If you know me, you know that I am Colleen Ballinger's (AKA Miranda Sings) biggest fan. I started watching her videos in 2013 and was hooked. Colleen Ballinger created her amazing yet insane character, Miranda, and both of them have taken the world by storm. In January of 2015, I had the pleasure of meeting Colleen (in character as Miranda) at her one-woman show. However, what I really want to talk about, is her Netflix show, Haters Back Off.
Colleen has stated in many YouTube videos that this Netflix show was a ten year process to create, write, and produce. When all of her fans, and all of Miranda's "Mirfandas" heard about the show, we almost broke the internet. It's a really exciting time when someone from the internet that we love moves on to television or the big screen, like Shane Dawson and Lily Singh. Now don't get me wrong, I love the character, Miranda. However, I know a lot of people do not quite understand the character, so when the preview of the show was released, there were a lot of hate comments and confused people. By the looks of the trailer, it looked like it was going to be an over-the-top, and hilarious comedy. But boy, was I wrong.
It was funny and over-the-top for the majority of the time. I found myself laughing out loud and replaying some of my favorite moments over and over. What I didn't expect was to get so emotional. The best way I can describe the overall vibe of Haters Back Off was like it was an independent, coming of age, comedy movie, which I didn't expect AT ALL. Colleen does not give Miranda as much depth on the internet as she had in the show. She actually went through many internal and emotional struggles like wondering why it is funny that anyone could ever love her, not feeling good enough, and even dealing with her mom dating someone she didn't like.
(SPOILER WARNING) The end of Haters Back Off completely destroyed me. Miranda is in her room sad after realizing some mistakes she has made. She suddenly sees that one of her videos has gone viral and gets excited. However, she then realizes that none of it matters if the people she loves are angry with her. As the cool kids say these days, I was shook.
Despite the humor and underlying darkness of the show, there were a few concerns if you are not a "Mirfanda." Haters Back Off was very well marketed and has been on the Homepage of Netflix ever since it came out. To someone who has no idea who Colleen Ballinger or Miranda Sings are, they would be really confused by the show. Miranda is a very immature and child-like character who doesn't always understand that things cannot go her way, however, I feel like someone who has never seen the show could almost find her character pretty offensive. Along with this idea, Haters Back Off has some pretty cringe-worthy moments and YouTube humor that some people also may not understand. The point is, if you are not a true fan of the "YouTube Miranda," you probably won't like or get the "Netflix Miranda."
So if you want to watch Haters Back Off, I recommend you get used to Miranda first. She is a very interesting character and takes some time to really get to know. I also recommend you watch some of Colleen's videos as well so you can really get into the mind of Miranda and what she is all about. You may not like her YouTube videos or her show. You may even hate her. But in the words of Miranda: HATERS BACK OFF.
