An Odd ODD COUPLE

Article first published as THE ODD COUPLE Review on Seat42F.

Matthew Perry and Thomas Lennon | THE ODD COUPLE

 

 

Many have said that CBS’s new remake of THE ODD COUPLE, premiering this week, is unnecessary. Those people are absolutely correct. THE ODD COUPLE is a classic play, a classic movie, a classic television show, and is still performed on stages across the country (I, myself, was Felix in high school), so why does it need yet another on-screen version? Well, the key here would be were the series to be updated to reflect modern sensibilities. But it hasn’t been long enough since it was written to need even that.

CBS’s THE ODD COUPLE stars Matthew Perry (Friends, Go On) as Oscar Madison, a sloppy sportscaster who isn’t dealing with the emotional heft of his divorce. When Oscar’s friend, neat freak Felix (Thomas Lennon, Reno 911!, Night at the Museum), is similarly dumped, Felix comes to stay with Oscar. They quickly get on each other’s nerves.

Now, this will sound familiar because the basic story has not been changed in any way. Some of the lines of dialogue in the pilot come straight out of the original source, and the leading characters are essentially the exact same as their earlier counterparts. There is nothing distinguishing about this version, except perhaps that Felix makes vegetarian cuisine.

Everything else about this ODD COUPLE is sanitized and dated. Oscar’s mess is purely surface-level, a clearly staged disaster that is easily cleaned. The dialogue is hokey for 2015, and the story is not edgy enough. This feels like a sitcom from another era, which it is.

The first major mistake The Odd Couple makes is condensing the entire plot of the play into twenty minutes. From the poker night spoiled, to the awkward double date, the pilot of this show rockets right on through everything fans of the play or movie remember, condensed incredibly. This is really bad because the emotional arc between Oscar and Felix is similarly compacted, meaning Felix gets on Oscar’s nerves before he really has time to, and they come to an understanding way too early. I wasn’t a viewer of the old series, which aired long before my time, so I don’t know if they made the same error, but it feels very strange here, as if they should have taken a minimum of two half-hours, or preferably more, to cover this.

Interestingly, it’s actually emotional depth that makes THE ODD COUPLE work, though. Yes, the initial arc is too quick, but I like that Felix is determined to make Oscar face his feelings and Oscar realizes he needs that help. Felix also understands he needs Oscar to help him loosen up. Now that the pilot is out of the way, I’m interested to see where they build their relationship over time, and if they can make it evolve, rather than staying stagnant.

The supporting cast may help with that. Oscar’s assistant, Dani (Yvette Nicole Brown, Community), is only in the early bit of the first episode, so we don’t know what her reaction will be to Felix’s interference, but by her disgusted looks, she should approve. Oscar’s friend, Teddy (Wendell Pierce, Treme), must have his loyalties divided, not enjoying having the poker night ruined, but certainly glad for the assistance in getting Oscar back on track. Felix’s love interest, Emily (Lindsay Sloane, Horrible Bosses), is very much like Felix, so could hinder his growth. Guest star Casey (Leslie Bibb, About a Boy) could do the same for Oscar.

But in order for this to work, a lot must be overcome. Lennon and Perry are hilarious, to be sure, but THE ODD COUPLE makes me wish they’d created original characters instead of trying to use Felix and Oscar, as I’d be curious to see what they could do together without being boxed in by history. As it is, their considerable talents seem wasted, at least for now.

THE ODD COUPLE premieres Thursday at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

USA is PLAYING HOUSE

Article first published as TV Review: 'Playing House' - 'Pilot; Bird Bones' on Blogcritics.

USA premieres Playing House, this week with a two-episode premiere, the network’s second-ever sitcom. In the first episode “Pilot,” Emma Carter (Jessica St. Clair, Bridesmaids) gives up her career to move back home and help her pregnant best friend, Maggie Caruso (Lennon Parham, Confessions of a Shopaholic), raise her baby after Maggie kicks out her no-good husband. In the second episode, “Bird Bones,” the girls make an effort to befriend Emma’s ex-boyfriend’s wife.

If Playing House seems familiar, you may be thinking of the short-lived series Best Friends Forever, also starring and created by Parham and St. Clair. Maggie and Emma are very similar to those characters, Parham once again portraying a woman in a relationship, while St. Clair is the single girl. Once again, the focus is much more on the friendship than on their romantic entanglements. The chemistry between the two women is really the backbone of the show.

In “Pilot,” Maggie’s husband, Bruce (Brad Morris, Cougar Town), is caught cheating on her in a big, public way, establishing why Emma would quit her successful career to come back to a town she hates. On one hand, I’m disappointed with the cheating setup, because Maggie’s marriage had seemed so solid. I had assumed Bruce would be killed off, which might have been a more emotionally satisfying turn of events. On the other, Playing House is solidly a comedy, and even the dramatic moments are played for laughs, thanks to a raccoon or other outside influence, so by making Bruce a cheater, they don’t have to get too deep or sad.

“Bird Bones” takes a similar tact as Maggie and Emma have brunch with Tina Rodriguez (Lindsay Sloane, Horrible Bosses), the wife of Emma’s ex, policeman Mark (Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele). This could be a charged sequence in which Emma worries about past wrongs, and the girls feel deeply bad about how they treated Tina in high school. Instead, the women accidentally get soaked in Tina’s shower, then help her sort through a room full of junk that she secretly hoards. Laughs are much more important that development for these characters.

It’s a broad style of comedy, but it works well because the relationship between the females at the center is so well-established and authentic: a modern day Lucy and Ethel, except with both on equal footing. They are two real-life friends who really enjoy one another, and that shows on screen.

I’m really glad they have been given a second chance at a series because I liked their first effort and this one feels much the same, perhaps with even more freedom to be edgy, Playing House airing on cable instead of a broadcast network. The tone may not be for everyone, but the good news is that it’s established right away so you’ll know within the first few minutes whether to invest your time or not. For my part, I think it’s definitely worth it.

The supporting cast is strong and in demand, which could hurt the long-term viability of Playing House. Key has his own successful Comedy Central series which he writes and stars in, as well as just completing a run on FX’s Fargo. The cast also includes Zach Woods (The Office and one of the stars of HBO’s Silicon Valley) playing Maggie’s odd brother with a crush on Emma. These types of players will certainly add to the appeal of the show, but could make it hard to schedule many episodes in a year, though thankfully cable usually asks for fewer installments than, say, NBC.

With Sirens and Playing House, USA has made a serious foray into the comedy world. A bit more intelligent than most TBS sitcoms, which is probably the closest thing to compare them to, these are enjoyable shows with talented people. More like this batch and we’ll soon forget the network used to just be fluffy, funny, light weight procedurals.

Playing House airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. ET on USA.

PSYCH "Remake" Not Improvement

Article first published as PSYCH "Remake" Not Improvement on TheTVKing.

USA's Psych feels like its taking a victory lap as the series wraps up. I say this because, rather than delivering typical episodes, the writers are getting more creative more often and doing some zany things, from musicals to a European excursion. This week's latest installment, "Remake A.K.A. Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement" is actually a redo of a season one episode, working off what is a very similar script and storyline, albeit with a different killer.

The original episode (which I re-watched this week) was the twelfth one that aired, "Cloudy... With a Chance of Murder," way back in February of 2007. It is a relatively normal entry in which Shawn (James Roday) and Gus (Dule Hill) help a bumbling defense attorney named Adam Hornstock (Michael Weston, House M.D.) clear his client of having murdered her lover, a newscaster. In the original version, the victim's jealous assistant (Keegan Connor Tracy, Once Upon a Time), is the culprit.

This time around, the defense attorney is still played by Weston, but now the suspects are a plethora of recognizable faces, rather than the relative unknowns used last time. The guest cast includes Ralph Macchio (Ugly Betty, Eight is Enough), Janet Varney (Burning Love), Katharine Isabelle (Being Human), Carlos Jacott (Big Love), Lindsay Sloane (Sabrina, the Teenage Witch), Alan Ruck (Spin City, Ferris Bueller's Day Off), Ray Wise (Twin Peaks, and a previous Psych guest star twice over), and Dana Ashbrook (also Twin Peaks and Psych). This roster lends the whiff of a stunt episode to the mix.

It isn't surprising Psych would finally get around to a tribute to itself. It has, after all, paid homage to many other shows and movies in the past. With its offbeat sense of humor, it makes total sense to go in this direction, especially if the end is nigh.

That being said, "Remake A.J.A. Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement" adds little to the series portfolio, and it would be hard to argue it's even a bit better than the first, no matter what the title suggests. I believe part of this is because it picks a very run-of-the-mill entry to play off of, and the other part is that it doesn't do much to change things. The one thing the new one has over the old is that in the original, it's very clear the team hasn't figure out what the show is yet, exactly, whereas here, there's a welcome level of comfort and confidence.

In fact, the character dynamics are much closer to the current relationships that the original chemistry, despite the insistence of text on screen that this takes place years ago. While Jules (Maggie Lawson) says she isn't amused by Shawn, we know it's not true. Lawson doesn't do enough to convince us of that, which, as funny as it is when Shawn insists they will be together, something that can be added to the story in hindsight, is too bad. Lassiter (Timothy Omundson) also goes too soft on the boys.

A couple of things that are nice additions is that Henry (Corbin Bernsen) talks to a baby at the beginning, rather than a child, and Woody (Kurt Fuller), now an important part of the ensemble, is a witness in the case. But even in this, they waste Woody, not even setting him up to be a pal or have his current job.

Overall, "Remake A.K.A. Cloudy... With a Chance of Improvement" is a disappointment. Not because it's not entertaining; it's about as much so as a mediocre, typical Psych episode. Instead, it's the missed opportunities like the jokes that weren't done (such as using an old theme song) that keep it from being memorable. It's a good idea, not executed as well as it could have been, though it does have some good references.

Psych airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on USA.