Jennifer Coolidge’s absence hasn’t dimmed the glow of “The White Lotus.”
Although she lit up two seasons of the quirky Mike White drama, she has a kindred spirit in Parker Posey, who takes the third season to her own offbeat heights.
This time out, vacationers are relaxing in Thailand where the White Lotus branch appeals to an even tonier crowd. In addition to con men and frauds, it plays host to an actress and her lifelong friends, an uber-rich family from the South, a sketchy entrepreneur and – for good measure – the staffer who was going to be set up in her own business by Coolidge’s Tanya McQuoid.
Looking for pointers for the Hawaiian White Lotus, Belinda Lindsey (Natasha Rothwell) befriends the Thai regulars and happens to spot a couple of things that look amiss.
Could this be the tie that binds all three editions? That’s where White plays it cagey. Luring you in before unleashing the chaos, he makes the resort seem as idyllic as possible. Even the ever-present monkeys seem to create a vibe and then, like the art work in season two, they become the eyes that won’t look away.
It’s to the designers’ credit that this “White Lotus” is so inviting. The set and costume design are next level; the cinematography looks like it was done by someone from National Geographic.
The guests are in their own cages. Posey plays the drug-fueled matriarch of the Southern family, unwilling to see the world beyond her own parameters. Her two sons (Patrick Schwarzenegger and Sam Nivola) and daughter (Sarah Catherine Hook) have issues, but she’s too caught up in maintaining her façade to really dig in.
While the daughter sees the trip as a way to research Buddhism for a religion paper, the sons figure it’s just another good time. Dad (Jason Isaacs) can’t leave his phone long enough to join in on the fun but humors his wife long enough to keep her at bay. Thanks to prescription drugs, “I slept like a corpse,” she says, but he’s still restless. Elder son Saxton (Schwarzenegger) is, to put it mildly, a real jerk. He tries to bully his brother and pull him into adventures that will, apparently, make him more manly. Sis goes her own way, which means she’s scouting the location where who knows what else is happening.
The three friends – once close, now strained – realize how much has changed since they were kids frolicking in the yard. When conversation turns to politics, the lines emerge and, suddenly, it’s not a friend-cation anymore. Carrie Coon, Leslie Bibb and Michelle Monaghan play the besties who decide to dig into the local culture. When they’re appalled by what they see, they go in another direction and so does the series.
While White, who wrote and directed the eight hours, uses touchstones here and there (they arrive on a boat, have plenty of get-to-know-each-other time and live somewhere on the fringes of respectability), the guests are not interchangeable with previous seasons’. He brings the outsiders together to comment on various social conditions and, in this case, doubles down on religion. What starts slow accelerates quickly.
While Posey and Schwarzenegger are the standouts, “White Lotus 3” makes Nivola the one you want to protect and Rothwell the one who could make every planted clue pay off big.
Walton Goggins and Aimee Lou Woods have an interesting side story as a couple looking for satisfaction. They’re tossed in a snake pit (literally) and forced to play with the others in an odd and unusual way.
“The White Lotus,” season three, is a bit more lush than the previous two and stuffed with phrases you’ll be hearing for months to come. Don't be surprised if, like Saxton, you say, "This place is clutch."
"The White Lotus" begins its third season Feb. 16 on HBO/MAX.
