Have you ever wondered what our lives would be like if consent was a given? The popular new Prime Video series Off Campus, about the romantic entanglements of a college ice hockey team, plays out this though experiment rigorously. And the result is a modern love story that’s sexy, romantic, and insanely wholesome to watch all at the same time.
At the fictional Briar University, music enthusiast Hannah (Ella Bright) and the captain of the local ice hockey team, Garrett Graham (Belmont Cameli), initially meet by chance. Because he has bad grades and she hasn’t had the courage to approach her crush for weeks, the two make an unusual deal: She’ll give him philosophy lessons in exchange for him pretending to date her to attract the attention of her crush, musician Justin (Josh Heuston).
What follows is a delightful romantic comedy with an ’80s flair. Between Dirty Dancing movie nights, cheerful dance scenes, and humorous dialogue, the cheerful atmosphere that unfolds feels like a cross between The Sex Lives of College Girls and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before. And soon enough, Garrett and Hannah are no longer sure whether their faked closeness isn’t turning into the real thing.
But here’s the real twist: In Off Campus, gentle masculinity is the standard. Unlike traditional college comedies like Road Trip or Revenge of the Nerds, the male protagonists of Off Campus were written by women. (The show is based on the popular book series by Elle Kennedy.) Therefore, they inherently embody different ideals when dealing with the opposite sex. As talented and attractive athletes, Garrett and his buddies have no shortage of women wanting to get close to them—but they do not treat them as objects. They don’t brag about how many sexual partners they have, push boundaries, or exhibit other so-called “locker room talk” behaviors.
Hannah knows too well that things can be different. Previously, someone put drugs in her drink at a party and then raped her. Off Campus in no way denies the real danger of sexual violence that informs the lives of so many young women, but the series does allow itself to present a thoroughly positive alternative to the horror of the patriarchy.
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By Anna Rinderspacher
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