“All American” is Friday Night Lights from an African-American Perspective

All American” is a new drama from CW network that tells the story of a young black man who transfers from his inner-city ghetto school to a Beverly Hills high school because it will offer him a better chance at eventually playing football in the NFL.

I almost didn’t review this show because I’m not sure I’m qualified to give it a fair report. As my title suggests, it seems like at its core this is simply a black version of the hit show “Friday Night Lights” which dealt with high school football in Texas. Although by all reports it was a quality show, it just didn’t appeal to me and so I never watched more than one episode. Given the fact that I’m an old white guy, it is going to be difficult for me to fully appreciate this urban African-American based show with any kind of empathy or appropriate context. It’s not that I can’t enjoy shows with a predominantly black cast. I enjoy “black-ish“, “Black Lightning“, and before my schedule got too full I was a pretty big fan of “Empire“. Of course saying “some of my favorite shows are black” is like any white guy saying “I have a number of black friends”.

I’ve pretty much summarized the entire premise of the show in that opening paragraph. Our main character Spencer James is a star receiver on his high school football team in a predominantly black inner-city school named Crenshaw. He gets recruited by the coach of a Beverly Hills high school who is also black and who grew up going to Crenshaw. The coach is played by Taye Diggs who has had a variety of quality roles in “Empire” and “Private Practice” just to name a couple. The coach is a former NFL player whose career was cut short by injury. While he claims to want to help the boy escape the ghetto and give him an opportunity to have a shot at the NFL, his motives are mixed in that he needs this quality player to prop up his failing team in Beverly Hills. Without giving away too much he also apparently has other motives yet to be revealed.

Spencer’s story is a bit of a typical “Stranger in a Strange Land” type of story in that he doesn’t quite fit in with the upper-middle-class Beverly Hills crowd even though they are racially mixed. He also faces pressure from his own people in the hood who are critical of him abandoning them and/or they are jealous of his opportunity. So he is caught between two worlds.

This is one aspect of the show that did resonate with me and my own experiences. I left and all special education school for the handicapped and transfer into a regular high school. This sort of left me as an outsider in both places. There were no other disabled kids in the regular high school so I stood out as unusual. And my friends back at the handicap school treated me a bit strange because it looked as though I thought I was better than them and that the handicap school wasn’t good enough for me. I did not have a feeling of superiority (at least not knowingly) but it was entirely true that the old school truly wasn’t that I’ve for me. So in that part of the story I do empathize. But I can’t properly emphasize with what is like to be poor and black.

Although the coach initially tells him that he can get the authorities to waive the rules that prohibit recruiting students from other schools, that effort fails and the only way to keep him in Beverly Hills is for him to move there. So he ends up moving in with the coach and his family. The coach has a white blonde wife and a teenage son and daughter who also attend the school. The coach’s son is the quarterback of the team.

The show seems reasonably well written and well acted but it just isn’t my cup of tea. I just don’t think I have the appropriate context to judge whether the show is any good or not. So I’m going to give it a strong “could be watchable” but I just can’t say for sure because neither the high school football aspect nor the African-American aspect of the show appeal to me.

Visiting “The Neighborhood” Will Not Make You “Happy Together”.

CBS just premiered 2 back to back sitcoms on Monday night. Neither of them are worth your time.

“The Neighborhood” is about a white couple that moves into a mostly black LA suburb. The white couple is Dave played by Max Greenfield recently seen in “New Girl” and Gemma played by Beth Behrs formally the blonde of “2 Broke Girls“. Their next-door neighbor is Calvin played by Cedric the Entertainer and his wife Tina is played by Tichina Arnold whom I’ve never seen before.

The whole thing is a one joke show. So a white couple moves into a black neighborhood. They try too hard to fit in. Some of the black people accept them and some don’t. End of story. This one gets a solid “Skip It

The other show “Happy Together” has an even weaker premise. A guy is the accountant for an Australian popstar. When the popstar’s life becomes a shambles and is chased by paparazzi he ends up moving in with the accountant and his wife. It stars Damon Wayans Jr. recently from “New Girl” and Amber Stevens West who recently appeared in “The Carmichael Show“. The popstar is played by Felix Mallard whose only previous credits are an Australian soap opera. I could barely watch one episode. This one gets a solid “Worthless” rating. It’s my candidate for the first show to be canceled. We will see.

“God Friended Me” Uninspired and Predictable

From films like “Oh, God” to “Bruce Almighty” and their sequels to TV shows such as “Touched by an Angel” to “Joan of Arcadia” to “Saving Grace” to the recently canceled “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” the idea that someone is called by God to do special things in the world has pretty much been done in film and TV for many years. CBS’s new comedy/drama “God Friended Me” attempts to update the genre to the social media era we currently live in. I’m not sure there’s much left to explore in this premise.

I liked Joan, Grace, and Kevin but not because I was inspired by the idea that God or angels or other supernatural beings were encouraging them to make a difference in someone’s life. And as a person who considers himself a man of faith I’m not turned off by the religious theme. But I’ve only washed these shows because the characters were compelling and the scenarios were interesting or humorous apart from the godly guidance aspect of the shows.

Unfortunately I can’t say the same for “God Friended Me”. Our hero Miles Finer is an atheist podcaster who is this son of a preacher. He lost his faith when his mother was cured of cancer (thanks to his prayers) but then was soon after killed in a car accident. He is played by Brandon Michael Hall. While trying to promote his podcast promoting the idea that there is no God, he receives a Facebook friend request from none other than God. After declining the request several times he finally accepts it and gets a friend suggestion from God for a man named John Dove. He then immediately bumps into him on the street. Out of curiosity he follows him into the subway and ends up saving him from killing himself when John attempts to jump in front of the train.

Thinking that the whole thing is a hoax he turns to his friend Rakesh to help him track down this bogus “God” account. Meanwhile another friend suggestion from God leads him to a reporter named Cara Bloom played by Violett Beane. She is most noted for her role as Jesse Wells speedster resident of Earth-2 on “The Flash“. Together they try to explore who is pulling this presumed hoax on him. Along the way they uncover secrets to her past that connect the two of them.

There is nothing inspired or original about the entire experience. If you have seen any of these other similar shows then the story is totally predictable. There is a sort of heartwarming conclusion to everything as you might expect including his reconciliation with his estranged preacher father played by Joe Morton. Morton most recently played bad guy Rowen “Command” Pope on “Scandal“. It’s uncertain whether or not he will be a major character in the show or not but on the surface it looks like a waste of his talents compared to the meaty part he had in “Scandal”.

With the cancellation of “Kevin (Probably) Saves the World” after one season if you are hankering for this particular genre I suppose it might appeal to you. But somehow this one just doesn’t do it for me. Out of deference to people who might like it I will give it a “Could Be Watchable” but overall for me it’s a “Skip It“.

“The Cool Kids” is “The Golden Girls” For a New Generation

In 1985 audiences learned just how funny getting old could be with the hit sitcom “The Golden Girls” which ran for seven seasons. The formula was to put a bunch of veteran comedic actors together and let them shine at what they do best. It’s quite possible that the new Fox sitcom “The Cool Kids” could easily have been called “The Golden Boys” if not for the fact that one of the four actors is female. In my opinion it has the potential to be just as successful as “The Golden Girls”.

The show takes place in a retirement home where our main characters occupy the best table in the dining room. The show opens with our main characters discussing the fact that one of their number their friend Larry has just passed away. They become very defensive about who can occupy his seat. They are compared to “the cool kids” at a high school lunchroom where only a select few get to sit with them.

The cast is made up of sitcom royalty. First of all we have Charlie played by Martin Mull who has played a number of memorable characters in supporting or guest during roles for decades. Although he claims he had to audition for the part it is clear that the writers have custom tailored it to his personality. Basically he’s playing the same quirky, offbeat character he always plays. There are constant references to bizarre things he has done in his past. If you’ve seen him before and enjoyed his performances this will be very familiar territory.

Next we have comedy veteran David Allen Greer as Hank. He’s most noted for his work on the sketch comedy show “In Living Color” from 1990-2001. He has had many other sitcom roles and guest starring appearances. He most recently appeared as the father in “The Carmichael Show” which ran for three seasons from 2015-2017.

Next we have Sid played by Leslie Jordan. You will recognize him as the diminutive flamboyant gay character Beverly Leslie who has appeared on many episodes of “Will & Grace“. Although the character name is different, it’s the same over-the-top gay character he is known for playing.

The newcomer to the cool kids table replacing the recently deceased friend Larry is Vicki Lawrence as Margaret. It’s a bit ironic that she is most known for her elderly character Thelma ‘Mama’ Crowley Harper which originated on “The Carol Burnett Show” in 1967 and later in her own spinoff show “Mama’s Family“. For that character which she played at a young age she wore for prosthetic makeup to age her. Now at age 69 she’s playing an elderly character however Margaret is very much unlike her grumpy iconic Mama. Margaret is spry, funny, and very much likable. In the opening episode she has to earn her way into the empty seat at the cool kids table.

Although constantly played for laughs, the show is dealing with the rather serious issues facing everyone late in life as we wrestle with our own mortality and the loss of dear friends. At times it does become poignant and deal with the topics seriously. This of course is in extreme sharp contrast to the rather sad and tearjerking new series “A Million Little Things” (reviewed here) which also deals with friends who have lost one of their number and the consequences of dealing with it. So if you want to laugh in the face of death or wallow in its sadness you get a choice between these two shows.

Like many sitcoms, at times this one is silly and ridiculous but that’s what sitcoms are supposed to be. My ultimate test of any sitcom is “Did it make me laugh?” And this one had me in stitches several times. You immediately understand who these characters are and appreciate them quickly. The chemistry between them is phenomenal. If audiences find this show I’m confident it can be a big hit.

I’m giving this a strong rating of “I really like it” and I suggest you check it out.