September 21, 2010

TV: Mike & Molly (CBS, Mon 9:30)

Mike & Molly is a battle of two sitcoms, and given its premise, that was perhaps inevitable. What it wants to be, and what it is in its better moments, is a comedy about the relationship between two people who happen to be overweight. That Mike & Molly can be very sweet and funny.

But too often, the show turns into a collection of fat jokes, and that Mike & Molly is painful to watch. Mike's cop partner, concerned that Mike is about to go off his diet, says, "But you've lost three and a half pounds!" "My farts weigh three and a half pounds," says Mike. Ho ho ho. There's actually a scene in which two fat men get stuck going up a staircase that's too narrow for both of them.

The pilot episode lands on the right side of the line about 40% of the time, and I am hoping it won't take too many weeks for the writers to exhaust their repertoire of fat jokes, leaving them with no choice but to write for the characters.

They've certainly got an appealing cast to write for. Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy are terrifically likable leads. Swoosie Kurtz is, as useful, fun to watch as Molly's mother, and Katy Mixon puts a nice spin on a fairly hackneyed stoner role as Molly's sister. Mike's sidekick characters aren't quite so well defined yet -- Reno Wilson as Mike's partner is a standard issue smart-ass black guy, and Nyambi Nyambi as diner owner Samuel gets to make a lot of jokes about how much Mike eats compared to the starving people of his (unnamed) African homeland. (But hey! Two black characters in a Chuck Lorre sitcom! That's something of a novelty.)

The cast is strong enough, and the show appealing enough in its better moments, that I'm willing to stick with it for a few weeks to see which version of Mike & Molly wins out.

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