Trophy Wife: Season 1, Episode 2 “Cold File” (C-)
I wanted to like this show, and I did enjoy its pilot, but I think that episode two demonstrates that this premise is paper-thin. It’s obvious that Kate wouldn’t feel like a parent because all of her kids have other moms who are actually old enough to have given birth to them, and her behavior is irresponsible all the time. I understand that it’s meant to be funny, but it’s just not. Keeping Bert up all night by letting him watch TV and drink coffee in the morning were terrible choices, and I continue to find Bert to be obnoxious and excessively precocious. The other children, however, are somewhat more bearable. While Michaela Watkins’ second wife Jackie just spends all of her time getting drunk and giving Kate advice, Marcia Gay Harden’s Diane is much more calculating. Eventually, it felt like beating a dead horse, but her commitment to making her kids paranoid with different references to salsa was moderately entertaining. It’s strange enough that Harden took a TV role on a show like this, but at least she’s putting in the requisite effort to make her character worthwhile. Bradley Whitford is coasting a bit more, relaxing and having fun getting excited about the shower police. We didn’t see Natalie Morales’ Meg at all this episode, which is fine since the character is unworthy of the actress. I’m not sure I’ll stick around for episode three and beyond, since this show seems to be on a rapid decline and headed nowhere positive.
Showing posts with label Trophy Wife. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trophy Wife. Show all posts
Saturday, October 5, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
Pilot Review: Trophy Wife
Trophy Wife (ABC)
Premiered September 24 at 9:30pm
This is the kind of show that most don’t expect to be anywhere close to good, and instead just a chance to show off a pretty face and see if a show might work around her. While it’s far from terrific, it’s not actually all that bad, much better than the show that leads into it, at the very least. Swedish actress Malin Akerman, who I remember well from films like “Watchmen,” “The Bang Bang Club,” and “The Romantics,” has the charm and presence to play the third wife of a man with three kids from previous marriages who is well aware of her status in all of their lives. Bradley Whitford is a fun choice to play the husband, and the show deserves credit for enlisting the talents of the icy Marcia Gay Harden and the hilariously unhinged Michaela Watkins to portray his first two wives. His two older children, Hillary and Warren, are actually decent characters, though I have to take issue with Bert, his son from his second marriage, who is far too precocious and irritating. I’m also not too taken with Meg, Kate’s best friend, which is especially lamentable since I liked actress Natalie Morales a lot in her recurring role as Lucy on “Parks and Recreation.” I’m not sure this show has all that much potential, but it was considerably better and much more watchable than I had anticipated. Whether that should be considered a success is another matter, but at least this pilot was remotely entertaining.
How will it work as a series? A lot of action involving all three of the wives was packed into this episode, so that suggests that equal emphasis will be placed on all of the characters, which means that this show can go many different directions. I’m hopeful that it can outgrow his name and won’t be tethered by a need to frame Kate as just a trophy wife.
How long will it last? The pilot ratings were decent, and this show got slightly better mentions than “The Goldbergs,” which puts it ahead of the curve just a bit for survival. It remains to be seen how ABC will feel about its new Tuesday night comedies, so for now I’d put this show’s odds of survival at fifty-fifty.
Pilot grade: C+
Premiered September 24 at 9:30pm
This is the kind of show that most don’t expect to be anywhere close to good, and instead just a chance to show off a pretty face and see if a show might work around her. While it’s far from terrific, it’s not actually all that bad, much better than the show that leads into it, at the very least. Swedish actress Malin Akerman, who I remember well from films like “Watchmen,” “The Bang Bang Club,” and “The Romantics,” has the charm and presence to play the third wife of a man with three kids from previous marriages who is well aware of her status in all of their lives. Bradley Whitford is a fun choice to play the husband, and the show deserves credit for enlisting the talents of the icy Marcia Gay Harden and the hilariously unhinged Michaela Watkins to portray his first two wives. His two older children, Hillary and Warren, are actually decent characters, though I have to take issue with Bert, his son from his second marriage, who is far too precocious and irritating. I’m also not too taken with Meg, Kate’s best friend, which is especially lamentable since I liked actress Natalie Morales a lot in her recurring role as Lucy on “Parks and Recreation.” I’m not sure this show has all that much potential, but it was considerably better and much more watchable than I had anticipated. Whether that should be considered a success is another matter, but at least this pilot was remotely entertaining.
How will it work as a series? A lot of action involving all three of the wives was packed into this episode, so that suggests that equal emphasis will be placed on all of the characters, which means that this show can go many different directions. I’m hopeful that it can outgrow his name and won’t be tethered by a need to frame Kate as just a trophy wife.
How long will it last? The pilot ratings were decent, and this show got slightly better mentions than “The Goldbergs,” which puts it ahead of the curve just a bit for survival. It remains to be seen how ABC will feel about its new Tuesday night comedies, so for now I’d put this show’s odds of survival at fifty-fifty.
Pilot grade: C+
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