Now available on TVNZ OnDemand, Girls5eva follows a manufactured 90s girl group reforming in their 40s. Sound familiar? Megan Alatini of TrueBliss reviews.
As soon as the Girls5eva trailer launched, the TrueBliss girls and I kept getting tagged on social media. Now that I’ve seen the show myself, I can totally understand why. It’s probably because of the 90s nostalgia that seems to have made a big comeback of late, but you just can’t help but be drawn in by it. I mean, who didn’t like shiny PVC pants, camel hump hairstyles, chunky Skechers and eyeshadow in every colour in the rainbow? Or is it because of those cheesy tunes that you love to hate?
The parallels between TrueBliss and the fictional girl group Girls5eva are scarily (and embarrassingly) close. We were both girl groups manufactured in the late 90s. Girls5eva has a member who is sadly no longer with them, just as we reformed as a foursome. Some Girls5eva members still wear crop tops with mega cleavage hanging out the top (not naming names). There’s an extremely perfect and organised one (Erika), and there’s one brown girl who wears animal print and posts way too much on Instagram for a 40-something (me).
The similarities continue when Girls5eva get caught up with a dodgy record deal and a creepy manager (I’m not talking about Peter Urlich here, he is the man). We experienced everything they did – contracts doing miraculous disappearing acts, overnight stays in shifty motel rooms, sold-out concerts with screaming innocent fans with profits never to be seen… the list goes on. But what makes the show endearing is that it’s a bit of a mockery of what used to happen in the music industry for those seeking quick fame and fortune.
Just like Girls5eva, we all got over ourselves once we had children – or fur babies – and realised that there’s so much more important things in life than being a manufactured popstar fighting for what was rightfully ours. What we focus on now is making sure we have our babysitters booked till midnight, that we are wearing the right giant undergarments under our outfits, and are only doing safe, slow dance moves instead of pretending to be hip hop dancers like Parris Goebel and making total fools of ourselves.
We’re now at the point of performing together simply because we love it, and each other. TrueBliss is now about deep and meaningful chats, tears and wine. Lots and lots of wine. In poor Keri’s case, that always has adverse effects, but doesn’t stop her. Just like one of the Girls5eva, our Keri gets rosacea and has every allergy under the sun. Instead of bags of jewellery, we travel with allergy pills. We have to keep a fan on hand for her – not so her hair blows like Beyoncé, but rather to save her from looking like a wet hot mess!
That’s why I love Girls5eva and why I’d recommend you watch it. The series takes us oldies back to the fun, crazy days gone by, and for the young ones it’s a reminder of what not to do in the music industry. The producers have emulated the 90s pop world perfectly; the actresses are so good you forget they’re not actually washed-up popstars and the music is so bad that it’s great. Girls5eva will have you in fits of laughter and we all deserve a chance to laugh – even if that means at ourselves.
PS: We’re still available for your birthdays, weddings or shows.
Follow The Spinoff’s pop culture nostalgia podcast Remember When… on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or your favourite podcast provider.