As the first episode of Mom begins, titular parent Christy (Anna Faris) – a waitress at a middle-to-high-end restaurant – is crying to her customers, battling tears as she reads the night’s specials and suffering through having to sing “Happy Birthday” to elderly patrons.
Although the studio audience would have you believe it’s one of the funniest sequences put to film, the truth is it just isn’t very funny, and far from a promising start to a sitcom that’s marked with the winning stamp of producer Chuck Lorre (the mastermind who navigated Two and a Half Men, Mike & Molly and, most successfully, The Big Bang Theory to fruition). One would forgive the viewer for being sceptical on following through with the show post-opening credits, but ‘Mom’ proves its worth only moments later with the arrival of Christy’s mother Bonnie (Allison Janney), as well as slowly giving us insight to her home life and, particularly, her damaged relationships.
Not quite as amusing (or as crowd pleasing) as ‘Big Bang’ but funnier than what ‘Men’ brought to the small screen, ‘Mom’ sets itself apart due to a rather dark undercurrent in its comedic situations. Christy is an extremely sad character when you get right down to it; her mother was an alcoholic, drug abuser who was never home, leading Christy to fend for herself. Sadly as she grew up and similarly had a daughter at a young age, Christy was unable to break the cycle and slowly saw herself turning into Bonnie.
Given her situation, which over the course of the season sees daughter Violet (Sadie Calvano) announce her own teen pregnancy, it makes all the more sense as to why Christy would be sobbing uncontrollably in the same manner we meet her in, and though the aforementioned opening seems quite inauthentic and played for cheap laughs, there’s a certain admiration to the character for not breaking down more frequently throughout the 22-episode duration.
As we see Christy put herself back together and attempt to re-connect with both her daughter and her mother, the series feels like it’s a one-season only event as the idea of Christy making headway in her life leads one to believe there’ll be less tension for her to battle as the episodes progress. Thankfully, casting is key, and Faris and Janney are, quite simply, brilliant; the capable comedienne’s exuding a natural chemistry that seems ripe for further development. Their banter and rivalry potentially holds enough fodder for ‘Mom’ to bat out a few more seasons, and it’s evident the show slips into its own the more it progresses with the characters of Christy and Bonnie establishing their own identities beyond the sitcom caricatures they initially appear to be.
The show itself is far from must-see television, and you wouldn’t note it for being “family friendly” (despites its premise) due to a surprisingly dark sense of humour that involves jokes about drug abuse, but there’s always an audience for a show like this, and I can’t not admit to chuckling quite audibly throughout the episodes; Janney’s Bonnie is the highlight of the series, the actress always game for whatever inappropriate dialogue the writer’s throw her way.
Though Janney is the standout, the whole ‘Mom’ ensemble prove capable performers with familiar faces French Stewart (3rd Rock from the Sun) and Matt Jones (Breaking Bad) enjoying their side roles as a highly immoral co-worker of Christy’s and her deadbeat ex-husband respectively. Guest-star wise Mimi Kennedy (best known as the free-spirited mother on Dharma & Greg) provides a welcome adversary to Bonnie as a fellow Alcoholics Anonymous patron, Octavia Spencer (The Help) brings in a neat story- arc as an embezzler-on-the-run who befriends Christy, and Justin Long does his usual doe-eyed seemingly perfect boyfriend routine as a potential love-interest.
Though it racks up impressive viewing figures in the U.S., where I suspect this subject matter feels more organic, ‘Mom’ hasn’t exactly set Australian television alight (unlike ‘Big Bang’ which has pretty much become a prime time staple) so you’re forgiven for either being unaware of this show’s existence, or proceeding with caution if you catch it on the shelf (the cover art doesn’t exactly inspire much confidence) but if you’re looking for a decent laugh, one could do much worse than this. It’s surprisingly emotional, it doesn’t excuse its behaviour, and Janney, well, she really is that good.
Special features:
Sadly, over the course of 3-discs ‘Mom’ only gives its viewers one extra feature in the form of a gag reel. Gag reels are quite often the highlight of any special feature list, and at 8-minutes ‘Mom’s is certainly worth the time. Though it appears to be funnier to the cast involved than those of us watching, there’s still something amusing about not only seeing these actors break character, but the reactions from the stars involved as you get a sense of camaraderie amongst them.
Series Review Score: THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Special Features Review Score: TWO STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Mom Season 1 is available today in all good DVD retailers through Warner Home Video
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