‘Margo’s Got Money Troubles’ review: The alien OnlyFans is the highlight of the Apple family game

Apple TV and A24 Margo Has Money Problems starts off with a bang, thanks to a pinball-themed opening sequence that takes care of a hand-crafted world of books, overdue bills, and baby supplies.

Our guide to everything is a green alien woman rolling on a small silver ball. He takes pin machine punches as they come, leaping from platforms and falling down pits before emerging, victorious, from his luxurious space. A sweet, richly textured sequence, and the accompanying use of Robyn’s “Blow My Mind,” promises that the show that follows will blow our minds.

If only something else Margo Has Money Problems he can fulfill that promise.

The series itself, created by David E. Kelley (Ally McBeal) and led by Elle Fanning, is a heartwarming tale of an unconventional family unit that comes together despite the odds. Yet it often lacks imagination for both the title sequence and its central character, becoming a paint-by-numbers drama lifted by the main characters.

What Margo Has Money Problems about?

Based on the novel of the same name by Rufi Thorpe, Margo Has Money Problems presents its title character (Fanning) at a crossroads in his life. He is a college student with promising writing talent. She is also pregnant, the result of an affair with her scummy, married literature professor, Mark (Michael Angarano). Against the wishes of Mark and his mother Shyanne (Michelle Pfeiffer), she chooses to keep the baby, dropping out of school to raise him.

Raising baby Bodhi will take money that Margo doesn’t have, too Margo Has Money Problems he quickly immerses the audience in his depression. To earn money for Bodhi, he needs a job. In order to work full time, he needs to pay child care. To pay for child care, he needs to earn money, and it continues. It’s a vicious cycle that the series offers in claustrophobic detail. When Margo arrives at a job interview with Bodhi on the go, you can feel the interviewer’s closing judgment blocking any way forward. When Margo picks up her groceries, each beep of the scanner is a small heart attack. And when Margo’s two roommates move out because they can’t handle living with a newborn, the extra rent feels like a death sentence.

With her finances crumbling and no job opportunities in sight, Margo decides to make content only for fans. What begins as a means to an end quickly becomes a creative outlet, allowing him to flex his writing skills and earn enough money to maintain Bodhi.

Margo Has Money Problems‘ alien OnlyFans is so much fun, and I wish we could have more.

Elle Fanning in “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.”
Credit: Apple TV

In her first OnlyFans gimmick, Margo offers to tell her fans which Pokémon their pipi is like, and what their attacks might be. This results in several silly lines lifted straight from Thorpe’s novel (“Your pee is Tentacruel!”), delivered with fanfare by Fanning. Later, as Margo tries to expand her empire, she draws on her father Jinx’s (Nick Offerman) background as a wrestler and cosplay roommate Susie (Thaddea Graham). With their help, he creates an unknown persona who often works with fellow OnlyFans KC (Rico Nasty) and Rose (Lindsey Normington). The trio shoot features wrestling matches, a dance sequence, and even an interesting short film featuring the alien Margo – resplendent in green body paint and a metallic silver dress – emerging from the top of a model movie theater.

Like the opening credits, this sequence is pure, imaginative fun, made all the more endearing by the sheer dedication of the cast. They are also proof of something Margo Has Money Problems he told us from the beginning: that Margo, as an only child, needed to “develop a complex inner world.” In comparison to each Pokémon chip or an unknown short film, Margo Has Money Problems it brings out that inner world and gives him a clear vision. I would have liked to see more of it – more of where his ideas come from, his creative process, more of why this the alien storyline is what he wants to present to the world.

Instead, Margo Has Money Problems we spend most of its time in a plot that feels cobbled together from things we’ve seen before: stories of teachers and students, single parents reconnecting with their children, adoption battles. When Margo tells her parents that she is engaged in sex work, you are all very aware of the judgment that will follow, just as you know that a warm reconciliation will follow. It’s fun to watch, but it rarely gets back into Margo’s head the way her content creation scenes do.

Thorpe’s novel alternates between first and third person, so perhaps those varying degrees of distance are intentional. Yet Thorpe’s novel also has a sinister, observational style that is as cutting and funny as it is touching. Usually, it sounds like Margo Has Money Problems sacrifices of the former for the sake of the latter.

Elle Fanning is a great host Margo Has Money Problems.

Nick Offerman and Thaddea Graham in “Margo’s Got Money Troubles.”
Credit: Apple TV

Whenever Margo Has Money Problems tends toward formulaic, its characters keep you trapped in its messy, complicated family. Fanning shines as Margo. From impersonating Margo to a nail-biting fight over Bodhi’s future, Fanning is soft, fierce, and funny, continuing her work on projects that include 2025. Emotional Value again Predator: Badlands.

Within seconds of screen time together, Fanning and Pfeiffer establish a green, brooding daughter full of unspoken judgment and unconditional support. In Pfeiffer’s hands, Shyanne’s “Noodle” nickname for Margo can make or break you in no time. Elsewhere, Offerman brings the warm, protective energy of Papa Bear to Jinx as she tries to connect with Margo and stay in recovery after a break. His former wrestling persona adds an extra layer of entertainment to the show, whether we’re watching him dance in the ring or lay down Bodhi while whispering on stage, “Slo-mo bodyslam!”

There is no denying that Margo Has Money Problems and this star performer will melt your heart. However, I just wish the series could be as bold and imaginative as Margo herself.

Margo Has Money Problems had its world premiere at SXSW. It premieres April 15 on Apple TV.