Close Enough is Here, and It’s Lit!

Close Enough Season 1, Episode 1A/1B Review

Finally, after all this time! Close Enough is on HBO MAX, and I’m already halfway through binging the first season. And like I promised, I’m going to be reviewing every episode. However, since each episode consists of 11-minute segments, I need to lay down some ground rules for this:

• No Recaps like I used to do with Amphibia. Just brief reviews.
• I’m not gonna release these things all at once. Two a day, at most. Gotta space it out.
• Going to save the big stuff for a full season review at the end of this.

Now, let’s establish the premise: Close Enough is about Josh and Emily, a millennial married couple living in an apartment with their daughter, Candice, and the divorced couple Alex and Bridgette. And their ex-cop landlady and his shirtless son. Now look up any episode of Regular Show, and you got the premise.

Thus, let’s get this party started.

Quilty Pleasures

The first two minutes of the first episode are a microcosm of what the show’s like. Josh is filming Candice setting a record on an obstacle course, they break open the thermostat, thermostat turns air vent into a black hole. It’s nice to see that Quintel’s kept his surreal sense of humor intact, because from there, that’s basically the entire episode.

The whole premise involves Emily and Josh trying to make a quilt for Candice’s project at the last minute. Then it somehow involves a racist parrot, tiny old people that look like British orphans, and sweatshop sewing. It’s funny, so long as you don’t try to look for any deep meanings behind it. That comes later.

The Perfect House

Emily goes on an open house binge-trip because she wants a taste of what a normal family home would be like. Given how she’s living in a rundown apartment with a crazy man, a free-spirited social media whiz, and a childish husband, it’s understandable.

More importantly, though, seeing all the houses made me realize something: I liked looking at open houses! And then I started worrying that I was letting my inner child die on me and inwardly started panicking. It’s fitting, though: Close Enough may be the first show I’ve seen that’s putting my generation in the realm of adulthood. It’s crazy, but eventually, I’m going to start liking this kind of stuff.

Given that this is Quintel we’re talking about, though, things get surreal and crazy. Emily gets trapped in the house as part of this perfect sitcom family and the only way to get out is to accept her current living conditions. Thankfully, she puts up with it so Candice can go to a great school. That’s good parenting in my book.

Not the Strongest Start, but Close Enough.

So, the first episode wasn’t exactly a game-changing bomb-shell, but then again, I don’t recall “The Power” being one, either. But that doesn’t make this any less fun. This show’s coming at the right moment in my life, after all. I’m out of college, I’ve got a full-time job, and I’m trying my hardest to make the transition without giving up my inner child. That’s why I think I’ll like Close Enough. It’s about our generation learning to be adults and have our own families. I may not have my own family yet, but I can relate to everything else.

I Give “Quilty Pleasures” a 3.5/5, and “The Perfect House” a 3.7/5

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Click here to see my review of the entire season.