KATH & KIM: Update

November 15, 2008 at 8:41 pm | Posted in movies | 1 Comment

Kath & Kim
NBC Thursdays – 8:30 PM

After hearing that the UK/US ocean crossover of The IT Crowd had been shelved and replaced by the US “makeover” of hit Australian show Kath & Kim… needless to say I was bummed. However, as a firm believer of not judging something before you give it a chance, I decided to watch the premiere episode. Watch it here at Hulu. See Premiere review here.

UPDATE 11/13/08:

So now a bunch of episodes have aired… so I feel its time for an addendum to my review.

My praises for the actors still hold true, but the writing?? I see how the creators are translating the first season from the Australian original, reworking plots to appeal to American audiences. I give the writers props for at least trying to make it their own from the get go. However, somehow the show is losing its flavor for me. The characters are becoming even more predictable and stereotyped. Comedy about spoiledness and stupidity can only stretch so far in some cases.

This past Thursday night put the icing on the cake. Phil invites his “best friend” Sandy to visit, and things unravels when Sandy continually berates Phil and hits on Kath. SPOILER*** This culminates in an embarrassing cat fight where Phil reveals that Sandy took three fiancees from him. What does this say about Phil judgement of character? Does this make him a sad and pathetic partner or a perfect fit for the optimistic and clueless Kath?? Ugh. This kind of writing just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

All the core relationships (Kath and Kim, Kim and Craig, and Kath and Phil) have been stretched and beaten to death with a mono-thematic stick. I likened this experience to My Name is Earl, in the sense that I was a big fan in the first season but over time they lost me and I simply stopped watching. There are some funny quips here and there, but that’s like buying a CD or album for one song lyric… It better pick up its pace soon or I feel that alienated audience members everywhere will follow suit and lead to cancellation.

RATING: **/5 (Bumped down to a 2 from a promising 4)
Recommendation: Watcher beware…