Maybe it was inevitable that cancer would become the topic of comedy in our times. After all, there are seldom few people among us that do not know someone personally affected by the disease, and when something is so prevalent in our culture, eventually it grabs the attention of people in show business. Which brings us to The Big C, Showtime's new series starring Oscar-nominee Laura Linney as Cathy, a woman who recently discovered she has inoperable stage IV melanoma. It sounds like the premise for an award-winning drama, but the irony is half the fun.
Throughout the first several episodes, viewers witness Cathy completely change her way of life; instead of fearing her death sentence, she decides to embrace it and create the joyous life she always wanted. This is where the show treads the border between preachy and inspiring. It is preachy because it constantly tells its audience to embrace life and live for the here and now, but inspiring because there is a great amount of truth in the lessons it presents. The tone of the show follows in suit; it manages to be both lighthearted and serious, sometimes in one scene.
In addition to Cathy embracing her illness, she also chooses to not tell anyone about her diagnosis. Both her husband and her teenage son are left in the dark as Cathy cavorts around the house prancing on the couch, starting a bonfire in her backyard and later sunbathing in the nude. Unaware of the true cause of her behavior, Cathy's family naturally assumes that she has taken a dive off the deep end. In fact, only her charming young doctor - played with a warm yet professional demeanor by Reid Scott - is aware of her condition, and not surprisingly, their banter is usually the highlight of the show.
But the fact that Cathy is keeping such a massive secret from those supposedly closest to her cannot be overlooked. What person in his right mind would not tell his spouse about having a terminal illness? Is that fair? Is it not undeniably selfish? These are the issues the show has yet to address, and they threaten the entire plausibility of its core premise. Until these questions are answered and Cathy is forced to embrace her fate in the full knowledge of her family, she will inadvertently look as though she is living in denial.
The good news, however, is that if there is one actress who can perfectly balance all these questions, it is Laura Linney. Linney sashays her way through each scene with such incredible ease that she crosses the line of mere acting - that is, imitating - into the world of just being a character. It makes the show fun to watch, and with Linney front and center, there is reason to believe that show will eventually find its footing and address the issues it so desperately needs to.
Cancer is not funny. No terminal illness is. But what the The Big C aims to do - quite ambitiously, if that were not clear - is show that life can still be funny despite tragic circumstances. With Laura Linney in front of the camera in almost every scene, the show nearly accomplishes its lofty goals. But there is still work to be done. Once Linney's character settles into reality and starts addressing the tough questions of her situation, then the humor will make more sense and the show will be all the better for it. Until then, The Big C will be in denial of its own problems.
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