Advance Review: FOX's new single-camera comedy Ben and Kate doesn't officially premiere for another month, but since the pilot episode is currently available for viewing via Hulu (see below!), we're considering it fair game for review.
From creator Dana Fox (What Happens in Vegas) comes a sweet, but not too sweet, comedy about a pair of grown siblings who, long ago, formed a unique bond due to an unhappy home life while growing up. Kate (Dakota Johnson - daughter of Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith) wound up getting pregnant at an early age and is now the sort of typical young, quirky "trying to make ends meet" TV mom that we've all come to expect. Unlucky in love, but lucky when it comes to the simple, genuine things in life. Like her extremely precocious five year-old daughter, Maddie. So far, so what, right? Kate's a somewhat typical klutzy, "rom-com" leading lady. But then comes Ben.
Ben, played by Academy Award-winning screenwriter (he co-wrote The Descendents with Community's Jim Rash) Nat Faxon, is Kate's older brother. And whereas Kate "grew up too fast," Ben "never grew up at all." He's a big, doofy man-child who's constantly making Kate's life more complicated with his crazy, random antics and, honestly, your enjoyment of Ben and Kate is primarily going to depend on whether or not you find Ben annoying or endearing. I happen to be fall into the latter category on this one, although I can totally see people not enjoying Ben's juvenile mania. I understand if he gets under your skin. In fact, I've seen this pilot twice now and I think about the Bill Murray movie "What About Bob?" each time I see it. Because, drawing from that film, you either love Bob or you totally empathize with Richard Dreyfuss.
So, much in the same way that FOX presented us with Zooey Deschanel's quirky Jess last year when New Girl premiered, Ben's naive dreamer qualities will either excite or irritate you. I think Faxon does a wonderful job of playing a lovable idiot and there were more than a few scenes here that I found pretty damn funny. In this first episode, Ben discovers that his ex, the love of his life, is getting married and decides to come up with a last ditch effort to win her back. Of course, none of this gels with Kate's plan to finally go out on a normal date with her boyfriend George and, possibly, have "the sex" for the first time since her daughter was born.
And while I brought up "What About Bob?" earlier, my thoughts also shift into darker territory when I'm reminded of Laura Linney's character from Love Actually. Remember her? The woman who had to be at the beck and call of her mentally ill brother and couldn't maintain a normal relationship because of it? I probably think of that because A) I just recently watched that movie again, and B) Kate's total acceptance/surrendering to the fact that the comically-obtuse Ben will always be a giant, dominating chunk of her life.
The spotlight might be on Faxon's Ben, but it's Johnson's Kate who does the heavy lifting. She's the other main reason why I feel this show works. If she were just the "straight man" put-upon sister, this would fall apart. These two have a goofy connection and by the end of the episode you feel as though they actually compliment one another. Ben, despite his life-disrupting ways, is protective of Kate a way that has no equal. Which comes in handy since Kate herself winds up in screwball situations of her own.
The rest of the players here - Lucy Punch's full-of-advice bimbo BJ, Echo Kellum's Kate-obsessed Tommy - are fine. Young Maddie (Maggie Elizabeth Jones), when not spouting wisdom beyond her years, makes a great, doe-eyed sounding board for Ben's lunacy. Again, depending on your personality there's a chance that Ben might frustrate you, but I think Ben and Kate is one of the most promising new comedies of the season.
The Ben and Kate pilot can be seen on Hulu. The series premieres on Tuesday, September 25th on FOX.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and IGN. WARNING: No Nudity!
Source : ign[dot]com
