PILOT REVIEW: Mom

MOM

Starring: Anna Faris, Allison Janney, Sadie Calvano, Nate Corddry, Matt Jones, French Stewart, Spencer Daniels, Blake Garrett Rosenthal

Created by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, and Gemma Baker
Written by Chuck Lorre, Eddie Gorodetsky, & Gemma Baker, Directed by Pamela Fryman

Mom is a new sitcom from CBS hitmaker Chuck Lorre. In this show, Anna Faris stars as Christy, a newly sober waitress and single mom in Napa Valley. After years of being an alcoholic, Christy is trying to change her life through her relationship with her two kids - promiscuous Violet (Sadie Calvano) and precocious Roscoe (Blake Garrett Rosenthal) - and her romantic relationship with her boss Gabriel (Nate Corddry). Adding to her problems is her mother Bonnie (Allison Janney), also a recovering alcoholic and never a good mother. Rounding out the main cast is head chef at the restaurant Rudy (French Stewart), Christy's manchild ex-husband Baxter (Matt Jones), and Violet's boyfriend Luke (Spencer Daniels).

THE GOOD: I must say I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked Mom. Anna Faris had a great sense of comic timing and really owned the first scene as she was having a breakdown in the restaurant. Allison Janney is a hoot as her mother and still has the impeccable timing she showed on The West Wing and as the best part of Matthew Perry's short-lived 2011 sitcom Mr. Sunshine. The pilot did a great job of doing some slow reveals of Christy's life, unfortunately all those reveals were spoiled for those who watched the trailer. In general, the ensemble is very strong but the show is really being led by the great teamwork and dynamics between Faris and Janney. Finally, there was a clever cameo by another CBS sitcom character that I didn't expect.

THE BAD: While I thought this was a very good pilot, especially for a multi-camera sitcom, it wasn't perfect. For one, I thought there were a few clunky edits and cuts. I don't usually notice things like that so the fact that I did makes it seem like it was particularly off at times. The pregnant teen daughter storyline has been so overdone but here we go again with this one.

BOTTOM LINE: Mom is off to a nice start. In true Chuck Lorre fashion, it's far from sentimental but that's ok because in a season of family comedies, it's nice to have one that isn't going to be quite as mushy as most of the others seem like they will be at times. Anna Faris and Allison Janney are a winning combo and if this show follows the string of Lorre hits, it will be thanks to those two.