Foto credits: Warner Brothers Television
When I heard about the new sitcom in 2013 Mom (all 8 seasons can be seen on HBO Max) I had my reservations. How do you take humor out of a situation about an ex-addicted single mother (Anna Faris) and her difficult relationship with her own (slightly less ex-)addicted single mother (Allison Janney)?
Admittedly, co-creator Chuck Lorre also had Dharma & Greg and the mega hit The Big Bang Theory in his name (The Kominsky Method was yet to come), but are Two and a Half Man I thought it was one of the most cringe-inducing comedy series ever. well, na 2 Broke Girls and.
Still, the series won me over from the very first episode. The main attraction are the two protagonists. It will come as no surprise that Allison Janney has been stealing the show from her very first appearance. She did the same as press officer CJ Cregg in The West Wing (also seen on HBO Max), for which she won an Emmy Award four times.
Here she goes wild as Bonnie, who like an unpredictable whirlwind storms back into her daughter Christy’s life. Janney also won two Emmys for this role, quite rightly. But Janney finds a good sparring partner in Anna Faris (de Scary Movie-franchise, The House Bunny). Here, Faris combines her physical comedic talent with a good dash of cynicism but also pathos, as the struggling single Christy, who – despite all her good intentions – realizes all too well that she has not always been the best role model for her two children. children.
Mom is further complemented by fun supporting roles, such as the ladies Bonnie and Christy meet during their weekly AA meetings: cat lady Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy, Dharma’s mother in Dharma & Greg), society girl Jill (Jaime Pressly, My Name is Earl) not Tammy (Kristen Johnston, 3rd Rock from the Sun), an old friend of Bonnie’s. Also out French Stewart 3rd Rock from the Sun makes his appearance, as the sex-addicted chef at the restaurant where Christy works.
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But the biggest surprise is how the creators – Lorre, Gemma Baker and Eddie Gorodetsky – tackle serious subjects with both humor and sincerity, such as in the very first episode, in which Christy’s daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano), follows in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother seems to step in when she, too, becomes pregnant unplanned as a teenager. Or the moment in season two when Bonnie, after a back injury, falls back on painkillers. That episode doesn’t end with a laugh track either, but with an awkward silence.
Mom is a fine sitcom, but does take addiction – and its repercussions – seriously.
Mom S01-08 is now on HBO Max
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