Okay so they're really trying.
Well, ASP is certainly trying. Watching these eps, one can't help but occasionally hear the telltale sound of ASP CleverWittiBanterness(tm) trying to claw it's way out of the (mostly) wooden acting and (mostly) by-the-numbers sitcom production values. But it still feels like it falls flat in too many ways.
Not quite enough ways to get me to stop watching just yet, but then of course, I have problems...
Perhaps then, it's best to detail the good things...
Like most post-pilot episodes, this one sports many improvements over it's immediate predecessor, not the least of which was the lack of Pilot!Exposition syndrome. That's to be expected.
Lauren Ambrose continues to blow Parker Posey away in the acting department. Or perhaps it's more fair to say, in the "she actually looks like she's comfortable saying these lines" department. Posey still seems woefully overwhelmed by the Lorelai-like dialouge, not by it's sheer bulk (as most actors seem to be), but by its quirk. She is either never sure of where to take the tone of a particular rant, or she is sure, but her choices come out horribly wrong. I can't shake the feeling that she's being given the lines, told to go "wacky" with them, and then attempts to do so by randomly altering the pitch of her voice and direction of her head.
Ambrose on the other hand has yet to read a line that I felt didn't come organically to her. Her quips are funny and light, her anger funny yet righteous. I feel when she's frustrated, and sympathized when she's confused.
Maybe it's because in some ways she has it easier. Her character right now is basically defined as "sister with attitude"; any additional characterizations she lends the character via tone and action (and don't get me wrong, she does) are strictly extra in terms of necessity. And let's face it, she had 5 years to pretty much nail down "sister with attitude" on Six Feet Under, so she's good in that dept.
Posey, on the other hand, has the much larger task of taking a cliche Type A personality (one who, outside of her brief convo with the kid in the pilot, hasn't had many scenes that really redeem her as a person yet) and turn her into a multi-dimensional, confident-yet-messed-up, winner-but-still-loser, believable, and (most importantly) *sympathetic* character, all while trying to sell ASP dialog. She has to do ALL that *just to make every scene she's in work*. It's easy to see why it's harder to come out looking as shiny-cool as Ambrose, considering all the extra work she has to do. Not everyone can be Lauren Graham on their first time out.[1]
Looking at it that way leaves me with much more sympathy for Posey as an actress, but I still can't muster up any love for Sarah as a character.
Wasn't I going to speak of good stuff?
Max-sorry-Scott Cohen, seems to be getting a lot of decent screen time for a character that, if he were played by anyone else, I'd be certain would've been dropped between pilot and episode. No-strings-attached sex buddy/Not!Boyfriend is not usually the kind of character that I would expect to stick around in a show that has so many other emotional avenues to pave. But I'm glad he is, if only because it seems to imply his role will grow, and maybe Cohen will get some reliable paychecks and screentime out of this.
Also, as a heterosexual male, I'm a little ashamed to say his bedroom eyes make me confused in a special way.
That may be it for the good stuff :\
As for the meh stuff:
Sarah's hyper organized life right down to Lorelaing take out places (nope, sorry, not gonna feel bad for the GG ref on that one. ASP herself introduced the term for the exact type of surveying, and I've been using it with my friends for years...okay one friend...okay, once...) was not unexpected at all, but sufficiently amusing. That whole "This is NY, even underwear space is at a premium" joke just sucked though.
The parents are also harmless, though I expect/hope they'll be fleshed out later on. The scene with the father and the couch was only saved by Ambrose's facial expressions and shock, while the mother's typical "Oh what will the neighbor's think!!" attitude is old hat. (That said, while the attitude is old hat in television, I've heard enough family stories from friends and relatives to know that in real life, it's still all too common, so I'm trying to give it a pass).
Regarding the former, I hope that the father's complete lack of acknowledgment of Coco will be addressed with some meaty scenes later on, because, dude, that was cold.
Oh and I'm fairly certain Sarah's apartment set has changed. Unless she's successful enough to have TWO permanent domiciles in NYC. In which case, lady, splurge for a bigger underwear drawer.
[1] Are these GG/Lauren Graham comparisons unfair? I only fall back on them because it's the only show I have to compare it to, since Jezebel James seems (to me) trying to at least hint at the same dynamic that ASP captured with GG. If I got the feeling that this show was trying for something completely different, I might let it slide, but right now it seems that, while it's not trying to be as schmaltzy and feel-good as GG, it's at least trying to get the same acting dynamic going.
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