Common Sense Media Review
By Joyce Slaton
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Female-centered show has intense sex, interesting ideas.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Slip
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Written, directed by, and starring Zoe Lister-Jones, SLIP introduces us to Mae Cannon (Jones), a woman who's gone numb. She's settled in her job as a museum curator, she's settled in her marriage to Elijah (Whitmer Thomas), so why does she feel so unsettled? Then a chance meeting at a work party causes Mae to undergo a series of jumps into parallel universes that make her question everything about her life so far.
Is It Any Good?
Zoe Lister-Jones is known for playing roles with a wry edge that masks tumultuous emotion, and she continues that trend in this intriguing series about marriage and multiverses. We see Mae's stultifying boredom as Slip begins in a Groundhog Day-style montage of many days all the same: Mae's Barbra Streisand mug, eggs, a blah kiss goodbye at the door of her office from Elijah as the two plan what they'll have for dinner. Mae's friend and co-worker Gina (Tymika Tafari) says she's lucky, single life in New York is awful. Mae isn't so sure, but she knows she's stuck in a rut. What gets her unstuck is a bit of magical business that lands her in a series of parallel-universe relationships with a number of other potential partners who give her a chance to live out other lives.
It's a plot device that works in other mystical narratives like Russian Doll and Everything Everywhere All At Once, and like those popular takes, Slip has a strong female-centric viewpoint and messages it wants to impart. Lister-Jones is contemplating more than just marital ennui; viewers need look no further than the theme of the exhibit Gina and Mae curate together to understand what Slip is ruminating on: the hungry ghost, who Buddhists believe, Mae tells us, "are always searching for a nourishment that they are not equipped to digest." Mae's hunger for more in her life leads her to look for it in different relationships, though ultimately she (and we) understand what she was looking for was right in front of her the whole time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why the idea of parallel universes is a popular one. What wish fulfillment does it speak to?
The actor who plays Mae, Zoe Lister-Jones, also directed and wrote Slip. When actors write movies and TV shows, do they always write roles for themselves?
Families can also talk about whether knowing the storyline of Slip makes watching the unfolding action less enjoyable. Is it a spoiler to reveal the premise of this show? When did the idea of spoilers, and criticism for sharing them, come about? Do you ever share spoilers? Do you mind others doing it?
TV Details
- Premiere date : April 21, 2023
- Cast : Zoe Lister-Jones , Whitmer Thomas , Tymika Tafari
- Network : Roku Channel
- Genre : Drama
- TV rating :
- Last updated : April 24, 2023
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