Anyone watch this last night? It’s a new comedy from Greg Garcia, producer of My Name is Earl.
It’s quite similar – white trash guy tries to become a better person, in this case because he became a father after a one-night stand. (The mother was executed for murdering her boyfriend – a funny scene).
It’s still rough, but there is room for growth. I didn’t find the senile grandmother all that funny, but it’s Chloris Leachman, so that may be fixed.
There was also a great shout-out to My Name is Earl:
Newscaster: “And, in other news, a small-time crook with a long list of wrongs he was making amends for has finally finished. And you’ll never guess how it ended.”
Had my mouth open staring at the screen a few times, much like the first time I saw The Office. And then everybody threw up on screen. Wow. The whole family got a good laugh out of that. Well, except for the 9 yo. She really doesn’t like pukey jokes. But, I mean, wow.
I caught the shout-out, had to replay it for my husband. (It was easy to miss, what with the finding out they were feeding a murderer breakfast, and then hitting her with the TV.)
We found this pretty funny. I hadn’t been planning on checking it out, but we got grabbed with the Glee lead-in, and I personally love Garret Dillahunt. And Cloris Leachman, though they didn’t use her very well in this ep.
Also, is it just me, or is Martha Plimpton managing to get more attractive as she ages? That is just not fair!
Anyway, we’ll be keeping up with this. And going slow around the corners - so the bean bag doesn’t slide around too much.
I only caught a few minutes because we had taped Glee and my wife wanted to watch it but the bit about the “girlfriend” being tricky because “for her final meal she asked for a McRib and a Shamrock Shake and those are almost never available for the same limited times” made me laugh.
I enjoyed it. I thought the ending was forced. The grandparents are adamant about giving the child up and then change their mind after one talk with the dad. Their change happened way too quickly.
But I thought it was funny. The trash grandmother is how I picture my SO’s mom.
That made me feel old because I remember her as a teenager in the movie version of Parenthood. And I caught the shout-out. I kind of wish they had gone into more detail, just to wrap up My Name is Earl.
I liked it a lot. Good casting, and the humor was nicely underplayed. I wish I would have recorded it, because I’d like to watch it again. The characters seem to care for each other without being smarmy about it.
I thought the show was the funniest I’ve seen in a long time. The show had some great moments, including:
Jimmy getting fed up with his life, and preparing a new Life Plan, which: consisted wholly of an elaborate sketch of him with a girl riding an eagle with his evil boss clutched in the eagle’s talons.Then he’s called down to dinner by his mother, where we find out that: his evil boss is also his father.There were other nice touches, like the melted bubblegum ice cream on the dashboard, and (later) the flashback of little Jimmy peering out the hole in the floorboard.
The next morning, his parents and cousin start to complement him on his new girlfriend, at the conclusion of which he asks if anyone knew her name.
And of course, there’s the gleeful comment of his one-night stand girlfriend in the prison yard: “They’ll never execute a woman with a six-month old baby!” immediately followed by her execution and Jimmy belatedly covering the eyes of the baby.Black humor, indeed, but very well done, IMHO. We’ll definitely watch again. I hope they can successfully follow up on the pilot.
Did anybody see the show that was on afterward, “Running Wilde”? We thought it was good, too.
Although Martha Plimpton in 2010 looks exactly like Martha Plimpton in 1990, they followed the well worn tv trope of using a totally different looking young actor to play the character “20 years earlier.”
I enjoyed it. There were a few very “laugh out loud” moments. My favorite was the car seat conversation and then the mom takes the hair-pin turn and the car seat goes rolling to the otherside of the car.
I was suprised that the grocery store girl works at “Jons” (it’s like a more ethnic version of Vons) which is a regional chain in LA. I don’t think they even changed the logo.
I think the key to making the grand ma-ma work is to use the lucidity bits well.
I didn’t see it but I have to say that “Running Wilde” and “Raising Hope” are as good examples as any of the show-naming gimmick that makes me roll my eyes the most. Verb+“Contrived character name to fit verb and create well known saying”. Yeesh.
I loved her surpise lucidity rant about everybody freeloding that led directly into worrying about a dinner party. That and mistaking her great-grandson for her dead husband. Really mistaking him.
Loved it. I agree with one of the other posters in that not a bunch of laugh out loud moments, but it had a “quiet” funny that I enjoyed. will be sticking with it.
Earl was set in Camden. But the line about him did not say it was a local man. Could have been, but it’s unclear. I suppose we’ll have to keep watching.
