Uneven ‘Unhitched’ hits some marks but still misfiring

March

Rashida Jones is too smart, too funny and too good an actress not to always have a role on a prime time show.

I’m just not convinced Unhitched ought to be that show.

I finally watched the third episode last night. I had to DVR it and wait a day because Sunday night I was confronted with the choice of watching it when it aired or watching Paul Giamatti in the lead role of HBO’s John Adams. There was no choice to be made.

I’ll give credit where it’s due, mind you. This show is improving. Over three episodes, each has been better than the last (with the exception of the pilot, which was not better than not watching anything at all).

Kate (Jones) has a friend’s kid’s birthday party to attend, and her ex is going to be there. This premise turned out to be the vehicle for all the funny in the episode, even though it didn’t involve Dr. Freddy (the hilarious Shaun Majmuder), the funniest character of the main four. Meanwhile, Gator (Craig Bierko) and Dr. Freddy meet a pair of Icelandic ladies, with whom they drink heavily. No, I don’t know why.

The cold open had Kate on a date at a restaurant where they leave the lights off. This is supposed to be a hip thing, I gather. It goes predictably awry and hijinks ensue. Bleah.

At times last night I swear I could sense thought balloons over Kate’s head in which Jones is thinking that if she just tries really really hard this will all be a lot more funny than it is. And you know, it almost worked.

She tries to show how good she is with kids (reminiscent for me of Pam in the “Take Your Daughter to Work Day” episode of The Office) by calling a kid in a helmet “skateboard kid” (or something like that). Unfortunately the helmet is to protect the kid’s soft cranium. He’s reduced to tears as his mom rolls her eyes that Kate would bring it up. Now that’s cringingly funny.

Even Tommy (Johnny Sneed) had some funny lines, even though he, like Bierko, seems too 40-something to play 30-something. Tommy likes the meat market aspect of kids’ parties, and sure enough he scores in a bouncy castle. He seems like a cliche. I’m just not sure what the cliche is.

One thing that really annoyed me was the barely perceptible soundtrack that drifted in and out during scenes. What’s that?

Just when you think Kate’s going to find true love at the punch bowl, the potential love interest rescues the scene by revealing that she handled his divorce…for his ex-wife. If only he could see his kids again. Nice. When Kate discovers her ex is engaged, she nervously beans the soft cranium kid in the head with a football and knocks him into the pool. So the fiance naturally dives in and saves the kid. Then she stages a one-woman wet T-shirt contest.

And I’m thinking at this point that this show has promise.

But there was so much to contradict that hope.

Gator and Freddie in the bar picking up chicks with a baby? Did I mention bleah? Gator getting rip-roaring drunk? Why did that happen? The guy licking the bleu cheese off the baby’s head? Ugh. Even Majmuder had that “What’s happening? This isn’t funny” look on his face. And Freddy ruining his chances with the pretty doc at the end gave me flashbacks of Three’s Company.

That’s not a good thing.

A few other things. The Google Maps-like transitions between scenes is grating and vaguely heavy handed, like a subliminal signal that this show is young, hip, cool and Internet savvy. All the guys hanging around and talking to Kate like they’re her girlfriends was annoying because that dynamic is not believable with these people. And what was up with the pony-riding Prince giving Kate a lift home and copping several feels?

I’m trying to give this show a chance, but the episode-to-episode improvement is not enough. It’s going to have to get a whole lot better and fast. As this reviewer said, “The more I watch shows like Unhitched…the more resentful I am that shows like Arrested Development get cancelled.” Like him, I just wish the show were more imaginative.

Apparently viewers agree, judging by the ratings. Sorry Rashida.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2008 at 3:54 pm by Brian Howard.
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2 Responses to “Uneven ‘Unhitched’ hits some marks but still misfiring”

Amy Vernon March 18th, 2008 at 4:59 pm
I tried to watch one episode, but after the first segment decided it wasn’t worth my time. I’m a bit pickier than I once was, because of the limited time I have for television, but I’d rather watch a bad hour-long drama than a bad half-hour sitcom.
Brian Howard March 18th, 2008 at 5:09 pm
I’m the other way. I’d rather watch a bad sit-com than a bad drama only because I’ll take the cheap laughs if there are any and get away quicker. That said, there’s way too much good TV to waste time with subpar fare. With shows like The Office, 30 Rock and Battlestar Galactica returning, my DVR is going to fill up a lot faster, and shows like Unhitched aren’t going to make the cut.

I probably would have had the same initial reaction you did, by the way, but I must fulfill my blogging commitment and stick it out a while.

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