My Gimpy Life is a webseries staring Teal Sherer and inspired by her life as an aspiring actress. In classic sitcom fashion, each episode has a central conundrum that gets squeezed for laughs. The first season, which consists of five episodes, follows Teal through several auditions and presents some of the challenges she faces as a person in a wheelchair. When her agent, who was one of my favorite recurring characters, meets her at the bottom of the stairs to follow up about an audition, she has to patiently remind him why ‘Screaming, Running Girl’ might not have been a good fit. He responds with a clueless bonhomie that cracked me up.
The series lampoons the well-intentioned condescension and bizarrely forthright rudeness that Teal has to deal with as a person with a disability. It touches on the indignities of being a struggling actress and nails the teeth-grinding frustration of having to deal with ego-maniacal jerks just because they might be able to offer you a job.
I really enjoyed the series, but after only 5 episodes of about seven minutes each, I was left wanting more: more character development, more casual interactions that weren’t focused on setting up the next punch line, more scenes with Felicia Day. If I were a magical, sitcom-contract granting fairy, I’d wave my wand to see this picked up in long format. Longer episodes would leave more room for the unrushed funny moments that were the highlight of this series.
I would certainly recommend watching this series; it can be nice for anyone aspiring to do anything to see someone else make light of their own trials and tribulations. It’s not Schadenfreude if you’re laughing along with your own Schaden, right?
