Trophy Wife 1.06 Review: Halloween Schemes

This is going to be quick. If you haven’t watched last night’s episode of Trophy Wife, entitled ‘Halloween’, then I suggest you do that now. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Okay, this was a pretty funny episode. The humour to the series seems pretty easy, although I don’t completely feel connected to any of these characters enough to care if this series were cancelled. I might miss the actors, but the characters and story haven’t been developed well enough to feel involved in their lives.

Jackie’s lack of any cultural – pop or otherwise – knowledge is astounding. She even confused Marie Antoinette’s infamous line about cake for Queen Elizabeth’s. Still, I think she may be the funniest character on this series. Vice versa, Hillary seems to be the most normal, but still not completely normal in that she goes to actual parties without alcohol. I’m sorry, that’s not a thing these days; alcohol at teen parties seems to be more prevalent than ever. That’s about the one ludicrous issue I have with this series for the time being.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode. It had funny little tidbits, and had some pretty nifty costumes. Although, you’d think Hillary would want to dress up for a party like most people that age like to do. If some of these characters are this enthusiastic about Halloween, I’d be excited to see how they are with Christmas (P.S. That’s my favourite holiday).

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Line:

“I knew I should’ve had him microchipped.” – Jackie exclaims, after her son goes missing.

Okay, I’m off to watch The Originals now. After that it’ll be Supernatural, so stay tuned.

Trophy Wife 1.05 Review: Sometimes it's Okay to Put Adult Time First

Anyone that hasn’t watched tonight’s episode of Trophy Wife, entitled ‘The Tryst’, then now would be a good time to go and do so. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This is going to be short and sweet because I don’t really have much to say. It was a decent episode, with decent problems, and decent progression with characters. The ex-wives are crazy, eccentric, and too demanding at times, but they help to form this crazy messed up family that’s fun for the viewing audience.

This series seems to be making a healthy amount of progression overall. While it’s not much of a sidesplitting sitcom, it does have some nice, fun laughs. For the most part I like watching this family, but again I wouldn’t be heartbroken if it got cancelled. So, maybe add a little depth to all the characters.

That’s my two cents for the week.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Line:

“What? I don’t like my cousins that much.” – Kate tells her husband, after suggesting one of them being murdered as an excuse for not helping Diane.

Okay, I’m off to watch The Originals and review that. After that I’m going to take a break, maybe watch a movie, and then hopefully get in Supernatural before bed. Stick around.

Trophy Wife 1.03 Review: There is No Privacy in Family

If you haven’t watched Tuesday night’s episode of Trophy Wife, entitled ‘The Social Network’, then please do so now. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

This episode was great. It certainly doesn’t make this series award winning, but it does feel like it’s starting to find its comical stance. There were so many lines that I found funny, and just the situations some of the characters found themselves in were great.

Hillary basically has snuck out to two parties, and the second time around, she gets caught. It was hilarious how she was so gung ho to go to the party, but when we finally see it, it’s beyond tame. Maybe this show is trying to promote intelligence over beer guzzling parties, but it’s still doesn’t feel like this actually happens these days. Smarts may be in more than ten years ago, but they’re not that in. Still, the way Hillary acted around all the other characters was great.

I also really liked the jewelry-making situation. Where Bert brought Warren over to help him finish the fifteen – twenty pieces that needed to be made to complete the fifty piece order for the jewelry shop, it was great. The two moms are probably the best characters, particularly Jackie. She’s just so all over the place, and ditzy, but still cares for her son. And she always finds a way into Pete and Kate’s home, it’s incredibly comical.

While a lot of people don’t seem to like Meg, Kate’s best friend, I do like her. She’s perfect as the kind of side character to just banter off, and she just really hasn’t grown up. She’s not much of an adult, but she’s the best character for things like confiscating the booze that really isn’t at the party.

All in all, this show really seems to be finding it’s ground. I really hope people start turning out for it, because it really has gotten better since the pilot episode. Alas, I have a feeling this series won’t make it passed the thirteen-episode order, if it even gets there at all. Light, family-oriented series like this, that stray from traditional values tend not to last all that long.

Oh, and one note. This series so stole that parent-made Facebook friend profile from the Canadian comedy Seed.

My rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“I don’t know whose been teaching Bert the Yiddish, but it really needs to continue.” – Kate.

“If you find a diary, read it.” – Diane, divulging great parenting tips to her ex, Pete.

“Wait, why am I on the freeway?” – Jackie, and her very airheaded ways.

“Call me Dr. Dre, because I’m about to Snoop, Dog.” – Pete says to Kate.

Sorry I didn’t post this yesterday, I just got really exhausted, but here it is. I’m actually going to go watch Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. now, then Supernatural. I’m going to try to watch Revolution, but no guarantees.

Trophy Wife 1.01 Review: Life is Messy

This is me, right here, telling any of you that have yet to watch tonight’s series premiere of Trophy Wife, and wish to do so without being spoiled, please exit this screen now. I will be reviewing this episode, and there are no guarantees that there won’t be spoilers ahead. I repeat, THERE MAY BE SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

So, the episode began with a voiceover and flashback to when Malin Akerman’s Kate met Bradley Whitford’s Pete, and then jumped back to the present, one year later where they’re married, and she’s stepmom to three kids, with two separate ex-wives constantly in and out of his life. It’s obviously an intriguing concept, as long as it’s not done in a degrading way. The show does explain the quick marriage a bit by reasoning that Kate is a romantic at heart, that won’t give up on love, but I’d be curious to know how long the other two marriages worked.

I do have to say that while the lighting and colouring for the series seems to be well done, the cinematography seems a bit shaky. It doesn’t exactly look like it’s documentary-style filming, but it’s not exactly well put together. Hopefully as the series progresses, that kink is fixed.

The casting so far seems to be okay. The two ex-wives are definitely well deserving of their roles, so far they’re pretty good. I also like Akerman and Whitford in their roles, but I really want to see a bit more depth into their relationship. It kind of felt like we were just thrown into their lives, without any sort of set up, as if this wasn’t the pilot episode, but in fact the second episode or a redone pilot. I really like Meg as well, Kate’s best friend, I think she’s got some pizzazz, and a don’t care kind of attitude. What I’m iffy on are the kids. While Bert is a terrible name unless you’re a puppet, I do like him, the actor seems to be pretty well done in his role. Warren seems okay, except for the distracting braces. It looks like they’re fake, and if they’re real; they make it really hard to see him as convincing. What I’m not so sure about is Hillary, I know they’ll be changing the actress for the second episode, to age her down, but in this episode, she wasn’t very convincing in her role, some of the lines and her acting weren’t very well done. And also, how exactly do they expect to age her down, and still include the whole vodka water bottle incident in the timeline of the series. It doesn’t make sense if she’s younger, or Warren’s crush on her friend. I just can’t see it as convincing. But that can be the problem with sitcoms; they throw out storylines in continuity easily and without a second thought.

Overall this pilot was a mess. It felt to me like it was sort of just thrown together. I get that a family this size and complicated can be messy, but that doesn’t mean that story wise everything has to be going on at once, and in your face about it. And the voiceover was a little over the top too. It takes a certain type of talent to be able to pull off the voiceover effortlessly, Kristen Bell in Veronica Mars or Gossip Girl, comes to mind, but I don’t think Akerman does it quite well. There’s almost too much cheer in her voice, and it’s too loud, that should really be dialed down. She’s a struggling new stepmom and wife, that should show through. A lot of comedy could come from that, without needing to be so over the top.

My rating: 3 out of 5.

No best lines for this episode, but I did really enjoy the end scene with second wife looking for her hide-a-key.

That’s all for now, check back later for a review of Agents of Shield.