[Tiny Beautiful Things] [f]ollows a woman who reluctantly becomes Dear Sugar; an anonymous and revered advice columnist, even when her own life is falling apart.
The synopsis is lax, because it left out the teen threesome subplot, which was, very interestingly, not only shown in the trailer, it was shown in the preview of episode 01 as well, but the teen threesome didn’t happen until episode 02.
And it was implied in the trailer and in the introduction to episode 01 that Clare (Kathryn Hahn) and her husband Danny had a threesome with Rae - their 16-year-old daughter, but the actual (unedited) conversation didn’t take place until episode 03.
Clare, "A threesome is a big leap. Maybe you were subconsciously worried about our little threesome."
Rae, "What?"
Clare, "Me and you and dad."
Rae, "Ew!"
And in the trailer and introduction to episode 01, Rae shared with her mother that Bethany, the other private schoolgirl in the threesome, had public anal sex on a greyhound bus.
Rae, “Bethany had anal sex on a greyhound going to Reno!”
Clare, “What?
Rae, “Yeah.”
Clare, “Why would she wanna take a bus to Reno?”
However, the (unedited) conversation didn’t take place until episode 04. (Talk about using the allure of nymphets to market a streaming series.)
In episode 02, after Clare came home from work early and discovered her 16-year-old daughter having a threesome, Clare asked Bethany, “Do your parents know? Should I just give ‘em a quick call?” Bethany replied, with her white bra showing under her schoolgirl uniform, that her parents, “[...] support sexual exploration.”
Now here’s the unedited dialogue about the teen threesome that took place in episode 03.
Clare, “I know that you probably have had some twosomes before.”
Rae, “Mom!”
Clare, “I think a threesome is a big leap; so, I was wondering if maybe you were subconsciously worried about our little threesome.”
Rae, “What?”
Clare, “Me and you and dad.”
As you see, Clare assumed that Rae had had teen sex a number of times before the threesome; so, it’s surprising that Clare assumed that the threesome was organized by Bethany - whose parents were described as “rich and cosmopolitan”, but Bethany, whom goes by Montana, shared that the teen orgy was Rae’s idea.
Clare, “What made you think it was a good idea to orchestrate an orgy in me and my husband’s bedroom?”
Bethany\Montana, “That was Rae’s idea.”
And Bethany\Montana shared with Clare that Rae was “completely obsessed” and in love with Bethany\Montana. That’s correct. Tiny Beautiful Things has a teen lipstick lesbian slash schoolgirl subplot, which didn’t take place until episode 06, but surprisingly it wasn’t previewed in the trailer or in the introduction of episode 01.
Interestingly, Clare said that she knew how to have a proper threesome and opined that her daughter’s teen threesome was “pathetic” and referred to it as “little pussy-ass shit”.
Bethany, “Maybe you weren’t aware that she’s completely obsessed with me […] I can’t help that she’s in love with me.”
Clare, “And I know how to have a threesome. Not that pathetic little pussy-ass shit. […] thinking everyone wants to fuck you because you have great hair?”
In episode 04, Rae posted a video on social media of her seductively ingesting a large cucumber, which caused Clare to exclaim, “What the fuck!” In episode 04, the director took the opportunity to show Rea in her striped panties. And in episode 04, the conversation about Bethany having anal sex on greyhound bus took place, which I’ll share again to emphasize that Clare was unfazed by public teen anal sex.
Rae, “Bethany had anal sex on a greyhound going to Reno!”
Clare, “What?
Rae, “Yeah.”
Clare, “Why would she wanna take a bus to Reno?”
In episode 06, shortly after Bethany\Montana complained to Rae that she was fourth on her private school’s “Most Fuckable Girls’ List” (“Fucking fourth!”), Rae shared with Bethany\Montana that she was not a virgin, because she had sex with Stef Johnson and Sofia Serrano - respectively. And Rae related that she masturbates. (“I have a body, and I know what feels good, so”)
Consequently, upon learning that Rae’s parents were on a date night, Bethany\Montana suggested that they go back to Rae’s house, but Rae said suggestively that Bethany\Montana would have to remove her nail extensions before they had teen lipstick lesbian sex, which they proceeded to have until they were interrupted by the door bell.
Tiny Beautiful Things (2023) received a 90% AVERAGE TOMATOMETER and a 85% AVERAGE AUDIENCE SCORE. Angie Han of the Hollywood Reporter opined:
True to its name, Tiny Beautiful Things is sensitive to the details. The series has a knack for zeroing in on moments too strange or specific to feel like anything but lived experience.
Interestingly, Tiny Beautiful Things is loosely based on Cheryl Strayed’s book, but there doesn’t appear to be a Rae or Bethany\Montana in the book. Grace Wehniainen wrote in her Bustle piece “Is Tiny Beautiful Things Based On A True Story? (April 7, 2023)
As is the case with most adaptations, not every detail is the same on page and screen. Names are changed, and Clare’s life isn’t exactly like Strayed’s. In the show, for example, she’s the mom to a teenager, while Strayed’s actual kids were still pretty young [...]
The last time we wrote about Kathryn Hahn was when she starred in Amazon’s I Love Dick (2016) where she played Chris whom, in the spirit of Nancy Friday's My Secret Garden: Women’s Sexual Fantasies and Tavi Gevinson's Rookie, (over) shared:
"Dear Dick, I've been horny since I was six. I used to press my crotch into the belly of my stuffed Rhino [...] I'd love to hump him in front of our sitter Karen Harris. I used to say that Rhino was hungry and that I needed to feed him [...] In high school, I wanted to fuck anybody - male or female."
Lastly, Tiny Beautiful Things shared executive producers with Big Little Lies (2017) where 16-year-old Abigail, to raise money for Amnesty International, auctioned off her virginity - online.
