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I Hate Myself for Loving You: "Men in Trees"

Posted by Emily Farris

 

It's true, I, Scanner Emily, love "Men in Trees," the ABC dramedy about New York relationship coach/author Marin Frist (Anne Heche) who moves to Elmo, Alaska to find love and finish her book in peace. Sure, it's completely cliched and the characters may be more than a little archetypal and hokey, but they wouldn't be characters if they weren't, right?

But it's not the cheesy writing or beautiful scenery that gets me. It's not the fact that that when I come home drunk at 3 a.m. on Thursday night, it's there waiting for me at abc.com. It's not even the fact that before "Men in Trees." I really only knew Heche as Ellen DeGeneres' bat-shit crazy ex. 

No, it's the fucking men in trees. While they're generally not in trees, how can I not get excited about multiple bearded mountain men falling all over a quirky New York writer-type before "the one" throws her down on a perfectly made antique bed in a rustic cabin over-looking a lake? 

Does this really happen? Because it has made me look into moving to Alaska more than once (apparently it's not as cheap as it used to be, either).

Is Alaska really a magical land of magical mountain men who magically work with their magical hands and magically fall in love with New York writer types? Because if so, I am so there. Put me on the next puddle jumper!


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Posted Mar 28 2008, 03:14 PM
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Comments

sincupcake said:

Yes, here in Alaska the mountain men do exist, and most of them do work with their wonderful hands, BUT they will look at you sideways if you come from your fancy New York writing gig trying to win a "bearded beauty".

As a side note: Where the heck is Elmo, Alaska anyways, because I don't recall ever hearing of it.....it's like Northern Exposure all over again.

March 28, 2008 5:44 PM

tartlet said:

Elmo Alaska is actually somewhere near Vancouver...which explains why you don't see as much snow in Elmo in the winter as you would in most of Alaska, and why Marin can get away with wearing "winter" garb suitable for NY winters.

As for the men and the community, I'm assuming it depends on where in Alaska you go.  From what I've heard, Anchorage and Elmo have painfully little in common.

Anyway, I'm a closet Men In Trees lover too, but I'm not silly enough to think that it's anything other than a sappy fantasy show.  C'mon now, Emily.  Next you're going to tell me that you moved to New York and started writing for Hooksexup after watching Sex and the City.  It's almost like Jenny Bicks is your career counsellor and relationship advisor or something...

March 28, 2008 7:47 PM

profrobert said:

A good female friend who lived for years in Alaska agreed with the old saying that if you're a single woman there, the odds are good, but the goods are odd.

March 28, 2008 11:55 PM

eurrapanzy said:

i've seen a couple of episodes.  it reminds me exactly of high school.  also, the stuff i saw seemed like what desperate housewives should have been.  but i don't know, since i've actually never watched any desperate housewives.

March 29, 2008 9:57 PM

tartlet said:

eurrapanzy--I watch both.  They're both pretty "high school," which is probably why I like them. They're like not-nearly-as-good substitutes for the My So Called Life/Wonder Years/Freaks and Geeks genre that thirty-somethings like me love, but are a little to old to watch without feeling a tad cougarish.   Okay, Housewives is probably more 90210 than anything, but you get my drift.  But Men In Trees and Housewives are very different shows...Housewives isn't cute and sappy like MIT, and it would be completely unwatchable if it were.

March 29, 2008 11:00 PM

About Emily Farris

Emily Farris writes about culture and food for numerous publications and websites you've probably never heard of, including her own blog eefers. Her first cookbook, "Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven" was published in 2008. Emily recently escaped New York and now lives in a ridiculously large apartment in Kansas City, MO with her cat, but just one... so far.

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