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 The Cleveland Show

 

(July 14th, 2009,  Editor)               Tyler Labine, Davis Cleveland, Frank Dolce, Troy Gentile and Natalie Martinez star in the offbeat comedy "The Sons Of Tucson", airing as a mid-season replacement on FOX.

Three brothers hire a charming, wayward schemer to stand in as their father when their real one goes to prison. What begins as a business relationship evolves into something more complex and compelling, a family unlike any we’ve ever seen. The three brothers find their dad-for-hire, Ron Snuffkin (Labine), at the local sporting good store. Ron will be forced to draw on a wide array of skills and a vast bag of tricks as he steps into the patriarch role to take care of the boys of the Gunderson family. Robby Gunderson (Cleveland), 8, is a loose cannon who doesn’t respond well to authority; Gary Gunderson (Dolce), 11, is a bright and street-savvy leader who is every bit the con man his father is; and Brandon Gunderson (Gentile), 13, is a gentle free spirit who simply goes along for the ride. Maggie Morales (Martinez), Robby’s second-grade teacher and the object of Ron’s affection, might just be the only stable figure in the lives of this quirky quartet. While the comedy is grounded in the day-to-day challenges of a single-parent home, nothing in the Gunderson household is quite what it seems. An ongoing chess match between Ron and the boys will keep both parties on their toes, as neither side can afford to give up too much power or independence.

The promotion for this show would like us to think that this is the next "Malcolm In The Middle". Whenever the publicity for a show tells me what others shows to compare it to, I start to worry. I reviewed the pilot episode of "Malcolm" and I don't see a lot of similarities. I don't see "Malcolm's" sight comedy, slapstick, sound effects or strong scripts filled with sharp comedy dialogue. This new effort is funny enough, but as soon as you label it as "The Next Malcolm" anything but an amazing comedy is going to be panned.

I think there are a number of other reasons why this show will be ignored by the audience. But mostly, it's not funny. It's odd, even quirky, but there is just not enough good comedy. Writers Tommy Dewey and Greg Bratman need to kick things up a notch if they hope earn a full season order for this soft effort.

I think it is telling that this comedy is not in the line for fall, but rather is on hold for later in the season. If it were a hotter property, I'm sure a hole would have appeared in the line up before then.

 

Editor

 

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