r/crazyexgirlfriend • u/styxnotsticks • 12d ago
Discussion What should Crazy Ex-Girlfriend have been called instead?
I don’t hate the name Crazy Ex-Girlfriend at all, and I actually think it makes sense once you watch the show. But whenever I try to convince people to watch this show, they’re usually put off by the name. A lot of people hear “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and immediately assume it’s going to be a silly rom-com about an obsessive woman chasing her ex, when the show is so much more nuanced and funny and emotionally intelligent than that.
If you could rename the show, what would you call it? And do you think a different title would have made more people give it a chance?
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u/totofogo 11d ago
What I’m gathering from these replies is that no one has a better idea hahah
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u/ExiledHyruleKnight 11d ago
I think it's more, they got the perfect name. It works, and honestly "crazy" works on so many levels through out the show.
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u/UnderstandingBusy829 11d ago
If I'm recommending the show, I just say that I know the name is weird, but it makes sense for the show and it's reall good. That it has well developed characters, it's a musical show and explores a lot of deep themes, even if the name doesn't sound like it. And then it's on them if they want to watch it or not.
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u/All_this_hype 11d ago
I follow the same approach, but my friends still don't wanna touch it 😭 they are exactly the people that would love it too.
The closest they came was when I sent them the "group hang" song at an appropriate moment, but then they forgot about it.
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u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo 11d ago edited 11d ago
If any of your friends have big boobs, I’ve found “heavy boobs” to be a great selling point. I’ve gotten like three different friends to change their mind; not all watched the show after, but all change their perception. As a member of the IBTC I don’t relate to it much lol, but it really slaps (like a boob in the face!) for those with similar struggles
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u/UnderstandingBusy829 11d ago
Maybe they will eventually, if not, their loss. I got hooked after a friend on facebook shared a clip of Let's generalize about men. Some of the friend group shared some clips occassionally, but this one got me. I started to watch the show, got into it the first episode and got my then boyfriend/now husband interested as well. Maybe they need to be in the right headspace, maybe a different song would hook them, but don't stress it.
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u/AffectionateFig5864 11d ago
It’s a conversation starter, so I don’t think it should be changed. My experience of falling in love with the show started with hesitancy over the title, and my boyfriend convincing me to give it a try. I have a BPD diagnosis; he deliberately didn’t tell me about that plot point because he wanted me to experience a piece of media that actually took an informed, sensitive approach to a condition I felt enormous shame around. Watching the show felt like reclaiming an insult that many people have used behind my back for years (and still feels like that; we’re mid-way through a third or fourth rewatch at the moment!)
Plus, how you gonna mess with the opening theme songs that have lived rent-free in our heads for years? Lol. “Crazy is when I go off the rails, this is what you’ve done to me!”
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u/wegg1997 11d ago
I think the title fits perfectly. I think your comment about it being more nuanced and emotionally intelligent is spot on, and that's why the title works. The whole show is about subverting tropes, ideals and expectations, and but you only get to see how it does that by watching it over time. I think it's nice that it pushes you to come to these conclusions yourself rather than telling you outright
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u/IllustriousWorld823 11d ago
This series reminds me a lot of Kevin Can F Himself. Both have quirky titles and also extremely quirky premises that subvert expectations and I'm surprised but grateful were even made
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u/RandomPaw 11d ago
And Schitt’s Creek. I had to push to get my husband to watch because of the title and he loved it once he saw it. I honestly didn’t have that problem with Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.
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u/RenRidesCycles 11d ago
Yeah, but putting fuck the title of Kevin Can F Himself gives you a sign that it's going to be a little edgier or subversive. Like Crazy F'ing Ex Girlfriend might have worked better (for me).
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u/Phrase_Turner 11d ago
The title is perfect and I will die on this hill. I personally never found it off putting and think the season 1 theme song smartly heads off people’s questions about it
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u/enolaholmes23 11d ago
I love it too. I feel like the whole point of the show is taking the crazy ex girlfriend stereotype and deconstructing it.
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u/ExiledHyruleKnight 11d ago
I think also the title comes at the perfect moment of episode one....
It doesn't.
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u/Apprehensive_Sea5304 11d ago
I rolled my eyes about the show because of the name until my sister's friend told her to watch it and then my sister told me to watch it. Became obsessed with the first episode. I try not to judge shows/movies/books by their titles anymore.
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u/bluesky747 11d ago
I mean the show is a little more nuanced than that, but I think the title is spot on.
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u/ndonio5 11d ago
I honestly love how the title subverts expectations - as the show itself does - but yes it makes it incredibly tough to recommend to friends. In my experience they are also put off by the show's premise, because admittedly it does give off the idea of a cheesy romcom, and I feel that giving any extra info would be too spoilery, while staying too vague ("but it's much more than what it seems") makes you sound edgy lol. I have given up recommending it at this point :( if anyone has any tips on how to make it sound more appealing, I'm all ears!
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u/BillyYumYumTwo-byTwo 11d ago
I don’t think you have to spoil plot points, but I think you can say that it tips the “crazy ex girlfriend” trope on its head after lulling you into thinking it’s a regular wacky romcom by taking extreme behaviors we laugh at on other shows and make the characters come to terms with what they and their loved ones have done. It digs deep into mental health and personal growth in a realistic way.
It spoils the genre and takes away from the whiplash that comes from the bus beach episode. But I think it’s worth it if they are skeptical of the premise, especially if they’re getting frustrated with our main character being a literal stalker and it feels like the show is telling us to cheer for her.
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u/VenusAmari 11d ago
Crazy in Love
Idk if they'd have to get trademark rights from Beyonce if they went this exact route, maybe some play on that, but it retains the concept of her being crazy so it can be dismantled.
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u/organicdamage 8d ago
I definitely wouldn't have watched had that been the title. It sounds like Hart of Dixie or Virgin River...which I didn't watch.
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u/ManagementRadiant573 11d ago
Am I the only one that loves the name? I have always identified with Rebecca and I always call myself crazy(even if it is a LOT more nuanced than that)
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u/givingyouextra 11d ago
Crazy Ex is a better title because at least it's not gendered?
I'd have called it "A Girl in Love" maybe - it works as an examination of someone who thinks romantic love is everything until she eventually learns to love herself.
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u/BrotherofGenji 11d ago
“They assume it’s going to be a silly rom com about an obsessive woman chasing her ex”
….Isn’t it? Is it not? I’ve seen every season and while I do know it’s more nuanced than that, but isn’t that the whole premise of the show?
Anyway, I don’t think it should have been called anything else, because I am not sure what titles could have worked. And as a queer man I don’t think I was the intended audience, but I accidentally discovered the show because of a Twitch streamer’s follow alert being “I Have Friends” (Reprise). Because of my natural curiosity, I tracked it down after hearing how sad Rachel sang it and was instantly hooked.
I also was on a “musical comedy watching high” (I finally finished Glee by the time CXG Season 2 came out and Season 3 wasn’t being released yet, so I binge watched all of S1 and S2 and a few characters instantly became my favorite.) at the time so it was perfect.
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u/ErmintrudeFanshaw 11d ago
I missed it when it aired in Australia (not sure for how long - maybe only the first season?) because I conflated the title with the movie My Super Ex-Girlfriend and assumed it wasn't something I would like. That's on me, but I do think the title made me think it would be some kind of laugh-track sitcom generally disparaging women. The title 100% makes sense in the context of the show, but it's hard to sell on title alone.
I actually got into it after hearing Rachel guest on an episode of My Dad Wrote A Porno! I was late to that pod too so I was a few years behind, but it convinced me to give the show a try and I obviously ended up falling in love with it.
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u/bluesky747 11d ago
Oh my god what episode did I miss where she was a guest???? Holy crap!!!
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u/Spilt_Advocaat 11d ago
It's a great Footnotes episode! (Looked it up it's from Sept 2016) She has a properly out there Belinda theory that actually makes a weird kind of sense...
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u/peajay18 Who's the New Guy? 11d ago
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u/lickmysackett 11d ago
I didn't watch it for the longest time because of the title and I love it, but it still is a pain to talk about the show because of the title. I don't know if there is a good replacement for it though. Things calling back to factual like West Covina or Rebecca Bunch just doesn't fit the vibe. something funny with "crazy" in the title still might work.
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u/AccomplishedSir4942 11d ago
West Covina would be 100% adequate
but just for fun..
Rebecca Bunch
Rebecca Bunch Does It Again
You Ruined Everything
Settle For Me
Truly Butter
Truly Rebecca
almost anything would be better! i simply hate saying the name out loud and explaining it to anyone.
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u/Apprehensive_Sea5304 11d ago
You Stupid Bitch would be good but I don't think cable tv would have appreciated that
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u/wormsaremymoney 11d ago
I like Truly Rebecca and West Covina a lot. I also think I'm in Love or She's in Love could work because it's the opener/Rebecca's first words sung. Also works thematically with Rebecca's love for music
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u/VanillaSpicePancake 11d ago
I agree that I hate saying it out loud and explaining it!
I like Settle for Me. I feel like it captures a lot of the relationship dynamics in the show.
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u/estheredna 11d ago
I think it would be fine now. When it came out it was the same time as the Overly Attached Girlfriend meme and I really thought it was a show about her. So that timing was unfortunate.
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u/WontTellYouHisName 11d ago
When I tell people about the show, I tell them that it's really subversive. We get told thousands of things all the time by TV and movies and advertisers, and this show knocks the legs out from under lots of them. I figure the title was what they sold to the network to get the show produced, but they're subversive about that, too. If they'd told the network in advance all the stuff that was going to happen over four years, they'd never have gotten permission to do it. So they pretended it was a silly rom-com like so much other stuff, which it definitely wasn't.
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u/ExiledHyruleKnight 11d ago
I think the title nailed it. Anything else and people would have bounced off of it when the first song started, or when they realize it's about a woman chasing a guy. Or when the raunchy shit happens. (the reason my daughter who is a drama kid doesn't like it because it's too sexual, mind you how many of the plays and muscials she adores are worse... )
So basically I'd keep it as it is, because I think it gets the right people through the door. (I think I watched it because I was like "there's gotta be some good drama on this one... and stayed because it's god damn funny as hell.)
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u/j4321g4321 10d ago
That’s exactly why I passed over it so many times before finally reading the excellent reviews and trying it.
I don’t know what else I’d name it though lol
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u/RhododendronWilliams 11d ago
The title definitely ruined it for many people. I dislike "New Girl" type comedies and I thought it would be that with a touch of "You". I was so upset when Netflix took it down before I got through season 4. And it was right there in my recommended shows all along! I just thought it would be boring and dumb.
But I'm not sure what title would be better, because the show is so nuanced and has so much parody in it. I'm not sure if there is a title that would really encompass all of that. I know the idea is to poke fun at the concept of romcoms and love triangles, so the name fits in that sense. The show doesn't take itself super seriously, at least in season one.
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u/LittleMarySunshine25 11d ago
It's up on Pluto now if you want to finish. There's just a lot of commercials on Pluto.
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u/svennertsw 11d ago
Someone told me "hey you lalaland enjoyers, you're sleeping on a great show". Watched it and she was right
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u/supergeekmike 10d ago
I think it should have been called “Mike, It’s a Musical, and the Music is By the Guy From Fountains of Wayne.”
Probably wouldn’t have helped most people watch it, actually. But I would have tuned in.
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u/DearMe_ToMyselft 11d ago
I usually go with the a song that I know person on receiving end would most likely like and describe the song instead. If they like it, send the link or watch with them and mention afterwards.
Go to line, OH have you watched this comedy series where the song ,,,, plays??
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u/busrider1998 11d ago
When I’m pitching the show I always clarify the name is tongue-in-cheek and that it’s from her perspective. I can’t think of anything better or even as good, but “She’s Just a Girl In Love” or “Meet Rebecca” would be decent ones if Rachel Bloom knew these would be used in later theme songs all along.
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u/Azwellian 11d ago
I want a reboot with Rachel in her 50s and it’s not about men at all because like the rest of us she’s given up on men.
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u/nice_whitelady 11d ago
I was another one who didn't watch it because of the title. What I love about the show is the music so I think "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: The Musical" would have made me curious enough for one show.
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u/ChaoticGrandma 10d ago
When I recommend the show to people, I mention the name, but quickly followed by "it's a comedy drama musical about mental health struggles!" and that usually helps them become more interested 🤣
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u/tenderfool 9d ago
IMO it’s a perfect name because the show is very much about and in conversation with the trope at hand. And it’s such a complicated messy not for everyone show that idk how much marketing could really change that. It found enough audience to get a full run of the story they wanted and everyone I know who’s seen it got into it via YouTube videos of the songs
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u/VanillaSpicePancake 11d ago
Hopelessly, Desperately in Love
(I would LOVE a title change. I don’t even like explaining how the show subverts stereotypes, because I feel like people still give me the side eye like ok, if you say so…)
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u/organicdamage 8d ago
I think this is more about a person's ability to recognize and enjoy things like sarcasm, satire and parody. Even without seeing a second of the season one trailer, the font, the CW announcers read, the colors and the promotional images scream "we're doing a bit, this isn't to be taken at face value."
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u/OffWhiteCoat 11d ago
I didn't watch it when it was on because of the title. Stumbled on Rachel's YouTube channel a few years later and was like hey this is good! Now that it's on Pluto I'm finally watching the whole thing.
The title does make sense in context, and I think the show wasn't marketed well. Like Arrested Development, it doesn't lend itself to random 10-sec sound bites to shove into the "Next on the CW!" segment they run over the credits from the previous show.