“I know what this baby’s problem is. Clearly, she has never been around a person of color before.” – Ava
The title for NBC’s new comedy Up All Night is something of a misnomer. A more accurate title would be something like Put’s You To Bed On Time. Sure, the show is pretty cute and occasionally funny. But more than anything, it’s just kind of boring.
I kind of liked the pilot episode. Regan (Christina Applegate) and Chris (Will Arnett) are likable as a married couple with a new baby at home. The jokes mostly work, although very few are laugh out loud funny. Mostly they’re just smile and nod your head knowingly funny. The problem, at least through the first two episodes, is that Applegate and Arnett just aren’t really given much to do. Simply painting a picture of overwhelmed parents isn’t enough to make an entire show.
I don’t know, maybe I’m wrong about this. I don’t have any kids, so maybe I’m missing some of the nuance. If any of my readers out there are parents, leave a comment and let me know what you think of the show so far. Is it one of those shows that you have to really relate with to get maximum enjoyment out of? Or is Up All Night simply a pretty bland show?
After the pilot, it felt like Maya Rudolph’s character Ava was poised to become the spark the show needs to really come to life. That hasn’t exactly happened yet. Rudolph is an extremely talented performer, however the Ava character, thus far, has been played far too broadly. Ava has the potential to be kind of character who pops up a couple of times an episode and steals every scene she appears in. Instead she’s been the kind of character that pops up a couple of times an episode and acts obnoxious. And not obnoxious in a funny way, obnoxious in an annoying way.
The second episode of the season, “Cool Neighbors,” finds Chris and Regan trying to impress the hip couple that just moved in across the street, while also trying to convince themselves they are still cool despite being parents.
Chris decides a cool move would be to sneak over to the neighbors’ house and drop off a nice bottle of tequila with a note attached. But when Chris goes to put the bottle on their porch, the wife opens the door and startles him. “She caught me off guard. I wasn’t ready. I said ‘Teck-Quee-La’,” Chris tells Regan after he scampers nervously back across the street.
The next day the husband stops by to invite Chris and Regan over for a housewarming party. Things get pretty awkward and the Up All Nighters decline the invitation. Later that night, with the party raging past midnight, Chris gets fed up an calls the cops. Then, inexplicably, he and Regan decide to go across the street and attend the party. When the police show up, Chris is outted as the narc who tried to shut down the party. Luckily the new neighbors are forgiving because they are expecting a little bundle of joy of their own.
And everyone lived happily, and blandly, ever after. Anyone else feeling their eyelids getting a little heavy? Screw being Up All Night, I gotta get some shut eye. Zzzzzzzzz.
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.