Author's Note: Since this article was originally written, Weeds has now concluded. The eighth and final season should be surfacing on DVD soon. The events described in this review cover the first season only.
When it premiered on the Showtime network in August of 2005, the controversial series Weeds became a hit almost immediately. The show is a biting, satirical look at suburban life in all its dysfunctional glory that is both dark and hilarious at the same time.
The main character on the show, Nancy Botwin (played by Mary-Louise Parker), is just your average, typical suburban soccer-mom; she's a devoted wife, and a doting mother to her two sons, Silas and Shane (played by Hunter Parrish and Alexander Gould respectively). She attends PTA meetings, takes younger son Shane to his soccer games, and drinks enough iced latte to keep the local coffee franchise in business almost single-handedly...all the while maintaining an immaculate home in the upscale suburb of Agrestic California with the help of her live-in maid, Lupita (played by Renee Victor).
However, when her husband, Judah, suddenly suffers a fatal heart attack, Nancy is left with no way to support her family. In her desperation, she starts selling marijuana to her neighbors and friends in order to maintain the lifestyle to which she has become accustomed. With the help of her supplier, Heylia (played by Tonye Patino), Nancy quickly learns the ropes of drug dealing, and transforms herself into a self-proclaimed "baroness of bud."
Working under the 'guise of operating a bakery, Nancy quickly builds an impressive clientรจle that ranges from her accountant...who also happens to be on the city council...to the twenty-something student body of the local community college. Through it all, she somehow manages to keep up the outward appearance of the normal, happy suburbanite.
Unfortunately, things in Nancy's world are not as rosy as they seem on the surface. When her business begins to find its legs, it slowly dawns on her that she hasn't gotten the hang of being a drug dealer quite as well as she thought she had. From day one, she is besieged by one crisis after the next. To begin with, her brother-in-law, Andy (played by Justin Kirk), shows up out of nowhere and takes up residence on her couch, becoming a freeloading parasite that refuses to vacate. When he discovers how she pays the bills he is determined to worm his way into a partnership with her. She gets robbed of a fourteen thousand dollar stash, by a rent-a-cop who turns out to be a dealer himself. In addition, she has to deal with her friend and neighbor, the deliciously vicious Celia Hodes (played by Elizabeth Perkins). Celia is a completely self-absorbed wife and mother who totally redefines the word narcissist, and whose scathing insults could make Satan himself cringe in fear.
On top of all that, she meets Peter Scottson (played by Martin Donovan), when Shane faces his son in a Karate tournament, and winds up injuring him by biting his foot during the match. Peter is hiding a secret of which Nancy is unaware...one that could pose a serious threat to her. It's a secret guaranteed to leave the audience slack-jawed when it is finally revealed. And all of that is just in the first season; there are many more unexpected plot twists as the show progresses.
Bottom line: Weeds is smart, witty, and extremely addictive comedy that is more than worthy of your time. The characters are engaging, and the plot completely sucks you in and refuses to let go. Series creator, Jenji Kohan, does a great job of revealing the dark side underneath the plastic smiles of suburbia, doing so with a wicked sense of humor. Watch just one episode, and you won't be able to quit! This show is absolutely guaranteed to leave you shouting “thank God it's high day!”
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