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 Mike And Molly

 

(June 19^th, 2010.  -  Editor)               Billy Gardell, Reno Wilson, Melissa McCarthy, Katy Mixon, Swoosie Kurtz & Nyambi Nyambi star in the situation comedy Mike & Molly.

A working class Chicago couple find love at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting.  Officer Mike Biggs (Gardell) is a good-hearted cop who sincerely wants to lose weight.  Mike's partner, Officer Carl McMillan (Wilson), is a thin, fast-talking wise-guy, who despite his teasing encourages Mike on his road to slimness and romance.  While speaking at an O.A. meeting, Mike meets Molly Flynn (McCarthy), an instantly likeable fourth-grade teacher with a healthy sense of humor about her curves.  For Molly, focusing on smart choices isn't easy because she lives with her sexy older sister, Victoria (Mixon), and their mother, Joyce (Kurtz), both of whom flaunt their healthy appetites and slender figures.  Mike also faces temptation at the diner he and Carl frequent, where they've become friends with the Senegalese waiter, Samuel (Nyambi), who finds trying to eat less a foreign concept.  For Mike and Molly, thanks to their mutual love of pie and the desire to resist it, finding each other may have been worth the "weight". 

This effort is a sweet romance injected with a healthy dose of reality. Rather than being locked in the safe and secure bubble of a typical television romance, the world is allowed to interact with this newly dating couple who are trying to keep the magic alive as long as possible. As a cop and a teacher, both know that they are just regular people. And each of them knows that they are not perfect. But that makes it easy for them to overlook the imperfections of the other. Because each of them also knows that they are a good person who is ready to take a chance on love. The comedy comes when those little quirks and imperfections pop up at embarrassing times.

I applaud the decision to shoot this comedy in the older four cameras on a soundstage style, rather than tying to shoot it as a single camera comedy like many others are trying this season. The romantic comedy format is hard enough to keep light and funny without adding in all the logistics of locations.

Star Billy Gardell is instantly likeable. Sidekick Reno Wilson is a very good choice as a supporting character. The two have instant chemistry and it is all funny. Likewise, Melissa McCarthy delivers both comedy and chemistry to the mix. The key to success with this comedy, is to keep the romance going for as long as possible.

This comedy has a serious chance at success. It has something new to offer. It has people I want to like. And it makes me laugh.

 

-          Editor

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