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'Cougar Town' review: She works hard for the funny
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"Cougar Town" has the potential to transcend a lame title and be a very funny comedy, and there are moments in the first two episodes where I laughed out loud. If only the show would stop trying so hard to make me laugh.There's a good story to be told in "Cougar Town," which premieres at 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday on ABC. Courteney Cox plays a divorced mom of a teenage son who never got to sow her wild oats as a young woman and now is trying to figure out whether she wants to start now -- even if it means being labeled a "cougar," the either derisive or empowering term (depending on whom you ask) for a woman of a certain age who trolls for younger guys.
In Jules Cobb's case, that age is 40 (Cox is playing a few years younger than her actual age, 45). She has a pretty decent life on the surface -- she owns her own real estate agency, has raised a smart and sweet son, Travis (Dan Byrd, "Aliens in America" and "Heroes"), and has loyal friends in her neighbor Ellie (Christa Miller, "Scrubs") and her co-worker Laurie (Busy Philipps, "Made of Honor," "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles").
She's also lonely, which in the pilot leads her to accept Laurie's invitation to a girls' night out, and which leads her to meet, then find herself at home with, a significantly younger guy. The situation causes all of Jules' neuroses about aging to spill out, and Cox -- as we know from 10 years of "Friends" -- does neurotic very, very well.
Jules discovers that she rather enjoys the way the guy makes her feel about herself ("I feel like I can see colors again," she marvels) -- but being rather new at the game, she has a hard time fitting it into the rest of her life. Travis is mortified when he catches her in not quite flagrante, and again when an overly sexed-up picture of his mom that Laurie uses for her real-estate signs becomes a prized object among some other kids. Ellie is alternately living vicariously through Jules and judging her, and Jules herself has a rather hard time keeping up with the younger Laurie's party-girl lifestyle.
Oh, and did I mention the neighbor (Josh Hopkins, "Swingtown") who's also newly divorced but has no shame about bedding a succession of much younger women, thereby driving Jules bananas?
That's a lot of plot crammed into the first two episodes, and at times "Cougar Town" feels pretty manic as it tries to cram all those things into 21 or 22 minutes of an episode. Cox is a gifted physical comic, but she (and other cast members) are often playing to the cheap seats when throttling back a step or two might work better.
To the credit of creators Bill Lawrence (who worked with Cox on "Friends" and created "Scrubs") and Kevin Biegel (another "Scrubs" vet), though, "Cougar Town" is not just a wink-wink farce about a sexy 40-year-old. The show is at its best when it slows down and lets Cox explore the tangle of emotions Jules is experiencing as a single woman.
Cox is also completely unafraid of playing the fool or looking vulnerable. The opening scene in the pilot is of Jules examining herself in the mirror and cataloging all the flaws she sees -- a little extra skin here, a jiggle under the arm there. We should all be so lucky to look as good as Cox does at 40 or 45, but it's still kind of remarkable to see an actress put herself out there like that.
"Cougar Town" hasn't worked out all its kinks yet. But Cox is enough of a force, and there are enough hints of a clear direction for its future, to stick with it while it does.
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Holy CRAP that was a funny half-hour. I don't know why I underestimated Courteney Cox -- she is fantastic. Modern Family/Cougar Town is a friggin comedy juggernaut. Now if only ABC anchored the night with Samantha Who instead of Hank.
This would be very funny!
I can't believe how much i enjoyed this show!
What a pleasant surprise. Thought i'd have to watch Seinfeld reruns 'till the end of time. Good job ABC
hoohoohoooooo...damn that show was funny. yeah, it was trying a little too hard at times (i agree with the reviewer), but it could settle into something good. to start, Cox is a damn hoot. and i like the actor playing her son.
I thought this was a great show but also cause Cox is in it. I could not stop laughing when her friend was like "B-TCH you left this at the bar"
Oh and NYCsan.....Yeah they should have put Samantha Who? in there instead of Hank......
This show was very funny! It's now my new favorite show.
I mean who (in America) would ever think it was extremely funny for their high school age son to walk in while his mom is about to give a blow-job to a “20-something” that she just picked up in a bar??? Only Hollywood writers I suppose. She is mad because her “Farrah Fawcett” pose (which makes you not really sure what she is selling)on her real estate signs keep getting stolen by middle school boys. She wears white tight leggings to her son’s high school football games. It would actually probably be really funny if it were not Courtney Cox in the role …but some REAL 40 year old woman with too fat thighs…trying desperately to be and look young…but it has a weird vibe with the very toned…lip -injected- botoxed Courtney in the role…because she actually does LOOK GOOD in that “weird Hollywood way” where women in their 40’s just look a bit …well…frozen in time.
They totally miss the whole point of “Absolutely Fabulous” where the real running joke that made that show so funny was that those two…Patsy and Edwina…DID actually look ridiculous because they were NOT so fabulous and were trying so hard!!! Edwina was always wearing outfits that were totally too tight for her fat body…and Patsy…well that “impersonation” of Ivana Trump at the time was always just a bit off…with her hair not perfect…her face make-up a bit “off”…her skirts a bit too tight…but with Courtney…it just is not as funny because…even though in the opening sequence she is “supposedly” looking at her body in a “real way” in the mirror…looking at her “old elbow”…tummy(which any 40…hell any 20 year old not living in Hollywood her whole life would die for)…her “flabby underarm” which sort of looks like it could give Michelle Obama a run for her money in an arm wrestling match!!!...Well…it just doesn’t work! Then they put her in extremely flattering clothes and a home that most people would die for…and you give her character NO SYMPATHY.
Courtney Cox just can’t be Jennifer A. because she has aged a bit “hard” even though she looks good. She also refuses to NOT LOOK GOOD in any role she takes…so she keeps trying and trying…god love her! If they would have played the role a bit more like an “extreme version” of any of those “Real Housewives…” women…it would have been more “spot on”…with the fake eyelashes a bit off…the dresses a bit too tight and short and wild…extensions in her hair that seemed obvious(like Britney at the MTV awards) but then Courtney would have to look a bit ridiculous and extreme…and there ain’t no way she is going to be doing that!!!
I mean who (in America) would ever think it was extremely funny for their high school age son to walk in while his mom is about to give a blow-job to a “20-something” that she just picked up in a bar??? Only Hollywood writers I suppose. She is mad because her “Farrah Fawcett” pose (which makes you not really sure what she is selling)on her real estate signs keep getting stolen by middle school boys. She wears white tight leggings to her son’s high school football games. It would actually probably be really funny if it were not Courtney Cox in the role …but some REAL 40 year old woman with too fat thighs…trying desperately to be and look young…but it has a weird vibe with the very toned…lip -injected- botoxed Courtney in the role…because she actually does LOOK GOOD in that “weird Hollywood way” where women in their 40’s just look a bit …well…frozen in time.
They totally miss the whole point of “Absolutely Fabulous” where the real running joke that made that show so funny was that those two…Patsy and Edwina…DID actually look ridiculous because they were NOT so fabulous and were trying so hard!!! Edwina was always wearing outfits that were totally too tight for her fat body…and Patsy…well that “impersonation” of Ivana Trump at the time was always just a bit off…with her hair not perfect…her face make-up a bit “off”…her skirts a bit too tight…but with Courtney…it just is not as funny because…even though in the opening sequence she is “supposedly” looking at her body in a “real way” in the mirror…looking at her “old elbow”…tummy(which any 40…hell any 20 year old not living in Hollywood her whole life would die for)…her “flabby underarm” which sort of looks like it could give Michelle Obama a run for her money in an arm wrestling match!!!...Well…it just doesn’t work! Then they put her in extremely flattering clothes and a home that most people would die for…and you give her character NO SYMPATHY.
Courtney Cox just can’t be Jennifer A. because she has aged a bit “hard” even though she looks good. She also refuses to NOT LOOK GOOD in any role she takes…so she keeps trying and trying…god love her! If they would have played the role a bit more like an “extreme version” of any of those “Real Housewives…” women…it would have been more “spot on”…with the fake eyelashes a bit off…the dresses a bit too tight and short and wild…extensions in her hair that seemed obvious(like Britney at the MTV awards) but then Courtney would have to look a bit ridiculous and extreme…and there ain’t no way she is going to be doing that!!!
The show was hilarious, will definitely be watching it weekly. I tuned in because I'm a fan of Courtney Cox, but was pleasantly surprised that the rest of the cast was equally humorous - absolutely love the redneck/hilljack ex-husband - his air-drumming on the lawnmower was freaking hilarious!