The DVD Edition
- Comedy
- 2009
- Buy the DVD
Reviewed by Will Harris
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BS’s Monday night comedy block is a strange animal which has found success with a strange mixture of shows that are either hugely successful despite the fact that no one who wants to be considered cool will admit to liking them (“Two and a Half Men” and “Rules of Engagement”) or shows that start off only being liked by cool people but then slowly but surely build a mainstream fanbase that ends up keeping them on the air for the long haul (“How I Met Your Mother” and “The Big Bang Theory”). On occasion, however, the network tries to throw in a series that doesn’t mesh with its surroundings, figuring, “A comedy’s a comedy. Viewers will learn to like it.”
Except they don’t.
“Accidentally on Purpose” is one of those series, and in the defense of CBS’s Monday night viewership, the reason they never learned to like it is because it really wasn’t very good.
The premise revolved around Billie (Jenna Elfman), a film critic in San Francisco who, while in her late 30s, has a one-night stand with Zack (Jon Foster), a studly slacker in his 20s, and gets pregnant. When it premiered in Fall 2009, I wrote, “The young man / older woman dynamic obviously has potential for comedy, but this is a painfully pedestrian affair, one which feels like it never would’ve been made if Elfman hadn’t been attached.” Still, being the eternal optimist, I checked in on the show a few times here and there, just to see if things had gotten any better. They had not. Eventually, I gave up on it altogether, and, possibly not coincidentally, so did CBS, who opted not to renew the show for a second season.
Still, being a glutton for punishment, I requested a copy of the strangely-titled “Accidentally on Purpose: The DVD Edition,” figuring that perhaps I could at least offer a post-mortem and determine what went wrong.
As determined in the pilot episode, the problem with “Accidentally on Purpose” isn’t in its premise but rather with its execution. There’s one moment in the pilot that offers a glimpse of the show’s potential, with Billie quietly sneaking out of Zack’s room after their one-night stand, only to turn around and find a couch full of Zack’s buddies, who have paused their video game in order to stare at her in awe. It’s a legitimately funny “When Worlds Collide” moment. Unfortunately, instead of cutting away after the visual gag, the moment is ruined by having Elfman throw out a lame “Grand Theft Auto” joke. This is a recurring theme within the series. I don’t know if the producers simply don’t subscribe to the less-is-more philosophy of comedy or if they were just scared to tell the face of the show that she doesn’t need to punctuate every joke or gag with one of her patented look-at-me-I’m-so-cute lines, but either way, her performance in “Accidentally on Purpose” makes it very easy to grow weary of Jenna Elfman.
Foster, however, is actually rather charming as Zack, a nice guy who, despite having the same kind of horndog tendencies as any twentysomething, is perpetually smitten by Billie and seems quite content with the idea of settling down with her. Unfortunately, the producers started off the series by thinking that it would be hilarious to have Billie keep Zack’s child, to even let Zack live with her, but then still let the two of them continue to date other people. In fact, it’s kind of creepy, but it remains a conceit of the show up to the Christmas episode. It would be inaccurate to say that the series takes a total turn for the better at Christmas, but with the help of guest appearances by Fred Dryer and Nancy Lenehan as Billie’s parents, it does at least firmly establish to Billie that Zack loves her and, although she won’t accept his proposal of marriage outright, she’s at least willing to give him a shot as a boyfriend. From there, “Accidentally on Purpose” may not necessarily get funnier, but at least it stops giving you the heebie-jeebies.
Beyond Elfman and Foster, the series ensemble is, like the show, hit or miss, with a heavy emphasis on the misses. Actually, I didn’t intend that as a pun, but it’s true: the female characters are the ones who prove the least effective. Ashley Jensen may have been great on “Extras,” but as Olivia, Billie’s party-girl best friend and co-worker, she’s basically just there to provide “Ooh, isn’t she just a slut and a half?” jokes. Lennon Parham fares slightly better as Billie’s sister, Abby, who’s forever jealous of her sibling; she particularly shines in the episodes where she’s teamed up with her husband, Nick, played by Bryan Cuprill. On the male side of the equation, the character of Billie’s ex, James (Grant Show), is written out halfway through the series, presumably because they’d run out of ways to utilize him, but consistently amusing – relatively speaking, you understand – is Nicolas Wright, who plays Zack’s perpetually stoned pal, Davis. Generally, if there’s a Davis-centric storyline, you can count on a few solid laughs, though the strongest is definitely the one where he builds a relationship with a hot girl based around the claim that he’s related to Dave Grohl. Lastly, although his appearances on the show rarely lasted more than a few seconds per episode, a shout-out must be given to Larry Wilmore (“The Daily Show”), who, as Billie’s obstetrician, hit it out of the park every time he turned up.
To give credit to “Accidentally on Purpose,” the producers did manage to wrap up the show in an acceptable fashion for fans, closing with Billie having the baby and accepting Zack’s proposal, so with no further episodes to follow, you can feel comfortable presuming that they lived happily ever after. Ultimately, though, it’s hard to imagine that very many people cared whether they did or not. There’s still a really great sitcom to be made out of the idea of a woman in her 30s or 40s having a baby with a younger man. When it arrives, maybe they’ll thank “Accidentally on Purposes” for paving the way, but it’s much more likely that they’ll thank them for setting the bar so low.
Special Features: Although the series itself may not have done anything for me, it must be said that Paramount has presented a substantial amount of bonus material for the DVD set, thanks to a production company called Giant Interactive. Most impressively, there’s “An ‘Unconventional’ Behind-the-Scenes Documentary,” which, despite its title, is only unconventional in the fact that it doesn’t feel like a throwaway piece created solely to push the show upon its initial premiere. Within the documentary, you’re introduced to Mary Pols, the creator of the series, who gets her own spotlight in the featurette “Mary Pols: The ‘Real’ Billie Chase.” Beyond that, there’s also a gag reel, a look at Davis’s so-called “Bro-partment,” with advice from the cast and crew on how to avoid the same sanity pitfalls as Davis, and a little something called “The Best of ‘Lunch with Nic and Jon,’” an impromptu talk show where various guest stars have lunch with Nicolas Wright and Jon Foster in the back of Zack’s van. In short, those who did enjoy “Accidentally on Purpose” will be extremely happy with this set.
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