PILOT REVIEW: Up All Night

UP ALL NIGHT

Starring: Christina Applegate, Maya Rudolph, and Will Arnett
Created by Emily Spivey
Written by Emily Spivey, Directed by James Griffiths

Up All Night is a new NBC sitcom that seems to be a hybrid of a witty and sarcastic NBC comedy and the silly sweetness of Modern Family. It's a good combo and that makes for a good pilot and hopefully a good show. The show centers on a couple, Regan (Christina Applegate) and Chris (Will Arnett), who are new parents and must adjust to life with a baby. That includes Regan going back to work for her needy talk show host boss Ava (Maya Rudolph) while Chris stays at home.

THE GOOD: Christina Applegate and Will Arnett have a natural chemistry that is evident from the pilot. Sometimes chemistry is there and sometimes is not and on this show, it's just there which is a reflection of good casting and acting. The scenes with just the two of them are very strong. Plus, it's great to see Will Arnett not playing another version of his memorable character on Arrested Development. Unlike last year's mess Running Wilde, his character is likable and easy to relate to. Applegate and Arnett's best scene was the short awake/asleep battle in the bedroom. Hopefully there are more of those types of things to come. Maya Rudolph overcame a slow start in the pilot to have some very funny scenes. She was particularly enjoyable with her pronunciation of "insane" and her unannounced visit to the house. One of the nicest parts of the show was there was an inherent sweetness to it and that was seen at the end where the viewer can tell that Regan and Chris really want to be good parents, even if they have no idea to do it. Unlike some sitcom and drama plots, it's easy to show how this plot can grow and evolve if it were to stay on for several years because it is character-driven, not plot-driven. Also, there was a theme song! Let's hope it stays as I am a big advocate for keeping theme songs on shows.

THE BAD: It seemed like the producers tried to do too much in the pilot which made for a rather choppy viewing. I found myself wishing the scene with Will Arnett in the grocery store was longer because it was hilarious momentarily. Same with the asleep/awake fight scene. Everything just moved so quickly, they could have easily flushed out some storylines or scenes better and saved other ones. While Maya Rudolph was good most of the time, she veered into the over-the-top performance that made her occasionally annoying on Saturday Night Life during the karaoke scene. I also felt the swearing around the baby was a cheap laugh and the Matt Lauer moment didn't work. But this is nitpicking. If they can slow the pace down a bit, I will have very few complaints as I'm looking forward to Arnett, Applegate, and Rudolph developing their characters.

BOTTOM LINE: I'm amazed that NBC chose to send this out to the wolves at 8pm on Wednesday when it quite obviously seems to be their best comedy of the fall and features some longtime NBC talent in front of and behind the camera. This show deserves to have a chance. Maybe NBC will move it to Thursdays sooner rather than later because I just don't see it working out in its current slot. It deserves a chance because most pilots don't feel as natural as this one did and most comedies improve from the pilot, which bodes well for this show and its major potential.