Doll & Em, the television brainchild of actresses Dolly Wells and Emily Mortimer, is the latest work in what seems to be a post-modern trend of established actors playing themselves. Where director Azazel Jacobs’s new comedy series finds its particular edge amongst these works, is through co-writers Wells and Mortimer’s complete willingness to embrace the ridiculous and awkward, even at the cost of their own self-preservation.

Featuring in its entirety as a part of this year’s new MIFF Big Scene, Small Screen showcase, the series follows the two women over the course of a couple of months, during which time Doll moves to Los Angeles to work as an assistant to film-star Emily. At first seeming to be the perfect change to Doll’s previously unremarkable and unsatisfying life in London, the friendship-come-business agreement soon faces difficulty as the line between the two roles begins to blur and the situation loses its novelty.

Although the initial appeal and selling-point of the series certainly comes from Wells and Mortimer’s real-life celebrity status, Doll & Em is not so much an insider look at Hollywood, but rather the tale of a friendship pushed to its limits. Take away the glamorous celebrity setting and what’s ultimately left is a highly relatable journey, as the two women struggle to maintain a supportive and healthy relationship in the pursuit of their own individual success.

Of course, at the same time, audiences seeking a glimpse of fame aren’t going to be left completely disappointed, with some of Doll & Em’s most entertaining moments coming from their interactions with cameo-role characters like Susan Sarandon, Chloë Sevigny and John Cusack. However, the self-deprecating humour and self-reflexivity makes it clear that the series should be taken as neither an endorsement nor a critique of Hollywood.

In fact, what’s most impressive about this series is this very inability to take itself too seriously. For Emily Mortimer to happily construct such an exaggerated version of herself – the often egotistic, self-entitled character on screen – or for Dolly Wells to write scenes that find her in one awkward, embarrassing situation after the next, one can only applaud the good sportsmanship of the writers. Their premise could have been delivered with self-indulgence. However, the unpretentiousness, as well as the power plays that occur when Doll becomes increasingly involved in this constructed Hollywood world, rescues it from such a fate.

For a mini-series comprised of six 20-minute episodes, Doll & Em manages to exhibit the in-depth relationship development you’d expect of any of the festival’s feature-length dramas. Despite the occasional moment of heavy-handedness in the screenplay,it perfectly demonstrates Wells and Mortimer’s capability as both performers and writers of comedy.

3/5 stars