Fresh Face – Lena Dunham

Okay, this is a stretch but stay with me for a minute:  Imagine if Sandra Dee, in addition to starring in, it had written and directed Gidget, the 1959 movie that ushered the surfing craze into popular culture.  And what if Sandy had then gone on to adapt it for television (too bad for you Sally Fields), with an unblinking focus on what exactly went on with Moon Doggy at the beach?  Nuh, uh.  No chance for the girls to win big in 1959.

But this is exactly the hat trick that 25 year-old Lena Dunham has pulled off.  Fresh out of Oberlin, she produced a smart, original 2010 film about coming home to NYC “in a post college delirium” – Tiny Furniture.  It’s a gem. 

Now under the watchful gaze of Judd Apatow, she’s got a breakout hit on HBO, Girls, recycling and expanding the characters and situations of Tiny Furniture.  The writing is sharp, the acting authentic and Dunham's character heroic.  

Watch it for its knowing, hilarious insights into how women are navigating the straits of young adulthood right now  Watch it for an early look at young comedic talent who could be this generation’s Elaine May (Wayback Machine alert – Google her).  

But whatever you do, do not watch it as the parent of a 25 year old daughter.  If that's you, go watch something else less unsettling, like Game of Thrones or something.