Elle Magazine describes the Netflix series, How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, as “Derry Girls meets Bad Sisters.”

I liked Derry Girls so much that I used many clips from it for a humor writing workshop I facilitated a few years ago. I loved Bad Sisters, too. The series is a perfectly structured mystery with the best ensemble cast ever. I watched it three times twice for pure enjoyment and a third time to study plot structure and comic timing. Lisa McGee created both Derry Girls and How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, so I looked forward to watching the new series.

Here’s the basic plot: Four best friends experience a traumatic event as teens. Three of them stay in touch, but because of the event, they estrange themselves from the fourth. Later, as adults, the three are summoned back to their hometown to attend the wake of that fourth friend. Perhaps out of curiosity or guilt, they decide to travel home to pay their respects. Not only do they discover that their friend may not be dead, but they also believe she might be in danger. Mayhem and hijinks ensue during the next eight episodes.

Each of the three women is dissatisfied with her life, which may be why they decide to task on the dangerous and complicated task of trying to unravel the disappearance. One is the head writer for a highly popular murder mystery series that she has come to hate. She is engaged to a man who can think of only himself. The second woman has three children whom she loves but drive her crazy. In our introduction to her, we see her imagining smashing her head on the steering wheel of her car as her kids bicker in the back seat. Out of shame and fear, the third woman gives up the love of her life and instead lives with her mother in her hometown. She has few outlets other than attending church, which she doesn’t seem to enjoy.

The shots of the Irish countryside are beautiful. All four of the women actors deliver high energy performances and they seem to have fun while doing so. The humor is dark and absurd, which I like. The story moves along at a pretty good pace, but there were so many twists and turns, I had difficulty keeping track of the plot.

The setting, especially the spooky parts, was great. Interesting fact–while working on Derry Girls, McGee visited the ruins of the convent where she attended elementary school. The visit brought her back to her school days. Some of the filming of How to Get to Heaven from Belfast took place in at the abandoned school.

What I loved about Derry Girls and didn’t quite see here, was an ensemble of distinctly different characters. Yes, the How to Get to Heaven from Belfast women all made different life choices in terms of career and marriage, but all three had a similar tone: bitter, angry, regretful, unsure if their lives had meaning. The truth is probably many women feel that way at this age but having all three of them be relentlessly negative felt exhausting.

The movie has lots of funny spots. Some of the cultural references went over my head, but that’s on me. If I decide to watch this a second time, I will read up on Derry, Belfast and Donegal. Even though How to Get to Heaven from Belfast wasn’t as crisp and punchy as Derry Girls, I’m glad I watched it.

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