Tune In Or Tune Out: ‘Homebound 3.0’ Makes Up For Lukewarm Romance With Insane Hijinks
Homebound 3.0 shines a light on every single, Asian adult’s worst nightmare: family matchmaking. This New Zealand romantic comedy series stars Sam Wang, who also wrote the series, as Henry Li and Michelle Ang as Melissa Wu, two 30-something’s facing the pressure of their respective families to settle down. In classic romcom fashion, Henry and Melissa strike a deal to fake a relationship to get their families off their backs, but slowly fall in love. While a mild chemistry between the leads detracts from the romance, meddling families and no-holds-barred shenanigans bring plenty of laughs.
Meet Henry and Melissa
Henry and Melissa are the epitome of messy millennials. Both live at home, Henry is a struggling sci-fi writer, and Melissa, though a successful dermatologist, is reckless in every other part of her life, especially relationships. Why the audience should root for them getting together, however, is a bit unclear. Wang and Ang have enough chemistry for a buddy show, but not the heat of a memorable couple. Aside from passion, they don’t bring out new sides of one another or push each other out of their stagnant, homebound lives. There is only a glimpse of this kind of relationship when Henry encourages Melissa to revel in her parent’s favorite sister’s divorce and let herself be happy, rather than self-sabotaging. While not the sweet, healthy development of traditional romcoms, it’s a blend of Homebound 3.0’s cynical humor and the potential depths of Henry and Melissa’s relationship.
Most of the big moments in their romance are predictable and border on contrived. From the spur of the moment hook up that the pair regret in the morning to a poorly handled misunderstanding, the romance plotline is nothing extraordinary. However, it’s still fun watching their lies to their families spiral out of control — leading to improvised love raps and implications of pregnancy — and Henry and Melissa’s individual charms make them entertaining leads, if not the perfect couple.
Was it Tune In or Tune Out?
Henry and Melissa are joined by a plethora of wild characters. Their meddling families are a definite highlight. The parents, grandparents, aunties, and uncles nag, helicopter, and blame each other for every hiccup in Henry and Melissa’s relationship. Melissa’s younger sister Mandy (Louise Jiang) is the golden child of the family, despite being a social media influencer married to a conspiracy theorist while Melissa is a doctor; however, she spirals when her marriage falls apart, adding to the family chaos. Melissa’s best friend Ellie (Kimberley Crossman), RV saleswoman/Henry’s agent Jen (Hannah Marshall), and Henry’s scientific genius friend Aidan (Bala Murali Shingade) round out the cast. Unfortunately, Ellie, Jen, and Aidan receive little screen time. There are brief looks at Jen’s recent divorce and life in an RV, as well as Aidan’s uncanny knowledge of time travel and ability to dodge food projectiles in Matrix fashion. However, little is revealed about the supporting characters, losing an opportunity for a broader range of bizarre antics.
It is the characters’ totally strange adventures that takes Homebound 3.0 from typical romcom to uncommonly funny. The matchmaking process of “Chinese Family Tinder” is a well-known and relatable ordeal for anyone who’s had a date pushed onto them by a relative, or anyone who’s seen enough romcoms. However, references to Tinder and “Chit Chat” — a play on the Chinese messaging platform, WeChat — as well as matchmaker Aunty Linda’s (Helene Wong) division of her clients into good and bad tranches like they’re stocks breathes fresh life into the premise. The heroes also end up at a hobby horse roller derby, a dolphin cult house/swingers club, and a police raid of an illicit drug warehouse. Expanding on the adventures amongst friends instead of focusing on the classic beats of a romance could take Homebound 3.0 to the next level of comedy.
Who will like it?
Homebound 3.0 begins with a classic romcom premise and throws in two Asian New Zealander, relatable, deadbeat millennials. While the beats of their love story are predictable and lack chemistry, the disarrayed charm of the leads makes them entertaining. The busybody relatives and Henry and Melissa’s eccentric friends also provide a great source of comedy; delving deeper into their backgrounds and characters, perhaps in future seasons, would provide even more unique material for the series. It is the oddball antics that Henry, Melissa, and their friends wind up in, tangent to their romance, that carries the series into exceptionally hilarious territory. While the balance of romance, hijinks, and supporting characters is a bit off at times, Homebound 3.0 brings its own special voice to the romcom genre and provides plenty of fresh laughs.
