Bent
NBC, Wednesdays 9/8 Central
NBC has been sitting on this gem of a sitcom for too long. From the executive producer of Scrubs and Spin City comes the single camera mid-season romantic comedy, Bent. Not an original premise by any stretch, Alex (Amanda Peet) is a recently divorced, tense attorney whose ex-husband is in jail. Her perpetually pouting yet winning, adorable daughter Charlie (Ramona and Beezus’ Joey King) is focused on protecting her mother and in the process not sharing anything with her. Instead, Charlie—the definition of an old soul—is confiding in all the other characters in her mother’s life.
Enter Pete (David Walton) the strapping, over-sexed, recovering gambling addict contractor Alex has hired to redo her kitchen. Pete takes on much more than the kitchen, setting out to redo Alex’s life. He also instantly wins Charlie’s affections and provides a solid male figure in her life—the job Alex’s boyfriend, Ben (Matt Letscher), is desperately vying for. Pete lives with his wannabe actor father, Walt (Arrested Development‘s genius Jeffrey Tambor), who develops his own platonic soulmate relationship with Alex’s free-spirited sister, Screwsie—yeah, that’s her descriptive name (Margo Harshman). The cast is rounded out with Pete’s brilliant contracting crew/comedy trio, Clem (J.B. Smoove), Gary (Friday Night Lights’ Jesse Plemons), and Vlad (Pasha Lychnikoff).
There is just too much sexual tension between drawn, bordering on skeletal and visibly aging yet still utterly good looking Peet and the noticeably younger Peter Pan-esque Walton, which is the main element Bent is hinging on. The excellent lines, delivered snappily by not only the central characters but also the rest of the cast, go a long way in bringing a natural touch to the hackneyed premise. All the roles are stereotypical, but with the confident approach and tight technique of the actors, they are played far away from predictable. In a word, Bent is funny.
Not sure how the show is going to pan out once Pete is done with Alex’s kitchen. At the rate he’s going, this is not going to be a worry any time soon. More pressing is how long the sexual tension can carry on before it starts to become wearing. For now, what does it matter, we’re too busy laughing. (www.nbc.com/bent/)
Author rating: 8/10
Average reader rating: 7/10
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June 9th 2012
4:37pm
Anyone who knew Joe would know these things:1) He aveodid the spotlight and believed that quality work was its own reward.2) He would have preferred that any funds used to glorify his name or career be given to charity.3) He would never have wanted a room named after him, especially if it implied, in anyway, that he was more deserving than any other artist who had not been honored in this way. Ken Anderson, Bill Peet, Vance Gerry, Joe Rinaldi, Don Dagradi as well as the many others who went before him were his heroes, teachers and inspirations. He would be horrified to think he had caused anyone to feel slighted.4) To be involved in any kind of popularity contest would have broken his heart.5) He considered himself a product of the education and training he received, ever and always a part of a team, never an independent talent nor a solo artist.6) He would have wished to be remembered for his community service, good works for the betterment of those less fortunate, and his involvement with his church and spiritual outreach programs. He would have wanted to inspire others to give of their hearts, not insight competition or debate.For a man who was deeply uncomfortable being singled out, this last year of recognition and tribute would have been beyond uncomfortable for him. It is too late to ask that the funds that were spent putting his name over the door be given to charity. Instead of going through the complicated process of having hallways and workrooms named after people he himself admired, maybe there should be a petition passed around requesting that his name be removed from Story Room 2. That would be so much simpler and Joe would have approved, but that seems a bit harsh.At 45 Joe had spent well over half his life working in the animation industry. Most of that time was spent working for Disney directly or at Companies producing movies in partnership with Disney. Instead of seeing his name above the door and being reminded of all the things he accomplished in so short a time, perhaps it can instead be a tribute to the things he would have done in the future. In that way we can all be reminded that life is indeed short, and should be lived lovingly, purposely and with commitment and integrity. Let Story Room 2 remind us not of his accomplishments as an artist and story man, but of his contributions as a human being who left us too soon.Rather than being reminded of Joe’s death, or all the names that have not yet been honored, be inspired to live as though this is your last day on Earth, because it could be.Su Ranft