Dicks are really having a moment right now. Chris Pontius’ member stomped all over the opening of “Jackass Forever,” Jason Mantzoukas voiced Sebastian Stan-as-Tommy-Lee’s member for “Pam & Tommy,” and now they’re practically members (har har) of the cast of the new HBO Max series “Minx.”
Here’s the thing, though: While “Jackass” and “Pam” use their male genitalia to sort of shock and bewilder, “Minx” uses it to tantalize and to unify. The fictional, episodic tale of the porn industry’s first female-driven nudie mag, “Minx” uses its sensational plotline to find commonality in all of us. After all: Are we all not humans, floppy, silly parts and all, and do we not all occasionally long for a little somethin’ somethin’ to look at?
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“Minx” stars Ophelia Lovibond (“Elementary,” “Guardians Of The Galaxy”) as Joyce, a wide-eyed feminist who finds strength in well-fitted suits and a smug sense of superiority. She’s spent years dreaming up “The Matriarchy Awakens,” a proselytizing magazine that she believes the world doesn’t just need but wants. “New Girl” star Jake Johnson is Doug, the louche owner of Bottom Dollar Publications who strikes up a conversation with Joyce while in line at the Southern California Magazine Pitch Festival. He’d like to hear the idea she’s worked on for a decade. She thinks he’s a scumbag.
Joyce strikes out at the festival (publishers see her protesting magazine cover model and ask “why is she so angry?) but manages to leave a mock-up of her magazine behind. Doug snags it, and after a delayed nudie shoot in Lake Havasu, hands it to some of his bored models to read. They flip for it, and Doug finds Joyce. What if, he argues, we make “The Matriarchy Awakens” but with a nude man as a centerfold? Likening the move to putting peanut butter on a dog pill, Doug somehow manages to sell Joyce on the idea. As a viewer, you get the sense that, while he’s probably a feminist, he’s more into the idea for the economics of it—and for the shock it will send through the porn industry.
There are foibles along the way, of course. The instant Joyce sees a cavalcade of men in line for a model open call, she recoils. Does the magazine really need a centerfold, she asks? And should that man really be nude? And if he is, she asks, “should our penises be ready to assault, or should they be approachable and unassuming, draped gently on a thigh or tucked away under a throw?”
It turns out that Joyce, for as proudly feminist as she is in the workplace, classroom, and on the streets, hasn’t quite taken that liberty to the bedroom, as she ashamedly admits she’s only seen “two-and-a-half” penises her entire life. That soon changes, as the casting call turns into an on-screen parade of dicks of all sizes, shapes, and bends. They flip, they flop, and they helicopter. It’s a bit shocking at first, and it’s probably meant to be, but that shock quickly fades into gentle amusement at the situation rather than at the nudity.
Luckily for Joyce, she’s not alone at Minx. Her right-hand gal is Bambi (Jessica Lowe), who’s a centerfold by trade but an aspiring “centerfold coordinator” at the magazine. Her photographer, Richie (Oscar Montoya), is a whiz with a camera, and her suburban sister, Shelly (Lennon Parham), is always there with a quip and a push to loosen up. Doug’s longtime secretary, Tina (Idara Victor), rounds out the central cast and is perhaps the truly practical person in the whole Bottom Dollar operation. The show also has a cavalcade of cool guests, including hunky fireman centerfold, Shane (Taylor Zakhar Perez), Joyce’s ex, Glenn (Michael Angarano), and Stephen Tobolowsky as a lecherous country club president. There are more guests on the docket for the season, including Amy Landecker, Gillian Jacobs, Hope Davis, and Rich Sommer, all of whom will surely bring a little more zest to “Minx.”
Not that it needs it. “Minx” is truly a joy to watch. It’s also thoughtful, with episodes diving into the stigma around sex toys, the advertising industry’s horrible history of sexism, the politics of porn, and issues of feminist duality (Joyce, Doug rightly says, is scared of the fun part of herself because she thinks it makes her look weak.) Lovibond’s gradual loosening up seems genuinely organic and is a joy to watch, while Johnson—who also co-Executive Produces the show—somehow manages to make a slouch and lean look incredibly cool. He is surely one of the only actors working today that can utter phrases like “What we need is a wet pussy title” and not only not seem like a total fucking creep but also not make viewers feel kind of gross about the whole affair.
On its cover, “Minx” is salacious and flirty, a confection of sex and fun. Inside, though, it’s a multi-layered joy, the kind of comedy that reveals a few more intricacies and a little more humanity with each subsequent perusal. [A]
“Minx” debuts on HBO Max on March 17.