Grade: B+
“Red Oaks” is Amazon Prime’s coming-of-age story set in the 1980s. It tells the story of David Myers, a young accounting major at New York University who wants to be a filmmaker, portrayed by Craig Roberts. He works as a tennis instructor at the exclusive Red Oaks Country Club during the summer between his sophomore and junior year.
He meets Skye, a painter and a let’s-get-wild-in-the-city kind of girl. She has the spirit of Ramona Flowers and the look of Molly Ringwald. She brings alive the artistic filmmaking part of David’s soul. Season one leaves us with the two getting together and Skye deciding to go to Paris for a year.
Season two, released Friday, begins with David in Paris to meet with Skye after taking a leave of absence from NYU. He returns home at the end of the first episode as summer is beginning and continues working at Red Oaks.
Although I did feel like season two didn’t have quite as much of a storyline to follow, the second half of the season made me change my mind, and the season finale knocked me off my feet.
David — who wants to set himself free of his parents’ protection and the suburbs — and Skye are a bit lost in the beginning. Skye, who once was an amazing character, starts to lose her charisma. However, she is aiming for her own independence by dropping out of college in order to try to make it without her dad’s credit card.
By the end of the season, they both find their ways and become interesting once again.
What I love the most about “Red Oaks” is how it embraces the ‘80s atmosphere in every single way — from costumes to background music. The classic cars that New York’s suburban high class drove are incredibly recreated. The music that plays in the last scene of every episode leaves you hanging on the time’s spirit and desperate to watch the next one.
However, one thing that is quite a shame is how great characters like Nash, Wheeler and Herb — the character that made me laugh the most — are not truly explored. On the bright side, we get to spend more time with Sam and Judy, David’s folks, who are dealing with their recent divorce. Sam gets a cat to cope with his loneliness, and Judy explores her sexuality.
Overall, “Red Oaks” is good TV show and a great option if you are looking for something new and fresh.
Some viewers may relate to the adorable and funny David, who is figuring out his life and doesn’t know for sure what to expect for those distant days after summer’s end. I know I did.
Those twenty-something years are the ones in which you should enjoy life at its fullest but have to think about your future. I guess everyone goes through that eventually. You might think you have everything together, every plan written down and a good job that fulfills your dreams and your bank account. But the truth is that you never truly know what the future holds.
