Mimi and Flo, the two quirky twenty-somethings at the center of surprisingly addictive web series The Mimi and Flo Show, are the bizarre answer to the millions of Carrie Bradshaw wannabes out there who believe that all it takes to succeed in Manhattan is a healthy sex life, designer heels, and cringe inducing puns.
You see, Mimi and Flo are Midwesterners (Mimi is from a dairy farm in rural Wisconsin and Flo is from the Chicagoland area… Go Bears!) trying to make it in NYC. And they’re losers. Big losers.
But the genius thing about Mimi (Hannah Bos) and Flo (Frances Chewning) is that they are completely unique in their brand of loser-dom. So, while other girls about town may be conquering New York in conventional fashion, Mimi and Flo are starting new oven mitt fashion crazes, sharing an inflatable mattress, testing the limits of elevator flatulence, or whatever you want them to do.
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Mimi and Flo is modeled after the old-fashioned “choose your own adventure” stories, so that at the end of each 5-ish-minute long segment the viewer may choose one of two distinct paths. Some options, though, never lead to Mimi and Flo becoming Mary and Rhoda-like BFFs, and instead leave you wholly unsatisfied (kinda like when you escape the zombies, but only temporarily).
If, like me, you want the show to continue for as long as possible then you can check out their slightly aggravating, but pretty website’s episode guide that shows the episode progression in a clear and easy to read format. This way you can watch Mimi and Flo try to find a career path (fashion designers or actresses?), date the ridiculously hunky neighbor (call him or don’t call him?), and do some other, stranger things, like discover a human skull in their sink (call the police or don’t call the police?).
While these scenarios are generally funny enough in themselves, what make the best segments pop are the details, mostly provided by Mimi, who is more child than woman (i.e. when her date tells her that he teaches preschool she giddily responds, “ I loved preschool!”)
A standout video shows Mimi giving Flo a tour of her “apartment,” which is really her cousin’s kitchen. She explains, with complete child-like sincerity that the refrigerator is where she keeps her makeup and that the sink comes equipped with hot and cold water and that you can mix them!
Mimi’s wide-eyed delivery keeps the comedy lively, odd, and, ultimately, very funny. Flo’s comedy gold mostly comes from her ancient pager that she refuses to trade in for a cell phone (why did people every have those, again?).
The chemistry (evocative of that of other unique twenty-something ladies) between the two, however, is what gives the series surprising heart beneath all the wackiness, grounding it in a completely unexpected way. The sincerity of their bond makes you want to continue watching their unfortunate lives.
So, by making certain choices for Mimi and Flo, you can keep their adventures going for several videos, although the series has yet to be completed and many of the episodes remain open-ended with no path to choose an ending but no finale either.
But don’t get discouraged by the cliffhangers, more episodes are supposedly on the way. Check them out at MimiAndFlo.com.
