As some of you know (and yes, there are multiple readers out there, I’m glad to know!), there are other things going on in my life besides blogging. As such, I fall behind.
Not far enough behind, alas, that Quintuplets would have been already cancelled, and thus spare me from having to review it. This series about a group of very-non-identical quintuplet teens and their parents stars Andy Richter, whose previous sitcom (Andy Richter Controls the Universe) showed that you can stray well from traditional sitcom style and end up with something quite enjoyable. Well, that series failed, so they’ve gone the other way now — saddled him with a sitcom that hits every cliche about what’s wrong with sitcoms, with obvious plots, non-character characters, and dialog that is nothing but a string of insults. Unsurprisingly, it’s pretty bad.
In contrast is Method and Red, a quirky one-camera sitcom about a pair of hip-hop stars who live in a decidely hipless, hopless upscale suburb, getting into trouble with the real estate agent next door who wants their loudness and strange visitors out of the neighborhood. By giving the lead characters earnest and kindly but fun-loving attitudes (free of gangsta-posturing or anything that would provide a real threat) and by making the conflict culture-based rather than race-based (yes, all of Method and Red’s male pals are black, but so are some straightlaced folks in the neigborhood), the creators have achieved something. They’ve given this thing a positive spirit so large and obviously overplayed that it goes beyond the obvious level of irony to come right around and be truly positive again. Method Man loves his mother, loves his goldfish, and wants to make everyone happy, even if it means an aggressive campaign of fruitcake delivery.
Even if you think that a comedy built around hip-hop stars isn’t for you, this one is worth checking out.
