Issue date: 2/29/08 Section: Features

Media Credit: Courtesy of Fox [Click to enlarge]

Fans of the Farrelly Brothers have a new reason to tune in to Fox this Sunday night after "Family Guy." The Farrelly brothers have done it again with their wacky and oddball sense of humor, which clearly shines through in this new TV show. "UNHITCHED" is about four newly-divorced 30-somethings trying to make their way through the dating field once again after being taken out of the game. "Jackass" fans might want to take a look, because Johnny Knoxville makes an appearance toward the end of the first episode.

It is interesting to see a show where all four main characters are divorced, and there is an emphasis on their divorces. It looks as if the Farrelly brothers are trying to use the fact that half of marriages in the United States end in divorce as a vessel to carry their show. They certainly pull it off with some humor and the ability to make the viewer care about at least three out of the four characters.

The Farrelly brothers have definitely injected their fondness for putting characters in awkward situations, and this is shown very early on when "Gator," played by Craig Bierko, is taken advantage of by a primate during a very intimate moment with the primate's owner. It gets even more awkward when "Gator" is examined by his friend "Freddy" (Shaun Majumder).

There is also a little pinch of "Seinfeld" when we see Kate (Rashida Jones) cringe because her date is shorter than her, and this is made worse when she finds out that he is the Leprachaun for the Celtics. Her whole situation smells of George Costanza's very picky nature when it comes to dating women.

Also, Freddy falls in love with the escort who keeps him company on his birthday, only to find out that Freddy is quite naive because he thinks that the escort is in love with him, but she is just really good at her job. The way Freddy is written, you can't help but feeling sorry for him and wishing that things will work out for him in the end.

The situations that the characters are put into can make you think about what you would do in the same scenario, like if you suddenly learn that your date is a leprechaun.

The fourth character in this show is Timmy, but he does not make very many appearances. He has been married three times and seems a little slimeball-ish.

There is a lot of dry and subtle humor in "UNHITCHED," but it is not laugh-out-loud funny. The fact that the show is centered around four divorced people may make the show seem a little sad or depressing to some, especially because none of the dates that any of the characters go on yield any positive results in the end, and the four are just left with each other. It may even discourage some newly divorced people from dating. The characters are likeable enough, but we don't really know enough about them by the end of the pilot to really want to watch again.

Stephanie Samsel can be reached at ssamsel@statehornet.com

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools