Cover art by @theneesheillustrator on Instagram
by Matt Gannon
What happens when you mix Kirsten Dunst with alligators, chlorine, self-help tapes, sweat, and a hypnotically alluring pyramid scheme? You get one of the most promising new shows of the year, On Becoming a God in Central Florida.
Central Florida has been in development whiplash for years, springing between AMC and YouTube Premium before finally landing at Showtime (the perfect network for the program). Dunst stars as Krystal Stubbs, a minimum-wage water park employee whose husband has been completely bamboozled by the world of selling products through pyramid schemes. In a turn of events that shouldn’t be spoiled, she ends up being forced to enter this world herself (but prepared to take it down from within).
This is the best Dunst has ever been, and she fully inhabits the role of Krystal. Matching her grimy and sweaty surroundings, her outfits and clunky braces make for an incredibly subtle yet impactful transformation (if that’s even the right word). In a time when so many actors are impossibly polished, even when placed in the most disgusting surroundings, it’s great to see so much authenticity (because no one except Obie Garbeau II himself could stay immaculate in this part of Central Florida). Dunst isn’t afraid to be nasty and angry, but she gives Krystal the desperation so sorely needed to make her into an incredibly compelling protagonist. She’s vicious, and it’s both dread-inducing and satisfying every time she cusses someone out or makes some successful business move, like watching a lioness stalk an equally dangerous prey. Will she take it down, or will she fall, just like her husband did? Finding out the answers to this question is incredibly addicting.
The supporting cast is good, featuring an impressively wacky Alexander Skarsgård in a role that will be sure to get him a guest Emmy this year. However, the plots of the side characters are never quite as interesting as Krystal’s, namely because they’re missing the aforementioned ingredient that made Dunst and her character so stellar: desperation.
At its root, the show is all about desperation. After all, what else would drive someone to join a pyramid scheme? These characters aren’t stupid; they just don’t have any other choice (or at least they think they don’t). Where the side storylines fail is when the focus isn’t on that desperation, that need to claw back to the surface. Théodore Pellerin gives a solid performance as the charismatic and completely hypnotized Cody, and his character is fascinating, but only when he is really stuck in a situation where he has no idea where to go. When he’s grasping at straws and drinking endless blue slushies with potential customers, it’s great television, but this may be one of the few shows where characters’ confidence just isn’t as interesting.
And with how good On Becoming a God in Central Florida is though, it never seems to really reach its full potential. Yorgos Lanthimos was originally attached to direct, and while he and the project split ways a while ago, it’s impossible to wonder what it could have been if there had been such a singular artistic vision behind the project. Don’t get me wrong, the writers know exactly what kind of show they’re writing, and their vision is spot-on. However cheesy it sounds, though, it’s missing some level of pizzazz, some sparkle that would really launch it onto the list of the greatest shows of the year. And it’s very close to that list, close enough for Phoebe Waller-Bridge to wrinkle her nose and wonder why it suddenly reeks of water park chlorine in here. Close enough to make me incredibly excited for the rest of the season and season two, because once the writers find that pizzazz, it’ll be perfect.
All in all, the show bears a strange resemblance to the recently released film Hustlers in how they both look at America through the lens of worlds that may not seem like they have too many similarities to our government and social systems. After all, what do strip clubs and pyramid schemes have to do with America? Definitely more than you would think. Krystal’s struggle through the ranks of Founders American Merchandise isn’t just an indictment of flimsy “success” business programs; it’s a cutting look at what must be done to find success in our country. Even though most of America won’t want to find too much to relate with in Dunst’s desperate, metal-filled smile, she represents every one of us, just trying to get by in a system that maybe doesn’t want to give us the success that they promise.
On Becoming a God in Central Florida is marketed as a comedy, but much in line with HBO’s Barry, it’s more of a perfect blend of black comedy and biting drama. While it takes its time to get the ball rolling, it knows exactly what it is and it wants to be, so it’s more than worth your patience as all of the pieces fall into place. And keep watching, because once it hits its rhythm, it (and its two other prop dancers) will become legendary.
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