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PILOT REVIEW: 1600 Penn

1600 PENN










Starring: Josh Gad, Jenna Elfman, Martha MacIsaac, Andre Holland, Amara Miller, Benjamin Stockham, and Bill Pullman

Created by Josh Gad, John Lovett, and Jason Winer
Written by Josh Gad & Jon Lovett, Directed by Jason Winer

1600 Penn is a comedy about a dysfunctional family... only this family is living in the most famous address in the USA - the White House. The show centers on the family of fictional US President Dale Gilchrist (Bill Pullman). In his family is his second "trophy" wife, the independent minded Emily Nash Gilchrist (Jenna Elfman), screw-up son Skip (Josh Gad), and goody two-shoes daughter Becca (Martha MacIsaac) who finds out she's pregnant in the opener. Rounding out the family is the younger children Marigold and Xander (Amara Miller and Benjamin Stockham).

THE GOOD: There are good people involved with this show and the casting seems like it was solid. Bill Pullman is certainly believable as the leader of the free world even though he wasn't given much to do in the pilot. Jenna Elfman has a lot of sitcom experience and is always likable on screen. Josh Gad is playing a Jonah Hill type role but does it well for the most part and Amara Miller seems decent as the daughter. Sitcoms sometimes take awhile to gel so a likable cast is so important in the pilot to encourage people to come back and this one has a solid cast that might be worth sticking with as they iron out the kinks.

THE BAD: The problem is that there are a lot of kinks to iron out because this episode felt sort of all over the place. Josh Gad is funny but his character could border on annoying real quickly and he sort of already did in the pilot. He needs to not be too juvenile. Plus the fact that he had a major impact on foreign affairs seemed a little far fetched even for a show that is supposed to be a broad comedy. The show also felt like it didn't want to stick with a storyline and did a lot of jumping around. There's a lot of potential comedy to be developed here but it needs to be executed better.

BOTTOM LINE: NBC has been promoting this show as their answer to Modern Family but I don't see it ever reaching that level. At best, it can be a quirky family comedy with a strong cast. At worst, it can be a sophomoric and silly sitcom that squanders a potentially good premise. The pilot made me think it could go either way so I'll watch episode two. I think if I find Josh Gad's character endearing instead of annoying, that will go a long way.
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