Round Two: Hello Ladies

Hello Ladies: Season 1, Episode 2 “The Limo” (B)

I do like this show, and I enjoyed its second installment, but I’m not sure if it’s quite there yet. It’s reminiscent of a less quirky version of “Family Tree,” a show that was perfectly entertaining but wasn’t always lively enough to be fully engaging and hilarious. There’s no denying the casting of Stephen Merchant, however, since he does a magnificent job of playing a completely naïve buffoon who, in the scene with Wade’s ex-wife, managed to make things exponentially worse every time he casually interrupted their very serious conversation with a trivial update on the progress of his moving her car. Ignoring the St. Louis girl in favor of Jessica’s hotter friend was a jerk move, and he got what he deserved when he ran back into the limo to settle for his second choice after finding out that his top pick was already taken. Though he’s a smooth talker on the show as Kives, Kevin Weisman isn’t being used as well as I might hope for someone who used to be one of the best and most entertaining supporting characters on “Alias.” Nate Torrance was put to good use in this episode, experiencing both high and low points on his emotional rollercoaster. Christine Woods is also doing great as Jessica, who wants to be intellectual and made the ill-advised choice to try to get her actress friends to watch “Battleship Potemkin,” which they originally thought was the movie starring Rihanna. What’s nicest to see is the relationship that Stephen and Jessica have, one of true friendship and commiseration over not being all that cool.