people he was having sex with. Hannah seemed to misconstrue the situation, especially as she became more attracted to Paul-Louis.

You enjoyed the acting of Riz Ahmed, the actor who played Paul-Louis? Riz been acting for years, Check out "The Night Of" series, he's the lead in that. He's also been in many films. You'll be surprised by the diversity of his characters. btw, he's British.

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[–] marco-47826 7 years ago

Hannah is a moron. Seriously, who is dumb enough to think a guy who sleeps with you, on the first night. Doesn't do it, just to have fun? She has a long way to go, before calling herself an adult...
And yeah, Dunham's taste for self indulgence is really annoying. Like guys like that, would want to screw a crass like Hannah...
Also, she always tends to give unattractive men to Marnie's character. I mean, Desi looked like a fcking hobo, in the premiere. And Ray looks like a mentally challenged person. I can sense her jaleousy, towards Allison Williams beauty, with choices like these.

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[–] TwentytoOneDevotchka 7 years ago

Many LTRs have begun with a free-spirited tryst that happened on the first night. So Im not sure how you are using this as viable evidence that Hannah is dumb. Im my own experience, a guy is going to sleep with a girl thats willing on the first date whether he has intentions of being with her or not. Sex is sex. Im doubtful there are legions of men out there going "No, lets wait to fVck" to their girl crushes.

Also, lots of women find Desi attractive. Paul-Louis' character is pretty much on par in that department. He kinda looks like a deer in head lights all the time so your point about taking all the good men and leaving Marnie garbage men is moot. Marnie is sleeping with Ray for validation, not because she thinks he is attractive so to get that across effectively, it wouldnt have worked if Ray had been a conventionally attractive type. Like Marnie says to him "If I liked you I wouldnt be eating pizza in front of you"

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[–] marco-47826 7 years ago

LMAO! You're so naive and delusional. Guys who respect you, wait. Guys who think you're a slut, do it. When a guy knows it's for real, he gets to know you first. Why do you think the third date rule exists? It's a way to see if the guy really wants you, or your body. At least, in theory...
Guy who don't bother knowing your first name, before sleeping with you. Usually want something casual. Unattached.
Desi isn't my type. But him looking like a hobo, had nothing to do with the actor's handsome. You can be really good looking, but when in unflattering clothes, and stuffs. Your "beauty" tends to be spoiled. At least, to people who like a good smell, on a body.
Yeah right. Like Ray is a poor victim, who's being used by her. Why didn't he just told her to go fvck herself, after she said that? Because it flatters his ego too, to have a beautiful chick, in his bed. Both use each other. Marnie for her experimenting, to see how it feels like with a "good guy". And Ray, for his own pleasure, because he gets to release his fantasy.

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[–] emo_ville2002 7 years ago

Also, lots of women find Desi attractive. Paul-Louis' character is pretty much on par in that department. He kinda looks like a deer in head lights all the time so your point about taking all the good men and leaving Marnie garbage men is moot. Marnie is sleeping with Ray for validation, not because she thinks he is attractive so to get that across effectively, it wouldnt have worked if Ray had been a conventionally attractive type. Like Marnie says to him "If I liked you I wouldnt be eating pizza in front of you"

Desi is kind of attractive, but his awful personality cancels out anything physically attractive about him.

Many have commented on Riz Ahmed's deer-in-the-headlights look, which was why his Naz character on "The Night Of" was not believed to be the murderer. Naz's air of innocence was what first caught the lawyer Stone's eye. His 'look' can also be a factor in the premiere episode, Hannah might have been attracted to his looks as well as his free spirit lifestyle. Paul-Louis was so unlike any of the men in her group. Her friends are all difficult negative people.

Remember what Paul-Louis told Hannah about love versus hate? How much energy it took to be a hater? He made Hannah look at things differently

Ray might not be what many people find attractive, yet his personality, intelligence, dry sense of humour and warmth make up for his lack of conventional attractiveness. Remember, beauty fades....stupid is forever! 

If I had a choice between Desi, Adam or Ray, I'd take Ray any day.

Marnie is as much of an annoying woman as Hannah, it doesn't matter how 'attractive' she is, Marnie also has a horrid self-absorbed personality.

Most of the characters on GIRLS have abrasive annoying personalities.

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[–] Melancholy11 7 years ago

Thank you. I will check out your suggestions.

Regarding the condom I was shocked that hey didn't write one into the scene. In Tiny Furniture, her character admits to not using a condom. Yet, in some sex scenes in Girls you do see some condom use. It would seem that Dunham is wishy washy about the topic as she is inconsistent.

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[–] starbuck-19011 7 years ago

Whatever..it was a fling to him. He was a player with all of the women who came there to surf. Hannah is easy, she may have had a fleeting thought of a ltr with him but it surely passed quickly.

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