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Paper Girls centres around four friends – Tiffany (Camryn Jones), Erin (Riley Lai Nelet), Mac (Sofia Rosinsky) and KJ (Fina Strazza) – all 12-year-old girls, brought together by their early morning job of delivering the morning’s news in written form. So, perhaps, not all friends, but acquaintances.
It’s 1988 and it’s Hell Day and the end of the world as we know it, aka, the day after Halloween. In theory, it’s a day to fear, but then like most intangible things in life, it’s all in the mind, but things are about to change.
Whilst out on their paper route, early morning, they get hassled by some older morons on the street who haven’t yet been to bed, but the girls give them as good as they get. However, after the alteraction, they get outside and find the sky all purple. What’s going on?
Well, one thing they discovered is that they’ve gone forward in time to 2019, but with no idea why, nor even what caused it. Still, at least Erin finds herself in her own house… except, one that’s usually occupied by her 43-year-old older self (whose adult life is a bit of a mess), played by Ali Wong, and they’ve just come face to face…. and with her older self not recognising the three other girls because they’re friends she never met at the time… and don’t worry, this meeting is in the trailer. However, there’s plenty of other stuff in it which I won’t mention here.
I normally like films and shows where time travel is involved (well, except most modern Doctor Who), but after two episodes of this, I’m not really getting into it. Perhaps it’s one that’s more aimed at teenage girls, given the protagonists. That said, I’m not sure why they’re meant to be 12-year-old girls anyway, when the actresses are 16. They look more like 16, anyway. Unless they’re trying to shave years off their life, like Zsa Zsa Gabor used to?
But like a lot of modern adaptations, it’s based on a comic book; and while I know Netflix’s Stranger Things isn’t, from my limited knowledge of that programme, it’s full of ’80s music. Paper Girls begins with New Order’s Age of Consent, so perhaps they’re going for the same market?
One issue: like a lot of shows, there’s a lot of muffled dialogue, and everyone’s talking way too fast, without subtitles. And I’m not sure if it’s because I’m watching a preview, but early on, any Chinese dialogue from Erin’s mother isn’t subtitled.
However, I like how at one point, the girls mistake an Alexa for a ‘future robot’, and how KJ had an Atari VCS, albeit a 4-switch system, and that they went to see Debbie Gibson at the now-defunct shopping mall. I was a big fan of hers when I was 16 đŸ™‚
Oh, and as an aside, I remember delivering papers when I was about 16, in 1988 also, in fact. The job sucked and paid hardly anything.
Thanks to our friends at Prime Video for the screener prior to release.
Paper Girls is on Prime Video from today.
You can also buy various volumes of the Paper Girls comic books on Amazon.
Series Directors: Mairzee Almas, Georgi Banks-Davies, Destiny Ekaragha, Karen Gaviola
Producers: Vail Romeyn
Writers: Stephany Folsom, Fola Goke-Pariola, K Perkins, Christopher Cantwell, Lisa Albert, KC Perry, Kai Wu
Comic book: Cliff Chiang, Brian K Vaughan
Creator: Stephany Folsom
Music: The Haxan Cloak
Cast:
Tiffany Quilkin: Camryn Jones
Erin Tieng: Riley Lai Nelet
Mac Coyle: Sofia Rosinsky
KJ Brandman: Fina Strazza
Prioress: Adina Porter
Larry Radakowski: Nate Corddry
Adult Erin: Ali Wong
Adult Tiffany: Sekai Abenì
Juniper Plimpton: Celeste Arias
Adult Missy: Jessika Van
Lauren: Maren Lord
Dylan Coyle: Cliff Chamberlain
Dr. Carol Quilkin: Kellee Stewart
Ozzie Brandman: Christopher Shyer
Jennifer Coyle: Marika Engelhardt
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.