Stars: 3.5/5
Having a best friend of the opposite sex is uncommon, but Benji and Esther from “Alone Together” seem to make it work. These two are far from the perfect dynamic duo but they complement one another well. This sitcom airs every Wednesday night after “Grown-ish” on Freeform, and I see why it’s after such a marvelous show. “Alone Together” is a mediocre sitcom about a guy and chick who are best friends and they share the same trait of complaining about their lives and blame their personality issues on other characters in the show — sometimes each other.
The show itself is comedy gold and characters get into some pretty hilarious shenanigans. The character Esther, played by Esther Povitsky, is a self-absorbed girl who obsesses way too much over Instagram trending and body image. A perfect example of this trait is in the first episode when she and Benji go to a juice shop and buy so many bags of chips because they apparently keep girls full and skinny. It’s actually a funny scene, so I give her props for it. She also tries to impress people and be accepted into society’s standards. She can come across as a snarky arrogant pre-madonna, but deep down she can be a good person. At least toward Benji, played by Benji Aflalo.
Benji is a rich kid who lives in his parents’ mansion with the money to get whatever he wants. His character is more tolerable than Esther because he’s more of a realist. Benji does sometime give off the vibe that he just puts up with Esther just for kicks, but the touching moments between them really explains their chemistry.
Benji also says a lot of sarcastic phrases. In the second episode, it’s his birthday and he just wants to mope around, but when Esther tries to cheer him up and push him to actually do something fun, he rejects the idea and hits her with a few snarky comments hoping she’ll give up and leave.
Benji is adorably funny and adds a lot of charm to the show. There is also their side friend Jeff who we see more of in the second episode. Jeff is almost like a balancer between Benji and Esther, like when they have an argument with each other, but in the “Road Trip” episode they both find some weird logic for blaming Jeff for all the misfortunes that have occurred. It was mad rude how they treated him, but he didn’t hold it against them for some reason.
It seems peculiar these Freeform sitcoms are keeping the actor names the same as character names. It just seems like lazy producing, but they are the show writers.
I’m hoping Benji and Esther both see they were romantically made for each other, but knowing the producers, they’ll save those kind of spoilers for the end.
Esther and Benji are two millennial misfits who come from two different backgrounds, but internally they are the same characters. They are only trying to blend into the culture-obsessed world of Los Angeles, and regardless of who likes them or puts up with their faults, Benji and Esther know they’ll always have each other.