'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' showed us something we almost never see on television

By Fusion Staff | October 13, 2015 | 3:31pm

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The CW’s Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is crazy, in the best way possible. Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) runs into her high school ex-boyfriend Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III) in New York City, then turns down a partnership in her high-powered law firm to follow him to his sleepy California hometown—unbeknownst to Josh. Also, it’s a musical.

For all there is to praise about the pilot’s energy and uniqueness (it’s centered around an interracial romance, for one thing), there’s one moment in particular that made us fall head-over-heels, move-across-the-country-for-this-dude-you-haven’t-seen-in-10-years in love.

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In “The Sexy Getting Ready Song,” a satirical number that wouldn’t feel out of place on Inside Amy Schumer, Rebecca preps for a date with Josh’s friend Greg (Santino Fontana) with a marathon of plucking, waxing, shaving, scraping, curling, and other gerunds that might end in a trip to the emergency room. Intercut with more conventional music video vamping by Rebecca and her silk robe-clad background dancers, this sequence is all the more grotesque for how realistic it is—and all the more biting in contrast to Greg’s pre-date routine, which consists of napping in front of the TV.

Rebecca’s getting-ready ritual reaches new heights of relatability when we’re shown more of her flesh than is virtually ever seen on television: specifically, her belly flab.

Yes, that’s fat around our heroine’s mid-section, on display without embarrassment as she squeezes (with some assistance) into Spanx.

This scene is funny, sure, but Rebecca is nevertheless totally hot. The character knows she’s hot. The show knows she’s hot. But, like a great many real, live, hot humans, her stomach is soft. And so what?

A non-flat female tummy is practically a body part non grata on television, with the notable exception of Lena Dunham’s performance as Hannah Horvath on Girls. Crazy Ex-Girlfriend eagerly acknowledges, and embraces, the reality of its star’s body—and in doing so, acknowledges and embraces those of its viewers.

That’s a choice to be celebrated.

Molly Fitzpatrick is senior editor of Fusion’s Pop & Culture section. Her interests include movies about movies, TV shows about TV shows, and movies about TV shows, but not so much TV shows about movies.