Originally, Kyle Howard (Bobby, from My Boys) was supposed to be in Perfect Couples. I tried to keep this far from my mind as I watched last night’s sneak peek episode. It was hard because I wouldn’t mind seeing Howard continue working, but since I didn’t know beforehand which character he was playing, it certainly made it easier.
I wouldn’t say that this show hit a homerun with the first pitch. It wasn’t great; it wasn’t bad. On the bright side, it didn’t nearly bug me as much as recent episodes of The Office, so on paper, we’re in good shape.
Personally, I think the show shines with David Walton, who plays Vance. He was clearly the funniest of all the cast members, and I was most entertained when he was on screen. His fiance Amy didn’t really do all that much for me, so it’s good that he can carry his weight. And really, he had the funniest lines of the entire show.
As for the others, well, I’d say that Julia and Dave were ok. Nothing particularly new there–but nothing particularly bad either. Rex seemed to be a caricature of someone, though I couldn’t pinpoint who. He did bug me at the start of the show, but after a while, I got used to him. As long as the caricature feel is purposeful and not trying to be realistic, I think I can accept it, but he is walking a fine line.
As for Leigh, well, I say, who? I pretty much forgot about her very early on. So much so that when she popped her head into the webcam when talking to Dave, I was startled there was a sixth character. What does that mean? Well, perhaps five is enough, and we should say so long to the sixth cast member–especially if she doesn’t have an identifiable feature to make me care about her. Or maybe, this just wasn’t her episode.
The commendable part of the show is that these couples (for the most part) can be relatable. There were definitely points that I felt like Vance or saw myself as Julia. That did make me want to watch more. But is it sustainable? How long will the jokes stay fresh before turning into stereotypical couple jokes?
Ultimately, I’m willing to check it out again, when it premieres in January. If only for David Walton. My real complaint? The title. Every time I think of it, I think of the old Full House episode where Joey plays a game show host of The Perfect Couple:
The Perfect Couple
The Perfect Couple
Heart to heart in the
U…S…of A!
The husband in my perfect couple is very tired of hearing me sing that.
Raked 