#3. Mr. Sunshine (S1)
I keep failing at updating this journal. I don't even know if someone's still reading it, but somehow it's still useful to me. Here I am talking about the third season I've watched this year, quite some time after I actually finished to watch it, but as usual time is running out too fast.
And I'm a little bit sad to talk about Mr. Sunshine today since ABC announced it was cancelled the last week. Such a pity! I've basically started to watch it because I wanted to see Allison Janney back on TV and in a comedy too, but I really grew to love it each passing episode. I've never been a fan of Friends so Matthew Perry wasn't a huge tune in factor for me (even though he and Kudrow are the only ones I can watch without suffering from that cast), but he revealed himself to be really good. Mr. Sunshine is not one of those comedies that make you laugh all the time. It doesn't have crass jokes and it's not always 100% comical. It's more a bittersweet show dealing with the relationships between characters and the growth of its protagonist. It's even a bit cynical and sarcastic at times. And maybe that's why it got axed. However, it's just 9 episodes and if you happen to have some time this summer, give it a try.
Ben Donovan (Matthew Perry) is basically a Peter Pan who likes to have fun, date random women and drive is expensive car. Nothing new under the sun. We've seen characters like this many times before. But the really good writing of the show made him and interesting character and we really see him grow through the episodes. So that he's quite ready for a steady relationship at the end. All in all, Ben is a really hard worker, he's the one who manages the arena (because Crystal doesn't really work) and tries to solve the crisis that arise from time to time. We see him slowly grow as a manager too, learning the names of the people who work there (with a questionable and very funny method I'm sure many of us have used before) and respecting them for what they do. But mostly he learns to really care about people, specially through the relationship with Roman (Nate Torrence) and Alice (Andrea Anders). He develops some sort of brotherly relationship with the former one, letting him stay at his place, finding him a job and giving him the attention he's always sought but never found. He becomes like a big brother for him, something that makes Roman really happy. As for Alice, she's his ex-girlfriend (even though the relationship had never been labeled at the time). She's beautiful and intelligent and seeing her now dating Alonzo is something that makes him jealous at first. But then, he begins to question his actions and he starts to understand his mistakes. He begins to consider Alice not simply as a sexual object, but as a person who needs to be respected and heard. At the end of his journey, Ben is ready to be friends with women, respect them and really care.
Allison Janney is absolutely brilliant as Crystal Cohen. A quirky and crazy woman, Crystal is rich thanks to her 4 marriages. She's inherited the arena from one of her husbands, but - clearly- she doesn't have the slightest idea how to rule the place. Basically, Crystal is this odd and at times cruel woman who sits in the boss office all day, drinking and smoking and doing anything but work. Janney's done a great job embodying this character, giving her a great comic vein, a lot of cynical sarcasm, but also a soul. For instance, in the episode she duets with a singer she used to married with (James Taylor) or the one in which she brings out all her anger towards Smurfs because she used to be part of the Smurfs on Ice Show before she got pregnant with Roman. And of course, a character like this can't be a good mother. She prefers dating a biker to bringing her son to the dentist (Roman is an adult, but still needs his mom very much). Still, there are some moments when she finally brings out the very hidden motherly side in her.
As for the rest of the cast, there are a lot of interesting and funny characters. The Mascot, always in his smelly furry costume, is one of them. Or Ben's secretary, the pyromaniac Heather (Portia Doubleday) who always beings some craziness into the office, but turns out to be a real sweetheart when with Roman. And then, there's Jorge Garcia! He plays Bobert, one of the technicians/janitors who work at the arena. As a Lost fan, I was really happy to see him. Even more because he was really given quite some space and he could bring out all the comicity we've already seen in Hurley, even though of a different kind.
Anyway, I think I'll miss this show next season. It was a heartwarming weekly date.
And I'm a little bit sad to talk about Mr. Sunshine today since ABC announced it was cancelled the last week. Such a pity! I've basically started to watch it because I wanted to see Allison Janney back on TV and in a comedy too, but I really grew to love it each passing episode. I've never been a fan of Friends so Matthew Perry wasn't a huge tune in factor for me (even though he and Kudrow are the only ones I can watch without suffering from that cast), but he revealed himself to be really good. Mr. Sunshine is not one of those comedies that make you laugh all the time. It doesn't have crass jokes and it's not always 100% comical. It's more a bittersweet show dealing with the relationships between characters and the growth of its protagonist. It's even a bit cynical and sarcastic at times. And maybe that's why it got axed. However, it's just 9 episodes and if you happen to have some time this summer, give it a try.
Ben Donovan (Matthew Perry) is basically a Peter Pan who likes to have fun, date random women and drive is expensive car. Nothing new under the sun. We've seen characters like this many times before. But the really good writing of the show made him and interesting character and we really see him grow through the episodes. So that he's quite ready for a steady relationship at the end. All in all, Ben is a really hard worker, he's the one who manages the arena (because Crystal doesn't really work) and tries to solve the crisis that arise from time to time. We see him slowly grow as a manager too, learning the names of the people who work there (with a questionable and very funny method I'm sure many of us have used before) and respecting them for what they do. But mostly he learns to really care about people, specially through the relationship with Roman (Nate Torrence) and Alice (Andrea Anders). He develops some sort of brotherly relationship with the former one, letting him stay at his place, finding him a job and giving him the attention he's always sought but never found. He becomes like a big brother for him, something that makes Roman really happy. As for Alice, she's his ex-girlfriend (even though the relationship had never been labeled at the time). She's beautiful and intelligent and seeing her now dating Alonzo is something that makes him jealous at first. But then, he begins to question his actions and he starts to understand his mistakes. He begins to consider Alice not simply as a sexual object, but as a person who needs to be respected and heard. At the end of his journey, Ben is ready to be friends with women, respect them and really care.
Allison Janney is absolutely brilliant as Crystal Cohen. A quirky and crazy woman, Crystal is rich thanks to her 4 marriages. She's inherited the arena from one of her husbands, but - clearly- she doesn't have the slightest idea how to rule the place. Basically, Crystal is this odd and at times cruel woman who sits in the boss office all day, drinking and smoking and doing anything but work. Janney's done a great job embodying this character, giving her a great comic vein, a lot of cynical sarcasm, but also a soul. For instance, in the episode she duets with a singer she used to married with (James Taylor) or the one in which she brings out all her anger towards Smurfs because she used to be part of the Smurfs on Ice Show before she got pregnant with Roman. And of course, a character like this can't be a good mother. She prefers dating a biker to bringing her son to the dentist (Roman is an adult, but still needs his mom very much). Still, there are some moments when she finally brings out the very hidden motherly side in her.
As for the rest of the cast, there are a lot of interesting and funny characters. The Mascot, always in his smelly furry costume, is one of them. Or Ben's secretary, the pyromaniac Heather (Portia Doubleday) who always beings some craziness into the office, but turns out to be a real sweetheart when with Roman. And then, there's Jorge Garcia! He plays Bobert, one of the technicians/janitors who work at the arena. As a Lost fan, I was really happy to see him. Even more because he was really given quite some space and he could bring out all the comicity we've already seen in Hurley, even though of a different kind.
Anyway, I think I'll miss this show next season. It was a heartwarming weekly date.