Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Just Alice’ On Netflix, A Comedy About A Woman Trying To Juggle Two Marriages

Sometimes the more clever writers try to be with a show’s big “twist,” the more annoyed we are. But then when we see that twist, we sometimes get even more annoyed, because we know that the writers are going to have to go to ridiculous extremes to keep whatever secret the main character is hiding from his or her loved ones going as long as possible. That’s what we get with a new Netflix comedy from Colombia.

JUST ALICE: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

Opening Shot: A red car speeds through the streets of Bogotá and parks in front of a bridal shop.

The Gist: Alicia (Verónica Orozco) runs in to pick up a wedding gown just as the store is closing. She says she’s getting it for a friend, but she’s really doing it for herself.

She’s on her way to getting married to Pablo (Sebastián Carvajal) a former priest, and she needs to get to the church in the small town where he lives in three hours. We’re not sure why she’s in such a rush, but when her car is towed and she calls in her friend Susana (Constanza Camelo) to get her there, Susana rides up on a motorcycle and questions Alicia about whether she’s sure about this or not. She questions Alicia again when the motorcycle runs out of gas and they’re waylaid for a bit.

In the meantime Alejo (Michel Brown), a well-regarded author, is at a book fair talking about his latest novel. He keeps citing his wife as his muse and inspiration for the book, but we never hear her name.

Alicia makes it to the church on time, but rips her dress, and has to go to her apartment for Susana to fix it. But she comes back to the church, and she and Pablo exchange deeply heartfelt vows.

As the reception gets underway, though, Alicia gets a call from a political candidate that she advises. He’s in Medellín and wants to come back to Bogotá. She tells Pablo she has to leave “for work,” but what that work is might be different than what Pablo thinks it is.

What Shows Will It Remind You Of? Just Alice has a similar vibe to the Turkish romantic comedy Thank You, Next, though bigamy isn’t on the table in that show.

Our Take: The writers of Just Alice try to be cagey about what’s really going on in the first episode, but they don’t do a very good job of it. Alicia is rushing to her big church wedding, being asked if this is what she really wants. Alejo continuously refers to “my wife” without naming her. His sister and others in his social circle call Alicia and ask why she’s not there. When she takes a video call from them, she whips off her veil.

It becomes readily apparent about halfway through the first episode that her marriage to Pablo is her second one — and the first one is still going strong. So what we’re going to get during this first 19-episode season is Alicia trying to keep her secret from both of her husbands.

This isn’t exactly filling us with confidence about the first season. Why? Because how long can Alicia really maintain both lives and not raise suspicion? In a more practical sense, how many insane situations are the writers going to put her in, and then have her wriggle out of being discovered?

It feels like a recipe for viewer frustration, as far as we’re concerned. At some point, we’re going to get a little more background on both romances, and how Pablo left the priesthood. Will her husbands ever meet? Well, Alejo needs to write another book and Pablo has a compelling story, so do the math there. How will Alicia handle things when her worlds collide?

It sounds exhausting rather than hilarious, and given the relatively unfunny first episode, that’s not a lot to look forward to.

Sex and Skin: Alicia has sex with a husband at the end of the episode.

Parting Shot: As she’s having sex with that husband, we see her Bogotá neighborhood at night.

Sleeper Star: Constanza Camelo’s Susana is one of the only truly funny characters in the first episode.

Most Pilot-y Line: “My wife can’t move abroad,” Alejo says to his agent after he refuses a job at the Colombian embassy in the U.S. Why can’t you say your wife’s name, Alejo? Because the plot won’t allow you to?

Our Call: SKIP IT. While Orozco is a charming lead, Just Alice has a highly annoying premise that we know is going to have to make a lot of written somersaults to keep it going for the entire first season.

Joel Keller (@joelkeller) writes about food, entertainment, parenting and tech, but he doesn’t kid himself: he’s a TV junkie. His writing has appeared in the New York Times, Slate, Salon, RollingStone.com, VanityFair.com, Fast Company and elsewhere.