On Screen: “Margo’s Got Money Troubles”
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Comparing Apple TV’s new dramedy “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” with the classic American sitcom “Father Knows Best” exemplifies how our cultural norms have completely changed in the past 70 years.
“Father Knows Best” portrayed an idyllic suburban life, upholding traditional gender roles, reflecting the societal norms of 1950s America: the archetypal patriarch, the supportive mother, and the innocence of three adolescent children.
In contrast, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” introduces Fullerton Community College freshman, 19-year-old Margo Millet (Elle Fanning), an aspiring writer whose world implodes after she’s impregnated by her married English lit professor (Michael Angarano), who ghosts her after she refuses to have an abortion.
Financially strapped, Margo can’t count on her beauty-obsessed single mother, Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer), a former Hooters waitress currently working at Bloomingdale’s, or her former pro wrestler father, Jinx (Nick Offerman), a recovering opioid addict who has been absent most of her life.
So when she learns about OnlyFans, Margo decides to apply her innate creativity, writing skills and exhibitionistic tendencies to lucrative online ‘sex work,’ creating a libidinous alien character — HungryGhost — to provide for baby Bodhi.
(Widely known for its pornographic content, OnlyFans is a user-generated Internet service monetized by monthly subscriptions, tips, and pay-per-view.)
Based on Rufi Thorpe’s acclaimed 2024 novel, cleverly adapted by prolific David E. Kelley (“Ally McBeal,” “Boston Legal,” “Big Little Lies”), it’s one of those rare instances where the TV version is actually more compelling than the book, introducing connections and relationships that enhance the provocative story while deleting some extraneous characters.
Elle Fanning captures the overwhelming desperation of unexpected motherhood, Michelle Pfeiffer exemplifies her chaotic, combative mother, while Nick Offerman’s multi-layered, sadness-tinged empathy is convincing and masterful. Together, they embody a unique, broad-minded, humanistic approach to the complexity of contemporary family dynamics.
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Margo’s Got Money Troubles” is a cautionary, saucy 7 — with the first three episodes streaming on Apple TV and another dropping on May 20, followed by four more — airing weekly on Wednesdays.
Susan Granger is a product of Hollywood. Her natural father, S. Sylvan Simon, was a director and producer at M.G.M. and Columbia Pictures. Her adoptive father, Armand Deutsch, produced movies at M.G.M.
As a child, Susan appeared in movies with Abbott & Costello, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Margaret O’Brien, and Lassie. She attended Mills College in California, studying journalism with Pierre Salinger, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with highest honors in journalism.