Sophie Straw Seizes a Starring Role Overseas as 'Funny Woman' Reaches its Midpoint

Have you seen Almost Famous? It’s Cameron Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film about the experiences of "William," a teenage music journalist writing for Rolling Stone in the early 1970s. At one point, William has gotten himself in a terrible bind: he’s been on the road with the band he’s covering, and his deadline is looming, but he still doesn’t have the piece’s crucial interview because its subject keeps putting him off. His editor corners him on the phone, demanding an update, which a hungover William (speaking in a very deep voice to maintain the ruse that he’s in his 20s) delivers flawlessly: “It’s a thinkpiece about a mid-level band struggling with their own limitations in the harsh face of stardom.”

William’s editor swallows it whole, and who wouldn’t? It’s got everything: nuance, enthusiasm, and the promise of gimlet-eyed analysis, capturing a pivotal moment in the life of a rock band that could either become huge or implode, becoming nothing more than a footnote in music history.

As Funny Woman’s second season kicks into higher and higher gears, that’s exactly Sophie Straw’s predicament. As Dennis puts it in his appearance on Pipe Smoke, Sophie is, counter to what the snobby, entitled, overeducated white guys who seem to run everything assume when they see and hear her, “an intelligent, instinctive, hugely charismatic comedic performer of great technical ability.” He’s absolutely right; those qualities have gotten her far already, but they’re not enough. Just as Bill, Tony, and Dennis were miserable working with Dilys and Ronald on the other side, Sophie is bereft without the lads. Chemistry, healthy teamwork, and experience all matter, too, and it’s the experience that Sophie needs more of if she wants to go beyond the promising start of Jim and Barbara.