PILOT REVIEW: Allen Gregory

ALLEN GREGORY

Starring: Jonah Hill, French Stewart, Nat Faxon, Christina Puccelli, Joy Osmanski, Renee Taylor, Leslie Mann
Created by Jonah Hill, Andrew Mogel, and Jarrad Paul
Written by Jonah Hill, Andrew Mogel, & Jarrad Paul, Directed by Bernard Derriman

Allen Gregory is an absurd new cartoon addition to FOX's Animation Domination lineup created by and starring Jonah Hill as pretentious 7 year old Allen Gregory. Homeschooled by his gay dads (French Stewart and Nat Faxon), he must attend a regular elementary school when his dads get in money trouble. However, he doesn't quite fit in - bringing pinot grigio to lunch, calling his teacher (Leslie Mann) by her first name, and developing a crush on his elderly principal (Renee Taylor).

THE GOOD: I'm not a big fan of cartoons but Allen Gregory does have his funny moments. The little comments that Allen Gregory makes under his breath that make him such a pretentious snob had me chuckling (lines such as "here comes this trainwreck" when his teacher approaches him or his constant putdowns of adopted sister Julie). It has some funny writing and some of the other depictions of the kids were good as evident in the cafeteria scene. Jonah Hill has good delivery as Allen Gregory and the writing shows potential.

THE BAD: It's all just a little too absurd though and it veered down the wrong course when it introduced the plot of Allen having a crush on the principal. That's when I realized, after enjoying the first part of the show, that this probably isn't going to hold up episode after episode. The things that were amusing - Allen's shtick - will get old quickly and then what do we have? A very strange cartoon that might be a one joke pony. The parts that made the pilot funny might just seem annoying by episode 4 or 5.

BOTTOM LINE: This doesn't seem to have nearly as much broad appeal as the shows it is sandwiched between - The Simpsons and Family Guy. The tone of the show and sense of humor make it seem like it should be airing late at night or on the weekends on Comedy Central. Again, I'm not an expert on cartoons but I don't think this has what it takes to be the next long running animated FOX cartoon.