What To Watch While Quarantined - #1 Red Oaks

Series #1 – RED OAKS

Streaming Service- Amazon Prime Video

Seasons – 3 (2014-2017)

Starring -  Craig Roberts, Paul Reiser, Richard Kind, Jennifer Grey, Ennis Esmer, Oliver Cooper, Alexandra Socha

Tone and Feel – Caddyshack meets The Wonder Years

Red Oaks is a comedy series set in the mid to late 1980s that pays homage to everything great about movies and TV of the time. Set at a New Jersey country club where the one percent spend their leisure time, Red Oaks features themes of the little guy versus the mucky-mucks which were a staple of the time. But just when you think it’s going to be a poor man’s Caddyshack reboot, Red Oaks proves to be so much more genuine, honest and raw than the early 80’s comedies were. It shows flashes of the sincere yet awkward coming-of-age moments that were so prevalent in the John Hughes movies of the time.

The series is centred around  David Frye played by Craig Roberts, a teenager who is working at the Red Oaks Country Club through the summers to pay for his education. His father Sam (played brilliantly by Richard Kind) wants David to follow in his footsteps and become an accountant. David, however, dreams of moving to New York and going to film school after which he will become a successful film director. This generational conflict is a common theme throughout the series and is set up beautifully in the very first scene of the pilot. Just when you think you’ve seen this same scene a hundred times before, you quickly find out that you haven’t.

The supporting cast is nicely rounded out by David’s best-friend Wheeler, his girl-next-door girlfriend, Karen, his tennis-pro boss Nash who vacillates between immature playboy and sage mentor, and Skye, the mysterious teenager who catches his eye.

For a series that is centred around teenagers, the older generation of actors almost steals the series. Paul Reiser is both convincing and compelling as a master-of-the-universe a-hole. David’s parents, played by Kind and a sexually confused Jennifer Grey, are laugh-out-loud funny while serving as an appropriate foil for David as he longs to break free from his crazy household. The ongoing theme of chasing after what you want versus going the safe route is as apt for the older generation as it is for David and his friends.

The three seasons of the series are set in the summers of 1985, 86, and 87 so if you are close to my age, there will be a bonus appeal to watching Red Oaks. There is something ultimately satisfying about seeing characters living in a time when you were that same age. This explains why TV creators seem to want to write about when they were young. Think Happy Days in the 70s, Wonder Years in the 80s, and that 70s show in the 90s.

More than just great 80s nostalgia, Red Oaks boasts fully developed characters, romantic subplots, and story arcs that feel genuine with endings that are well-earned, not merely tacked on.

If you enjoy period dramedies with as much heart as laughs, you should do yourself a favour and watch Red Oaks while quarantined.