What's it about?
Inspired by the best-selling books from actress/comedian Chelsea Handler, ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? follows the exploits of the twentysomething Chelsea, an opinionated and unapologetic young woman who lives life to the fullest as a cocktail waitress, friend, daughter, sister and sexually dynamic "advanced drinker."
(Synopsis from NBC.)
You should watch if...
• you like Chelsea Handler.
• you enjoy sex & booze-related jokes.
• you are an alcoholic.
So, how was it?
After this season presented a slew of pretentious comedies that masqueraded as progressive while harboring harmful stereotypes (LAST MAN STANDING, WORK IT!, HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN), it was actually refreshing to see ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? be completely obvious and blatant in what it wanted to be: a show centered around nothing more than dirty jokes about sex and drinking. Was it terrific? No. But it did accomplish what it set out to be, nothing more and nothing less.
Laura Prepon (THAT 70s SHOW) is likable as the unapologetically loud, opinionated and sarcastic Chelsea. When we first meet her, she is getting a DUI, which tells us pretty much everything we need to know about this character. In a meta-twist, Chelsea Handler herself plays Chelsea (the characters)'s sister Sloane, a born-again conservative new mother whose husband is off fighting in Afghanistan. If you dislike Handler's humor, you will find nothing to like in this show as it is centered around her, costarring her.
The cast is rounded out with a bunch of equally over-the-top supporting players: Rick, Chelsea's boss at the bar (Jake McDorman, GREEK); Olivia (Ali Wong), Chelsea's best friend, coworker and fellow alcohol-lover; and Dee Dee (Lauren Lapkus), Chelsea's clueless, virgin roommate. Everyone here is a caricature, writ large for laughs. The pilot equal-opportunity offends, making fun alternately of alcoholics, virgins, lesbians, little people and redheads. Sure, the laugh track is annoying (aren't we like a couple decades past those yet?) and the characters are clichés, but the show's bluntness is its biggest strength.
My biggest confusion centers around the title -- why the change? Originally called ARE YOU THERE, VODKA? IT'S ME, CHELSEA (directly after one of Handler's memoirs), that title both drew on the source material and is uttered in the pilot. Sure, it was long, but it made sense. ARE YOU THERE, CHELSEA? sounds like an unrelated woman is drawing inspiration from Chelsea Handler herself. But the character is supposed to be Chelsea. I don't know. Whatever.
Rating:
** Okay. I may give it another episode or two to see if it gets better.
If I'm being honest, I don't see the show getting remarkably better or worse. I think it is what it is, and the writers intended it to be exactly that. I just can't give it a three-star rating -- the show's not revolutionary or smart or anything to write home about. If you enjoy some good, sarcastic booze-related humor and want to commiserate with a fellow soul who doesn't apologize for loving vodka a bit too much, then this is the show for you. But if you're looking for the next great American comedy, steer clear.
What'd you think, Fellow Addicts? Did you find the blunt offensive tone refreshing? Or just offensive? Will you be tuning in again? Vote in the poll below and then hit the comments!
(For the complete rundown of when all the new shows are premiering, check out my 2012 Midseason TV Preview.)
No comments:
Post a Comment