Marry Me - General Discussion

[iMonrey]

I did not recognize JoBeth Williams either.

 

I don't see a whole lot of difference between the character Casey Wilson is playing here and the character she played on Happy Endings. Not so far, anyway. So I would imagine that anyone who was annoyed by Penny on HA is going to have the same reaction to Annie on MM. I would also suspect anyone turned off by that sort of manic, foot-in-mouth type of persona would have been turned off by the entire cast of Happy Endings, because they were pretty much all like that. That's where I see a lot of similarities between the shows - I think it's sort of a David Caspe thing to have fast-flung dialogue like that, and characters that border on the absurd that you can't imagine ever knowing in real life.

[Latverian Diplomat]

 

First impression of this show: another romantic comedy about early 30s neurotics in the big city?  How many do we need?

 

Watching Manhattan Love Story in close proximity to this show really brought home how glacially paced and predictable MLS is.  I thought Annie's mistakes in Marry Me were more entertaining and character-authentic. In MLS, Dana is just an idiot at convenient times (e.g., she's a social media obsessive who can't work her smartphone, and a purse enthusiast who can't spot cheap knock-offs). 

 

I did think that Jake losing his job was kind of glossed over, these days, that's a hell of blow. But they had a lot of story to get through, hopefully, his search for a new job and fall out from losing this one will get more coverage in upcoming episodes.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Latverian Diplomat

[peeayebee]

 No, they have to reflect what Hollywood believes all gay men are -- prissy, fastidious, and fashionable.

I doubt Hollywood believes all gay men are like that. 

 

I'm going to watch another ep or two, but I didn't like the pilot. I think Casey Wilson and Ken Marino are fantastic. There was some good physical comedy and dialogue, but the character of Annie is really hard to take. To borrow from another, better, show, she's the worst.

 

Maybe we'll get more flashbacks that will continue to show what Annie and Jake have in common and why they're right for each other. Maybe that will counteract the horror and ongoing drama that is Annie.

 

I've only seen a couple of eps of Happy Endings, so I can't compare, but I read that that show started off bad and improved greatly. I hope the same happens here.

[arc]

I doubt Hollywood believes all gay men are like that. 

Esp not the guy who created the Max character on Happy Endings...

 

I've only seen a couple of eps of Happy Endings, so I can't compare, but I read that that show started off bad and improved greatly. I hope the same happens here.

Nah, Happy Endings started off pretty solid, esp with the network making the right call to drastically re-order the episode order.  The pilot's premise was very hooky, which is probably how it got greenlit ("what happens to a group of friends after a nuclear-level breakup?") but the show quickly enough became one of the best hang-out sitcoms since Friends.  The first couple of episodes after the pilot had to deal with the continuing fallout from the pilot, though, and then it really did settle into its hang-out groove.  By re-ordering the episodes, ABC was able to show off what the show would really be faster rather than dragging out the Dave and Alex story.

 

I don't think Marry Me threw as much of a wrench into its character dynamics that it will have to unwind over the next few episodes , so hopefully they'll hit the ground running faster than HE did.

[Batt Mastersly]

I don't think we really know what this show will look like until we start seeing them use the supporting cast more. From what I've heard we focus a lot more on the cast as more of an ensemble after the pilot episode, looking at the synopsis for upcoming episodes it does look to follow the similar Happy Endings structure of pairing up characters for their own A, B, and C stories each week.

 

For example, next week the John Gemberling character Gil has a storyline that suspiciously sounds like a leftover Max storyline that was never used for Happy Endings. I think this character is probably gonna be the Adam Pally of this show, the schlubby slob pal. It seems like theres a lot of these chubby bearded sidekicks in all the new sitcoms this season, but I have faith in Gemberling because he's so damn funny on Broad City.

 

At the PaleyCenter panel they talked about a lot of upcoming storylines involving the 2 dads and JoBeth Williams that sounded very funny.

Edited October 16, 2014 by Batt Mastersly

[me5671]

I loved loved LOVED this pilot.  Usually pilots are awkward, short on jokes and long on exposition.  This one was not.  I thought it did an excellent job of introducing all the characters and getting the audience invested in the leads as well as their relationship.  I laughed at loud a lot during this show, which doesn't usually happen this early in a sitcom.  My one concern is that I'm not sure how they can drag this series out across multiple seasons (I mean, they've GOT to actually get married at some point, right?!)  However, we're only one episode in so it's too soon to worry too much about that.  This show is off to a strong start in my opinion and I see a lot of potential here.

Edited October 16, 2014 by me5671

[SmithW6079]

I doubt Hollywood believes all gay men are like that.

 

Esp not the guy who created the Max character on Happy Endings...

 

 

 

Who also created the character Derrick on "Happy Endings," who is as stereotypical drama queen as you can get, so it washes. And for every Max, there are half-a-dozen stereotypes floating out there.

[SmithW6079]

I loved Happy Endings, but if I had only seen the pilot, I wouldn't have called it hilarious.

 

Opinions vary, of course, but I liked "Happy Endings" from the very first episode, and subsequent episodes only confirmed that, so I found it frustrating that others hadn't discovered this gem. 

[SmithW6079]

More generally, it seems to me that there are so many different gay stereotypes around ("construction-working bears" would be one of them) that there's no point avoiding them, as they cover the gamut of humanity

 

True, but the thing is, we rarely (if ever) see the "construction-working bears." Max on "Happy Endings" was a break in the stereotype, but most often, the gay men on sitcoms (especially) are over-the-top drama queens who are, naturally, best friends with the series lead female, and thin and fashionable.

 

My point is that there are more "Max"s than there are "Derrick"s, but you wouldn't know that from watching sitcoms.

[Jessie Q]

 

And the interracial thing, with "we don't know whose sperm made our daughter"? "Glee" did that several years ago.

Arrested Development had that joke before Glee then.

 

 

If memory serves, I believe the original credit belongs to "I Love Lucy."

[OpieTaylor]

If memory serves, I believe the original credit belongs to "I Love Lucy."

I Love Lucy had an interracial couple (or any couple) who contributed sperm to have a baby?

[SmithW6079]

I Love Lucy had an interracial couple (or any couple) who contributed sperm to have a baby?

 

Well, if you count Ricky "loving" Lucy...

[OpieTaylor]

Well, if you count Ricky "loving" Lucy...

 

aah, I get it!

[stanleyk]

Man, I want to love this show because of my deep affection for Happy Endings and for the cast, but I'm not too sure after the pilot. I'll give it some time to iron itself out, though. It seems from reading this thread that the original airing of the pilot included a second engagement party; seems to have cut out of the version show tonight.

Lots of people have mentioned Casey Wilson's manic energy as a turn-off, but I actually had a bigger problem with the character's marriage obsession: so tired and trite. The idea that every woman wants to get married (and even if they say they don't, they still do), and that women wait their entire lives to be proposed to (god forbid they do the proposing), and that there's something profoundly wrong with being single after a certain age is really tiresome. And I get that's part of the set-up, but it just struck me as a lazy reliance on stock cliches.

Speaking of, while I don't necessarily agree that the dads are stereotyped as fussy gay men (I don't think we saw enough of them to know), I did think it was a joke beneath all the participants for Casey Wilson's character to claim her "drag queen" personality was the result of her two dads, who named her after a musical. That sort of joke doesn't make me hopeful were going to move out of stereotype-land. And while there are all kinds of gay stereotypes (Happy Endings had that awesome episode where Max tried to figure out where he fit and finally made his own group up), I don't think anyone can argue that the stereotype of a musical-loving, fastidious, melodramatic gay man is the one that has always been supremely over-represented on tv.

I think I'll be happier when they start to delve into the rest of the cast. If the tone of the show moves away from traditional sitcom territory into the slightly absurdist world of Happy Endings, so much the better.

[formerlyfreedom]

Jake moves into Annie’s apartment and she begins to feel the pinch of having to share her space with someone. She confesses her claustrophobia to her dads Kevin 1 and Kevin 2 but her stress continues to mount. Meanwhile, Gil discovers an all-you-can-eat buffet where he can eat for one low price all day – as long as he never leaves the restaurant.

 

 

[Sandman]

I'm not sure that either of her dads fits the stereotype of musical-loving, fastidious, melodramatic attention-seeker as much as Annie herself does. Her need to attribute the way she is to her dads seemed to me to be a way to disclaim responsibility for her own choices. The dads were less mannered and twee than I had feared. I agree to a certain extent with the review (linked upthread) on NPR that pointed out it's unconventional for a sitcom to show its lead character, especially a woman, in a less than sympathetic light; but I'm not convinced yet that it's sustainable to have a lead character that determined to make absolutely everything about her, while at the same time refusing to acknowledge the effect of her own choices.

I like Ken Marino well enough, and the Jake character seems to have a complementary craziness to Annie's. The younger versions of Annie and Jake seemed less determinedly obnoxious. I did laugh at the physical comedy -- Wilson's touch with it is deft, if that's really the word for someone who can throw herself so resoundingly into the nearest wall. I'm not sold on the friends yet - hers or his; in particular the bearded guy annoyed me a whole lot. JoBeth Williams made me howl.

Edited October 19, 2014 by Sandman

[Scott]

I was happy to see that the taco place where they met is named "Rosalita's". 

[Batt Mastersly]

One thing I'm confused by is why one of the gay dads (Tim Meadows) is credited as a series regular, while the other (Dan Bucatinsky) is only credited as a recurring guest star, yet he appears to be in every episode they've filmed so far.

[Batt Mastersly]

Annie (or as I call her... "Bizarro Penny") said "we better get to steppin" at one point in her tirade, which I believe was also one of her occasional catchphrases on Happy Endings.

[Sandman]

It might be just me, or maybe that I've only seen the pilot so far, but I think that Bizarro Penny lacks Pennissima's fundamental generosity of nature.

[Rinaldo]

One thing I'm confused by is why one of the gay dads (Tim Meadows) is credited as a series regular, while the other (Dan Bucatinsky) is only credited as a recurring guest star, yet he appears to be in every episode they've filmed so far.

The reason would seem to be that Dan Bucatinsky is already recurring on Scandal, so that show has first call on his services. The mysteries of series contracts probably differ in almost every case, all the more with two concurrent series, but I'm guessing this explains why they're not free to make him a regular.

[Ms Blue Jay]

Awww, I miss Derrick!  Happy Endings was such a good show.  Maybe when Friends came out, everyone thought the characters spoke too weird and quickly too. But then the public began actually speaking like the characters.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friends#Cultural_impact   A show like Happy Endings never really got a chance to be that big -- today shows can't really get that big anyway.

 

If memory serves, I believe the original credit belongs to "I Love Lucy."

I Love Lucy had an interracial couple (or any couple) who contributed sperm to have a baby?

 

I think we can call it a trope at this point.  "King of the Hill", Me Myself and Irene, right?

 

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ChocolateBaby

Edited October 19, 2014 by Ms Blue Jay

[Jillybean]

Yeah Ken looks really young for his age. He's 45 but can still pass for 30s strangely.

I think he looks his age.

[Jillybean]

The reason would seem to be that Dan Bucatinsky is already recurring on Scandal, so that show has first call on his services. The mysteries of series contracts probably differ in almost every case, all the more with two concurrent series, but I'm guessing this explains why they're not free to make him a regular.

Intriguing, since his character on Scandal was killed off last season.

[bilgistic]

This show made me glad I'm single. It exhausted me.

[Rinaldo]

Intriguing, since his character on Scandal was killed off last season.

I see that the information given me was outdated! (I don't watch Scandal myself.) Looking around, I see that he's involved as a producer with The Comeback for HBO, as well as the web series Web Therapy, both currently in production. So that means he has a lot going on at the same time, just not in the way I first said.

[Batt Mastersly]

Love their costume in the upcoming Halloween episode:

 

Zombie Lucy and Ricky, I take it?

Edited October 20, 2014 by Batt Mastersly

[Wouldofshouldof]

For example, next week the John Gemberling character Gil has a storyline that suspiciously sounds like a leftover Max storyline that was never used for Happy Endings. I think this character is probably gonna be the Adam Pally of this show, the schlubby slob pal. It seems like theres a lot of these chubby bearded sidekicks in all the new sitcoms this season, but I have faith in Gemberling because he's so damn funny on Broad City.

 

Do you think we have Zach Galifinakis to thank for the schlubby sidekick trope?  Never liked him, but I did like Max.

[Xazeal]

As someone who loved Happy Endings more than should be humanly possible, I went into this with as low expectations as possible, and was pleasantly surprised. It's nice that Casey Wilson gets to keep playing Penny.

 

Not that the pilot was on Happy Endings-levels of awesome, but there's potential here. Of course, if the show becomes more manic and over the top, it will probably suffer the same fate. Sigh.

 

Anyway, I'm in.

[Roaster]

Using your car as a get-away private spot away from your SO?  I can see that.

[possibilities]

I liked this episode, and thought it was much better than the pilot.

 

The weird thing is, that I thought it was flat out nuts that they never had a single direct conversation about where he'd put his stuff and how they'd integrate their households, so I should have absolutely hated it, because the set up was so anoying.

 

I think the supporting characters help a lot. I like her dads and her friends. I'm even starting to appreciate his annoying divorced friend, which is another thing I feel surprised by.

 

Basically, I don't know why I like it! But I kind of do.

[Rinaldo]

Certainly much more bearable than the pilot. I can now see how this might develop into something nice, though it might still get off track any time.

 

The other friends still haven't come into focus for me, but I do like her dads. I look forward to more of them.

 

As crazy as it may seem never to have talked about how the moving-in would work logistically with all their stuff, I know from friends that it can happen. Especially if at least one is the type that trusts things to just work out on their own (if it's "meant to be").

[Batt Mastersly]

Yeah, I think Annie's conversations with her dads might be my favorite parts of the show so far, I hope there's a lot of them. JoBeth Williams was missed this week, but from what I've read she has a lot more to do in some of the upcoming episodes.

[BoogieBurns]

Improvement for sure. I like knowing more about the friends and the dads. I don't know anyone's name besides Annie and Jake. 

 

I like the little jokes that they sneak in. Jake calls it a turlet instead of toilet. They have 3 Karaoke machines between the two of them. Vietnam being the Mexico of China. 

[Batt Mastersly]

The "Soup" song at the end totally reminded me of the kind of thing you'd see on Happy Endings. I feel like this show keeps Caspe's Happy Endings-esque writing style alive, especially with the dialouge, only difference in this show seems a bit more grounded in reality than Happy Endings ever was.

[peeayebee]

I also enjoyed this more than the pilot. I'm still not sold on Gil. The actor isn't doing it for me.

 

The botox gag was really funny. Her face was great. ("I can't stop smiling.") and I loved Annie saying, "Bruce Jenner!" then the dads (or one of them) saying, "Candyman!" I think Gil said, "Zuker!" If so, was that Danny Zuker, a writer for Modern Family? I think the last friend -- I don't know all the names yet either -- said, "Dana's face!" I assume that's a Real Housewives reference, but I don't watch those shows.

 

I like the dads but wish the white dad wasn't such a cliche. 

 

Did we know that the one friend was a lesbian, or was this new info?

 

The soup song was fun.

 

Oh, and I love the opening credit montage.

 

I've seen only a couple of eps of Happy Endings, but I was still reminded of it a lot.

[absnow54]

I also enjoyed this more than the pilot. I'm still not sold on Gil. The actor isn't doing it for me.

I really like John Gemberling on Broad City, but in last night's episode, I kept on imagining how much better Gil would be if Adam Pally were playing him. He's got this amazing talent for playing obnoxious on the cusp of becoming self aware and making it really likeable, which I think is what Gil is missing.

[Roaster]

The Soup song was sitcom writing at its best: wacky, but not so far from what might actually happen at a low-cost fun restaurant.

 

The chubby guy is not as good as Max, although that is certainly an unfair comparison (who is as good as Max?).  He might develop into something interesting.  Wouldn't be surprised if in Season 2 (if it lasts), they try to pair him up with the blond friend for laughs.

 

The friends all making excuses for getting out of unpacking boxes as good and also something close to reality.

[Primetimer]

'No, but why can't we get a TV as big as the wall?' - Tara.

Read the story

[abbottrabbit]

" I think Gil said, "Zuker!" If so, was that Danny Zuker, a writer for Modern Family? "

I think it was "Joker!" as in The Joker.

[Batt Mastersly]

I was reading some comments on the AV review and was surprised to see so many people hate the Gil character. I thought he's been pretty funny so far, but maybe I just have a soft spot for Gemberling because I love his character on Broad City, he's basically playing the same character on this, only in the BC universe all the other characters can't stand him, maybe he works better when everyone hates him? :shrug:

 

Also, Tymberlee Hill's Kay character is quickly becoming my favorite. She was practically non-existant in the pilot, but she had all the best lines last night.

 

Also, anyone else think they really need to work on making Ken Marino's character more interesting? Ken is such a funny guy but he's essentially playing the no-personality straightman so far, which seems like a waste of Marino. I get that the show is still working out the kinks, but I hope they find a funny hook for his character eventually. I really don't wanna see him turn into the Zachary Knighton/Dave of this show and take 3 seasons to find a way to make him interesting.

Edited October 22, 2014 by Batt Mastersly

[Kat]

 

anyone else think they really need to work on making Ken Marino's character more interesting? Ken is such a funny guy but he's essentially playing the no-personality straightman so far, which seems like a waste of Marino. I get that the show is still working out the kinks, but I hope they find a funny hook for his character eventually.

Totally agree! Ken Marino/Jake is so far the weak link for me. Last night's ep was my first, and I felt the same afterwards as I did when I watched "Happy Endings" for the first time - hopeful, but a little weary. "HE" completely surpassed my expectations and I'm hoping this does as well. 

And it can't be said enough - the Soup song was effin fantastic.

[Louise]

(1) Agree with you about the TV. The bigger the better. (2) I stayed at the Wynn and the bathroom in that hotel room was like a little piece of heaven.

[junemeatcleaver]

The fiance character is distracting, he looks ten years older than his fiancee and their friends.

 

The show is still obnoxious.  It really reminds me why I dislike most modern single-cam comedies.

[iMonrey]

 

I feel like this show keeps Caspe's Happy Endings-esque writing style alive, especially with the dialogue, only difference in this show seems a bit more grounded in reality than Happy Endings ever was.

 

It's only two episodes in but so far I'm not seeing it as any more "grounded in reality" than Happy Endings was. Annie moving into her car, complete with curtains, is the same time of absurdity that was so common on Happy Endings. Not that I'm complaining, because I loved Happy Endings. But that show did not survive, and if it couldn't find a sufficient audience to keep it on the air, I'm not seeing anything about this show that's distinctly different enough not to suffer the same fate.

[Tetraneutron]

The fight over the TV didn't come across as a gender thing to me at all. It wasn't about Annie (so hard not to type Penny there) didn't want a big TV because girls don't want big TVs. That was never brought up as a reason. In fact, that whole gag about bad 90s stand-up of the "men vs women" variety was a pretty direct refutation to the idea that men want TVs like THIS, but women want TVs like THAT.

People are embarrassed about loving TV, about watching TV, about buying big-ass TVs from WalMart like some dumb American consumer, instead of reading Goethe in the original German or donating money to save third-world orphans. It's a thing in our culture. Big TV = tacky loser.

That's actually one of the things I like about the show. Annie can like Real Housewives. have a fussy decorating style, and wants to get engaged before she's too old to have kids and the show doesn't writer her off as some stupid girly-girl the audience is supposed to hate.

The real off-note right now is Gil. I just keep thinking. "WHY are the others friends with him? Why do they hang around him at all?" That character's worked twice: Max Blum and Barney Stinson. No other show has been able to pull it off.

[MelsW]

I kept on imagining how much better Gil would be if Adam Pally were playing him. He's got this amazing talent for playing obnoxious on the cusp of becoming self aware and making it really likeable, which I think is what Gil is missing.

I agree, which then reminds me that I think I am giving this show a much bigger chance than it deserves because I want it to fill the void that Happy Endings left. I keep forgetting that Annie is not Penny.

 

This episode was much better than the pilot. I loved the Botox bit (Bruce Jenner!) and how Annie defaulted to bad 1990s era stand-up.

[kalamac]

I love my giant TV. And if I could fit a TV in the bathroom, I would.

[Duke2801]

The fiance character is distracting, he looks ten years older than his fiancee and their friends.

 

 

Well, he is 10-12 years older than Casey Wilson in real life.

However, I personally think he could pass for mid-late 30s.  But I also think Casey looks a bit older than 33/34, so I think they look totally fine paired together.

 

 

The show is still obnoxious.  It really reminds me why I dislike most modern single-cam comedies.

 

 

LOL. Because the multi-cam ones are so much better?  Yeah Two and a Half Men and Two Broke Girls really are superior, eh? 

Edited October 23, 2014 by Duke2801

[mspaul]

I love this show, but its Fake Chicago is just as bad as it was on Happy Endings, and I think they must be sharing wardrobe with The League.  How many stars were on that cop's patch - eight?  (The League used the same one last week)  You could probably buy a real cop's patch for $10, why make a fake one that's so, so wrong?