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Reviews
Cheers: Honor Thy Mother (1991)
Hilarious episode, especially if you are from an Italian-American background.
Obviously, any sitcom delving into "ethnic humor" runs the risk of inciting controversy, but as one with at least partly Italian background, I found it hilarious! It might look like fiction set up for a regular episode of "Cheers," but that naming tradition does exist in the Italian-American world to an extent. One of my best friends from college came from an Italian-American originally from New Jersey who named my friend after the two grandparents in his family. His name is "Anthony 'Tony' Rocco Alfieri" and it came from both of his grandfathers, one who was named "Anthony" and the other who was named "Rocco," giving him the most stereotypical Italian name possible that you'd think he has Ragu sauce flowing through his veins. He does embrace it, seemingly proud of how "Italian" his name sounds.
I'm only a quarter Italian, but through my mom's side of the family from where that heritage came from, I sort of got to experience the "culture" of Italian-Americans. They of course came through New Orleans instead of New York, and Southerners that descend from Italian immigrants are culturally different from those that settled up north like my friend Tony. Even still, there are some similarities. Yet again, I'm more of a mutt. My grandmother whose grandparents immigrated from Sicily had the name of Marguerite Ciuilla. Something my mom's family was very centered on was dedication to family, a trait Italians are known for. Also, there was the bluntness, as Italians are not really known to mince words. Though, at the end of the day, I'm not an Italian-American, but a mutt. My name is an American, quasi-Greek spelling of the name "Christopher," as "Kristopher," and then my middle name is Irish and my last name is German. LOL, good luck assuming my heritage. As Norm said in this very episode of "Cheers" while talking to Carla about her family, "I wish I belonged to an ethnic group;." LOL, because WASP Americans.
Though I find this episode hilarious with playing on Italian-American tropes, it's a little historically inaccurate. "Benito" was more of a Spanish name and was never popular in Italy. Benito Mussolini's parents were die-hard political revolutionaries who named their son after Mexican political leader Benito Juarez. But, it sounds "Italian" enough (after all, Spanish and Italian share a common origin through Latin), and don't let facts get in the way of a good sitcom joke. :-)
And did I mention that in any Italian family, whatever the mother says is law. I'm Southern, and once saw a sign that said "If Momma ain't happy, ain't nobody happy!" Well, if you had an Italian mother, that's the truth on an exponential level! :-D.
Whitney (2011)
Pilot was rusty: But Whitney's got wit
Hmmm, Whitney Cummings, NBC's return to a traditional sitcom filmed in front of a live studio audience? Sounds like it has potential... but weird girl with what appears to be a quite, timid guy? I've seen this before, I think. From the previews, it almost appeared to be yet another "Dharma & Greg:" an eccentric wife/girlfriend with a straight laced but overly forgiving husband/boyfriend.
Fortunately, what I saw in the pilot was not that at all. Whitney Cummings' character doesn't appear as much as eccentric as just simply socially awkward. She comes across to me as a much better version of Sarah Silverman. By better I mean, more likable, believable and less deliberately offensive. Her boyfriend Alex (Chris D'Elia) is much more confident and assertive. Even though he is often put off by Whitney's antics, such as unwittingly putting on inappropriate attire for a wedding or hoarding cupcakes at a reception, he still has a deep appreciation for her that allows him to put her occasional faux pas aside. This doesn't stop him from being critical, but also doesn't appear Whitney is up for taking his advice. Here we are set up for an interesting showcase of personality clashes, and that's what sitcoms should be about.
The geeky and somehow still accidentally sexy character of Whitney is explained at the beginning of the episode. Her own insecurity stems from her parents' highly unstable relationships. Her mother and father have both been divorced three times, and their own marriage ended with a counter-suit from Whitney's father.
The stage is set when Alex and Whitney attend a friend's wedding. There, Whitney begins hearing stories from her friends that passion is lacking in their own long term marriages. Naturally, she begins to fear that her own relationship with Alex will die off if sex is not involved. Whitney goes to her own dimwitted friends for advice, who often have hilariously bad solutions to her problem. They end up awkwardly taking her into a sex shop where a leather-clad female clerk introduces her to role playing. After some skepticism, she goes along with the suggestion anyways and role plays as a nurse for Alex; with hilariously ridiculous results.
Once again, the pilot was awkward as pilots usually go, as each character had to get their two bits of dialog in to introduce themselves to the audience, so there wasn't a whole lot of opportunity for wit or chemistry. I'll give it a few more episodes before I can honestly decide if this NBC has struck gold with this stand up comedienne turned sitcom star. Whitney is likable if you like a somewhat nerdy girl who can still present herself as attractive. As I've said before, her character is socially inept but appears blissfully unaware. It's a refreshing change in the TV world as we've got too many flashy women out there (just look at ANY primetime drama), or women playing the "straight" role ("Two And A Half Men," "Big Bang Theory" for example). It's almost as if women are afraid to admit that they can be funny as well.
Since I've often enjoyed a few of her stand up appearances on Comedy Central, I have enough faith that Whitney is witty enough to pull off primetime comedy. As long as the writers avoid cliché and plots that seem to be recycled from '90's sitcoms, they'll be fine.
-Kris Starring