Warning: Spoilers follow for the current and
past seasons of Mom.
It remains a
mystery to me how Mom continues to be
a splendid show, considering that it’s on CBS and created by Chuck Lorre. However,
there are now three seasons of evidence that the show isn’t a fluke, and that
it’ll maintain its quality going forward. The show’s weird mixture of comedy
and drama is just about perfect, as opposed to heavy-handed.
The strong
foundation of the show is obviously the lead performances by Anna Faris and
Allison Janney as recovering addicts Christy (daughter) and Bonnie (mother)
Plunkett. Unlikely a conventional sitcom though, they fail regularly. In the show’s
three seasons, they both relapse, and there aren’t many Convenient Magical Plot
Solutions that solve things for them.
The third
season actually ends on a bit of a high note, as Christy wins a scholarship to
help pay for her college costs, and Bonnie managed to contribute to that fund
as well by serving as a middle(wo)man to unload a bunch of junk goods from a
friend. However, the show basically had to, since previous episodes featured
the overdose death of an AA member Christy was sponsoring, and the dissolution
of the engagement of Violet – Christy’s daughter and Bonnie’s granddaughter.
As I’m
typing out some of the plot points of Mom,
yes, I realize it sounds horribly maudlin. But all of the somberness is
well-balanced with humor, thanks to Faris and Janney. Faris was typecast as the
ditzy blonde gal in most of her early roles, but she shows some range of
emotion and good timing in Mom. As
far as Janney goes, hell, she’s got seven Emmy wins,
included two for Mom already and four
thanks to The West Wing. She’s
ridiculously talented in this show.
Of the
supporting cast, Sadie Calvano (Violet) is a strong performer, although her
role has been downgraded from regular to recurring as she’s now in college (the
actor, not her character). With the three generations of the Plunkett women,
you get a look at how the substance abuse persists via social and biological
means. Jaime Pressly (with a bad haircut) is the most well-known of the other
regulars, but they’re all solid character actors.
I’m not
alone in my embracing of Mom, as the
A.V. Club has also given it some
strong
reviews.
If you can look past the fact that it does have Chuck Lorre’s name and hence
stink on it, it’s probably the best half-hour sitcom on television right now.
(By the way, RIP
The Grinder. SIGH. At least Mom has already been renewed for a new
season.)
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