32 Going on 14
March 2, 2007
BY DOUG ELFMAN
Chicago Sun-Times
Fox's new sitcom, "The Winner," starts kinda funny this weekend. But in coming weeks, it relies on gags so old they're not even alive anymore; they're like zombie storylines, lurching at us with creepy familiarity. Two in particular:
• The Straight-Gay Mix-Up. Main character Glen starts hanging out with a gay guy without realizing he's gay. The gay guy doesn't realize Glen is straight. Will their misunderstanding lead to wacky situations? Gee, I wonder.
• The Condom Purchase. Glen, a virgin, gets flustered trying to buy his first Trojans. The druggist gives him a forbidding look. This storyline died of exhaustion in 1987 after being parodied in "Amazon Women on the Moon."
The plot of "The Winner" is that Glen, 32, has lived with his mom and dad his whole life. But a single mom he crushed on as a kid moves in next door. His renewed infatuation with Alison motivates him to finally get a job, at a video store.
Glen (Rob Corddry) mostly pals around with Josh (Keir Gilchrist), the young teen son of Alison (Erinn Hayes). The joke is that Glen is 32 going on 14, and Josh is 14 going on 32. So, they're equally childlike, smart-ish and allegedly adorable.
"The Winner" doesn't have to be as mediocre as it becomes in the next few weeks. Sunday's first episode has eight funny lines.
The comedy works well when the tone is similar to Fox's fantastic and crass "Family Guy." This should be promising. "The Winner" is produced by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane and writer Ricky Blitt.
I'm just not sure whose idea it was -- MacFarlane and Blitt's, or Fox executives' -- but "The Winner" quickly metastasizes into a routine sitcom with laugh tracks and Ye Olde Storylines.
Worse, it has a good heart with feel-good lessons. Yuck. Blitt was inspired partly by his love for "The Wonder Years," of which this is a slight bastardization. Glen narrates from the future, and the show is set in the past (1994).
There is hope for "The Winner." Corddry is decent, as he was in "The Daily Show." And there's good chemistry between Corddry and Gilchrist.
But a little "Family Guy" doesn't go far enough to save "The Winner," which is neither a winner nor a loser. It's somewhere in the middle, like the middle class, the middle of the road, and purgatory.
BY DOUG ELFMAN
Chicago Sun-Times
Fox's new sitcom, "The Winner," starts kinda funny this weekend. But in coming weeks, it relies on gags so old they're not even alive anymore; they're like zombie storylines, lurching at us with creepy familiarity. Two in particular:
• The Straight-Gay Mix-Up. Main character Glen starts hanging out with a gay guy without realizing he's gay. The gay guy doesn't realize Glen is straight. Will their misunderstanding lead to wacky situations? Gee, I wonder.
• The Condom Purchase. Glen, a virgin, gets flustered trying to buy his first Trojans. The druggist gives him a forbidding look. This storyline died of exhaustion in 1987 after being parodied in "Amazon Women on the Moon."
The plot of "The Winner" is that Glen, 32, has lived with his mom and dad his whole life. But a single mom he crushed on as a kid moves in next door. His renewed infatuation with Alison motivates him to finally get a job, at a video store.
Glen (Rob Corddry) mostly pals around with Josh (Keir Gilchrist), the young teen son of Alison (Erinn Hayes). The joke is that Glen is 32 going on 14, and Josh is 14 going on 32. So, they're equally childlike, smart-ish and allegedly adorable.
"The Winner" doesn't have to be as mediocre as it becomes in the next few weeks. Sunday's first episode has eight funny lines.
The comedy works well when the tone is similar to Fox's fantastic and crass "Family Guy." This should be promising. "The Winner" is produced by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane and writer Ricky Blitt.
I'm just not sure whose idea it was -- MacFarlane and Blitt's, or Fox executives' -- but "The Winner" quickly metastasizes into a routine sitcom with laugh tracks and Ye Olde Storylines.
Worse, it has a good heart with feel-good lessons. Yuck. Blitt was inspired partly by his love for "The Wonder Years," of which this is a slight bastardization. Glen narrates from the future, and the show is set in the past (1994).
There is hope for "The Winner." Corddry is decent, as he was in "The Daily Show." And there's good chemistry between Corddry and Gilchrist.
But a little "Family Guy" doesn't go far enough to save "The Winner," which is neither a winner nor a loser. It's somewhere in the middle, like the middle class, the middle of the road, and purgatory.
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