2 Broke Girls/Mondays at 8:30EST on CBS
Maybe it’s because I just saw Kat Dennings turn in another riotous, albeit small, performance in Thor: The Dark World, this weekend (incidentally, but not surprisingly, the #1 movie in the country), but she just deserves better than this raunchy sitcom. I mean, I’m okay with raunchy; I just need for it to be funny too. I’m a stickler like that. Even worse, Dennings is clearly mailing her performances in here.
I can cop to the fact that it’s a modestly successful series for the network, but CBS just doesn’t always ask for much. Look how many seasons Still Standing got! Produced by Whitney “I wish I had my own hit” Cummings, 2 Broke Girls seems to want to be the female equivalent of Two and a Half Men, and it’s found its audience. But, Dennings is slumming, plain and simple.
The series has been savvy in a few ways, I’ll give it that. First, Dennings. Second, having our titular struggling sweeties trying to launch a cupcake biz, which are all the rage these Food Network days. Third, setting it in Williamsburg, a nod to the hipster elite that evidently worked at least enough to get the gals to a third season. But, there is no escaping the fact that the writing is crass at best and the girls deliver their lines with zero pinache.
The other broke girl, played by Beth Behrs, is supposed to be the foil here, but elicits so little interest Dennings character cannot seem to muster the necessary pathos for the punchlines to land. The men orbiting their universe are the epitome of non-descript, and Jennifer Coolidge continues to seek out a project that can eventually be syndicated and afford her the lifestyle a character actress of her strength deserves. It shoulda been NBC’s Joey.
Vinnie Penn (@VinniePenn) first hit the airwaves as co-host to Glenn Beck. By 2001 he was a regular on Howard Stern, and his work has appeared in national magazines such as Maxim, Hit Parader, and Cracked. He currently writes for MSN. Visit his websiteVinniePenn.net.
I like Dennings in anything but she was only in Thor because the Jane Foster/Natalie Portman character had zero personality or chemistry with Thor. Dennings is the girl Thor should want and having Kat around only reinforces how poorly written and weakly acted the love interest in a major movie is.
I will say that Thor: The Dark World had the most humor of any Marvel movie yet, and I thought Avengers and Iron Man 3 were pretty funny (when they wanted to be). Hiddleston must NEVER stop playing Loki. Ever.
About the only thing this show is good for is to mute the volume and DVR thru any scene Kat’s not in. Yes, I am shallow.
Agree with this article, 2 Broke Girls needs to end. Kat Denning’s one-liners are just a chore to watch now.