I have a sneaking suspicion that the wonders of our digital services remain woefully unknown to too many of VPL’s customers. With the increased cost of platforms like Netflix and the recent return to colder temperatures, I wanted to explore the two main streaming services we provide access to — entirely for free — and provide some recommendations to cozy up with while we wait for warmer days. 

Hoopla

The range of Hoopla’s content might surprise you. There are e-books, audiobooks, movies, and even music. If you haven’t used it before, you will have to sign in through the VPL website here (scroll down to Hoopla). Once you create an account using your library card number and pin, you’re good to go. Here are some titles that have become favourites in my house, available now in no particular order.

Misbehaviour

It’s difficult to sum up the complex story this film tells. I take that as a good sign. The real-life events at its heart are multifaceted and worth reminding audiences of. I will endeavour to do my best, however. In 1970, at the Miss World pageant in London, controversy ran rampant. To begin with, South Africa was allowed to send contestants to compete, which was interpreted as tacit endorsement of apartheid. The decision to have two contestants from South Africa (one white and one black) was also criticized. During the pageant, a group of Women’s Liberation protesters (played in part by Keira Knightley and Jessie Buckley) interrupted the televised proceedings, throwing flour in outrage over Bob Hope’s chauvinistic jokes. This would also be the first year that Miss World was won by a black woman: Jennifer Hosten from Grenada (expertly portrayed by Gugu Mbatha-Raw). 

I believe the movie does a good job of letting us see different sides of the story. There is undoubtedly much more that could be said, more depths to be plumbed, probably another film’s worth, but it’s an incredibly entertaining start. Hosten later moved to Canada, completed two master’s degrees, and was once Grenada’s High Commissioner to Canada. She has also published an autobiography about the amazing life she’s led, available in our collection. 

Ten Percent

Originally available on Amazon Prime and based on the French series Call My Agent, Ten Percent seems to have flown under the radar since it came out last year. The series has a truly great premise, which is that it takes place at a talent agency in London whose clients just happen to be well-known actors playing themselves. Kelly Macdonald is  a version of herself up for a major role the studio thinks she’s too old for. Phoebe Dynevor (Bridgerton), Helena Bonham Carter, and Himesh Patel (of Yesterday fame) all have similar parts, embodying the insecurities performers are often plagued with.

It’s funny. It’s charming. And Jim Broadbent is excellent as one of the founding partners of the agency, squabbling with his son (Jack Davenport) about how best to manage their clients.  

Scott and Bailey

Hoopla has a truly inordinate amount of British drama to choose from. As a big fan of murder mysteries, crime shows, and police procedurals, they’re often right up my dark, abandoned alley. One such drama is the beloved detective procedural Scott and Bailey. The show’s creator also came up with one of the best crime dramas ever created, Happy Valley. The latter had a hiatus of seven years while we waited for season three, which has now aired in the UK. 

The first time I watched Scott and Bailey, I was very nearly put off by the titular characters. Janet Scott and Rachel Bailey make poor decisions that land them in a lot of drama over the course of five series. Subverting gender and genre expectations works well here. They are fully drawn, somewhat dubious women that test the bonds of even their own friendship, and that’s what makes them interesting to watch. 

Plus One

I have to mention this little independent film from 2019 that went straight to streaming and must have had the smallest advertising budget known to man. It is a lovely, well-written romance that takes the tired wedding season backdrop and infuses it with an energetic comedic tone. Jack Quaid (son of Meg Ryan and Dennis Quaid) and Maya Erskine (co-creator of PEN15) are old friends from college that have known each other too long and too well to be interested romantically. I think you may already know the rest, but that may be the point.