Mike & Molly: We Finally Have a Good Show with Fat People

Good day my friends,

As much as I dislike Mondays in general, I love TV viewing on Monday nights.  My DVR goes into overdrive for the entire prime time block.  Everything on CBS is recorded as well as Chuck on NBC and Castle on ABC.  It takes me a few days to get to them all, but it is worth it.  I always like to start with the CBS block of comedies and this year we have a new entrant:  Mike & Molly.

Mike & Molly is another show from executive producer Chuck Lorre which means we get a fun vanity to card to freeze and read at the end of each episode.  Lorre also is the man behind two of my other favorite comedy programs, Two and a half Men and The Big Bang Theory. 

Mike & Molly follows the story of Mike Biggs, an overweight Chicago police officer, and Molly Flynn, an overweight school teacher.  They meet cute at an overeaters anonymous meeting and he eventually asks her out.  Mike has a partner named Carl, who lives with his grandmother (unseen for the first two episodes) and they hang out at a diner (like all good Chicago police officers should) where they are always waited on day or night by the same guy, Sam.  Molly lives with her less than intelligent sister Victoria and their mother Joyce, who always seems to have a glass of wine in her hand.

I like this show and Monday’s episode had its high and low points.  I particularly like the witty banter that goes on between Mike and Carl and the teasing Mike takes from Sam regarding his weight.  As Sam served them breakfast on Monday we learned that Mike is a very good bowler and is very proud of that so he decides to ask Molly out that night for bowling and dinner.  Carl tells him that a man should never ask a woman out for the same night, but Mike calls and Molly accepts.  He picks her up at 7.

I should tell you that throughout this episodes funnier moments we were forced to spend time with the ever annoying Victoria and Joyce, played by Swoosie Kurtz.  I don’t care what show she is on, but Kurtz is one of those actresses that always seems to be playing the same character.  She’s widowed, likes to booze it up and makes fun of her children.  Wow, never saw that one before!  While Victoria is a dimwit that could be used more effectively for comedic effect, Joyce is a tired old character that we have seen 1000 times before and frankly we do not need to see again.  Joyce could easily be dropped and the show would instantly improve.  Maybe part of the problem on Monday was that Victoria and Joyce were wrapped up in a ridiculous story line where Victoria was upset and spent a majority of her screen time crying over a broken relationship with a married man.  Ho hum. 

But our heroes were doing something a little more fun.  Mike never bothered to ask Molly if she could bowl; he just decided to show her.  Mistake.  As it turns out Molly is an excellent bowler, better than Mike, and it was all Mike could do to contain his emotions.  The man was hurt and upset.  I knew where he was coming from on this, but come on guy, get over it.  After getting beaten in bowling he took Molly to the diner for dinner.  Now, I understand that Sam is a student from Senegal and needs the work, but he was there at the beginning of the show for breakfast and he is still working at night?  Seems unlikely to me, but hey, this is TV and there are some things we just must accept.

Sam and Molly hit it off immediately and even begin reciting Shakespeare together.  This irked Mike even more.  So much so that he went to the kitchen at the diner to get his own order taken care of.  Man how I’d like to do that some day.  As Mike was driving Molly home it was clear to everyone that he was very upset, even refusing to take Molly’s route home.  He then misquoted Carl Sandberg (some sort of poetry hack from Illinois) and then Molly turned on him, which she had every right to do.  He walked her to the door and then said goodbye and walked away.  Molly went inside to face the nightmare of Victoria and Joyce while Mike headed over to see Carl.

Over at Carl’s house we got our first look at his grandmother and what we got was the stereotypical sassy African American grandma character.  Nevertheless, the scene was funny and grandma set Mike on the right track and sent him back to talk to Molly.  Now, by my math it’s getting pretty late in Chicago at this point.  He picked up Molly at 7 and then they bowled for what, an hour at least?  Then they drove to the diner and had dinner.  Let’s say for the sake of argument that the diner was 15 minutes from the bowling alley and by the time we got past the poetry and they finally had a meal we’re looking at about 9:30.  Then he took Molly home and went to see Carl.  10:00 at the absolute earliest by the time he shows up on Carl’s door.  They talk for a while and he’s back at Molly’s by let’s say 10:30. 

At Molly’s we see Victoria threatening to burn down the place, or something like that, with a can of hair spray and a lighter.  Oh the drama.  (Although Mike getting sprayed in the face with the hairspray was quite amusing)  Mike used his police hostage negotiation skills to get the lighter away from Victoria, apologized to Molly and then they had their first kiss.  Ah the romance. 

To date, only three episodes have aired and I would have to say that the show is off to a good start.  We have had three funny episodes and have not been overwhelmed with the expected fat jokes, which is nice.  I like fat jokes as much as the next fat guy, but you can’t go overboard.  If you have not checked this show out yet give it a try.  Just be patient with Joyce and Victoria.

Keep watching my friends.