REVIEW: ‘Pen15’ Takes Us On a Mystical, Nostalgic Trip Through the 2000s in Animated Hulu Special ‘Jacuzzi’
Pen15 returns on Aug. 27 for a forty-minute animated special “Jacuzzi” starring Anna Konkle and Maya Erskine. The episode takes viewers through a mystical journey of the Sunshine State as Anna (Konkle) and Maya (Erskine) face insecurity and self-doubt that capture the nostalgia of our pre-teen years. (Warning: spoilers ahead).
“Jacuzzi” begins with Anna reaching her hand out of the car towards the sky, wondering if the moon is different in Florida as the scene becomes animated. She and Maya are busy singing about meeting people on the street, wanting to say hi but not knowing how, while Anna’s father, Curtis, admires the scenery. It’s that time of our lives when the world expands around us, captured through whimsical animation and a sense that anything can happen.
The rest of the episode follows suit, as Anna and Maya approach vacation like a lesson in life and love. Grappling with money and expectations for the trip, the girls are left wondering “when the fun will begin.” As the camcorder records the memories meant for them to reminisce upon, like exploring the boardwalk and arriving at the dingy Hotel Tropicana, some moments must go unremembered.
After discovering a painter on the pier, Anna and Maya spend the last of their money to get a caricature done of them. But something changes in the moment of receiving the portrait; perhaps it’s the way that the artist envisions their features that seem to signify the girls’ deepest insecurities.
“Stop filming Maya,” Anna cries out. “I don’t really look like this, do I.”
As a storm overtakes the seaside town that night, Anna and Maya are left in silence with their own self-deprecating thoughts. Anna wants to hide her large nose as Maya obsesses over her “fat, hairy face.” Curtis can’t understand why they are acting this way, of course, since these features are simply a representation of their insecurities.
At this point, the girls just want to go swimming, though the storm threatens their chances, and they have to make do with the hotel’s jacuzzi. It’s mundane and not quite exciting, as Anna and Maya are left to obsess over their sunburns and badly braided hair while submerged in the water. The last thing they want is the attention they sought after earlier – until two boys their age join them. Imagine awkward flirting and cringeworthy gazes, yet something is endearing about Anna and Maya’s latest love interests, given the fact that they are still learning to love themselves.
The boys make plans to meet Anna and Maya at a teen club that night, the kind where you have to be under eighteen and no alcohol is served on-premise. “What if one of us marries them,” Maya asks Anna as they wait in line to enter the club. But the boys never arrive. Instead, Anna and Maya find older girls, perform a rendition of the Sister, Sister theme song (it’s 2000, after all) and find themselves drinking more than they ever have. It turns into a long night, as the girls are left to reconcile with their actions. Amidst all this, they question why the boys stood them up.
While Curtis is there to scold Anna and Maya for drinking and being irresponsible, he also lends his support to the girls who are clearly struggling with themselves. This begs the ultimate question of the episode, depicted through animation and exaggeration: are these angsty, self-assured 13-teen-year-olds equipped for a world they have yet to understand?
Growing up means reflecting on the past, the fun times spent on vacation with a friend, those awkward flirtations of pre-teenhood, and the nights spent wondering when life will begin. Pen15 captures all this and more in a single episode told through the eyes of our middle-school duo and a camcorder to remember it all. After a long year of self-reflection and growth, check out “Jacuzzi” for yourself – because there’s no better way to come to confront our own cringy past than by knowing others went through it just the same.
Writer | @IlanaDavis24
