By Chris Ryall
June 10, 2004
Well, if this is what Fox's summer schedule is going to be like, then I have a good feeling about their Fall shows. Because this is a surprisingly good, and very funny, show. I never expect to really say that more than once or twice throughout the course of watching all these pilots, but I hope that's not the case this summer. It'd be a shame to think that my favorite sitcom viewing is already behind me.
Don't get me wrong, METHOD AND RED isn't a great show, but it could be. And it's much better than I expected it to be.
I like Method Man and Redman together -- I liked their Blackout CD and I like the urban Cheech and Chong thing they have going in movies. But neither of those things led me to believe they'd be able to make a Fox sitcom work. But they do.
METHOD AND RED is part of Fox's new "year-round season," having its debut in just under a week from now. And since summer is traditionally full of either repeats or, of late, bad reality shows, it's nice to have a good choice out there. I hope people give it a chance. I hope Fox does.
Meth and Red are basically playing sitcom versions of themselves. Musical partners, they're also platonic housemates, living (with Meth's mom) in a posh New Jersey estate. The reason why they live with Meth's mom is humorously explained in the pilot, incidentally. Just know that mom is played by Dorothea Horsford, a good, feisty old lady who blames, and smacks, Redman for pretty much everything Meth does wrong (her baby would never do anything wrong without Red's bad influence, of course).
The show easily has the potential to be yet another stereotypical look at how uptight black people just don't get the fun-loving' black people, but I'm confident it won't devolve into that. See, Meth and Red live in this ritzy area, which is mostly populated by uppity white families uncomfortable with the loud music, parties and crude behavior of M & R and their friends. The realtor who lives on the block, Nancy, is suspicious of the two and sick of all the noise and wants them kicked out of their house. Lame, right? Well, since she's played by the funny Beth Littleford from THE DAILY SHOW, I'll give her a pass. For one episode, her uptight behavior and attempts to oust them is pretty funny, and as long as she doesn't become the annoying antagonist out to get them week in and week out, I think this show has a chance.
It succeeds, and is funny, mostly on the strength of the two leads. Method Man and Redman are very likeable performers, and have a nice, easy sitcom style. Their delivery doesn't feel forced and they seem very comfortable in front of the camera (probably doesn't hurt that they're essentially playing themselves).
When Meth and Red get in trouble for their partying and thratened with eviction, they decide to make nice with everyone in the neighborhood, handing out fruitcakes and trying to ingratiate themselves with the white folk. Of course, an uptight white woman gets a little nervous when a black man comes at her with a log-shaped object near his crotch and tells her he has something for her (it's a fruitcake, you degenerates!). And while reading something like that just cues you in that the show is falling back on tired stereotypes, well, in the context of the show, it works, and is funny. Besides, their hip-hop appearance even frightens an uptight black neighbor, too.
Like I say, the show will need more to it than class warfare and uptight neighbors, but it does what a pilot should--introduces some good, funny characters and makes you want to see more. If only every show made me feel that way.
Fox's METHOD AND RED debuts on Wednesday, June 16 at 9:30 PM.
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