Skip to main content

TV Review: "Jennifer Falls"

TV Review: "Jennifer Falls



TV Land's "Jennifer Falls"concluded its ten episode first season on Wednesday, August 13. The series revolves around Jennifer Doyle, a single mother forced to move back home after being fired from her high paying job. When the show premiered back in June, there were some major problems, mainly unnecessary scenes with characters talking directly to the camera, and extra characters without any real purpose. But as the season progressed, those problems became less evident as the ensemble became more clearly defined.





The network's first single camera series, "Jennifer Falls" always had a distinctive tone that set it apart from TV Land's other original sitcoms. The lack of a studio audience works for this series, as the humor isn't laugh-out-loud hilarious, but rather you'll-still-be-chuckling-a-week-later funny. The jokes come from the characters the series has set up, from the controlling Jennifer, to her brother and new boss Wayne, to her wildcard best friend Dina.

Emmy winner Jaime Pressly stars as Jennifer, and shows a great comedic range, and manages to get the audience to love and hate Jennifer at the same time. The supporting cast is also solid, with standouts being Missi Pyle as Dina and Jessica Walter, as Jennifer's mother.

The writing is smart, but the majority of the episodes are identifiable and heartwarming. The scenes from the pilot showing Jennifer moving back gave a small town vibe. So when later episodes confirm the series is set in the greater Los Angeles area, that element is lost, which was somewhat disappointing.

If the series doesn't come back for a second season, the finale worked as a satisfying series finale (complete with a return appearance by the hilarious unemployment office workers from the pilot!). Overall, "Jennifer Falls" is not about accepting defeat, but rather accepting whatever life throws at you, and making the best of it. The series is leaps and bounds better than the cute, but very lazily written "Kirstie", which was recently cancelled by the network. Hopefully, the show will be given a chance to further develop the later episodes' charm. 

Premiere date: June 4, 2014
TimScale: 65/100


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Drew Barrymore Gives Two Great Performances in Misguided Comedy "The Stand In": Review

Drew Barrymore fans haven't exactly been starved for content lately. Her cheery, fully unhinged new daytime talk show has provided a host of gif-able moments. But, it is significant that The Stand In , out now on VOD, is the first feature film she has appeared in 5 years (since the underrated  Miss You Already ). And I wish I could report that her return to the big screen (well, not big at the moment, but you know what I mean) is a triumph, but The Stand In is a deeply flawed movie, in spite of a game and spirited lead actress. Barrymore has a dual role in the film, a satire of celebrity culture. She plays Candy Black, an ex-movie star whose career was derailed by a volatile on-set tirade, and Paula, Candy's wacky stand in. The plot kicks in when Candy has Paula swap places with her ahead of her court-mandated rehab stay, and Paula takes a liking to the limelight and plots to steal Candy's life. Those are the basics, it's actually a lot more complicated than that, whic...

Aubrey Plaza and Elizabeth Olsen are Excellent in Timely Comedy "Ingrid Goes West": Review

Film Review: Ingrid Goes West I was worried based on the trailers and marketing for Ingrid Goes West that it was going to be a cautionary tale about the perils of social media. One of those condescending 'lessons' about how much better the world would be if we still used rotary phones and things like that. You know, stuff like this . Thankfully, Ingrid Goes West is not that, it's not even about social media despite being set in the Instagram Age. Written by Matt Spicer and David Branson Smith and directed by Spicer, the movie is about Ingrid (Aubrey Plaza), who has recently been released from a mental hospital and following the death of her mother decides to reinvent herself in Los Angeles, inspired by the Instagram feed of a seemingly perfect influencer named Taylor Sloane (Elizabeth Olsen). Using clues from her Instagram, Ingrid tracks Taylor down and befriends her. Yes, Instagram plays a large part in the story, but it's one that could be (and has been) told i...

New "Twin Peaks" is a Puzzling and Maddening Experience: Review

TV Review: "Twin Peaks: The Return" Disclaimer: This review contains major spoilers for the original Twin Peaks and minor spoilers for Twin Peaks: The Return. The original Twin Peaks , created by Mark Frost and David Lynch, is one of the most beloved and iconic television series of all time, despite only running for 30 episodes on ABC in 1990 and 1991.  Heavily influenced by daytime soap operas, it featured several hallmarks of that genre: a sleepy town, an ensemble of wacky characters, an ongoing mystery, and the illicit and adulterous underside of the facade of a wholesome American small town. Of course it was also more that, and as the series went on it became more of a supernatural exploration of good and evil, but the soapy trappings gave the series a shape and a structure. The highly anticipated revival miniseries, now airing on Showtime, eschews shape and structure altogether in favor a more puzzling, maddening creation.