PILOT REVIEW: Cristela

CRISTELA












Starring: Cristela Alonzo, Maria Canals-Barrera, Carlos Ponce, Terri Hoyos, Sam McMurray, Andrew Leeds

Created by Cristela Alonzo and Kevin Hench
Written by Cristela Alonzo & Kevin Hench, Directed by John Pasquin

THE PREMISE: Cristela is a new sitcom vehicle for stand-up comedienne Cristela Alonzo. She is the first Latina to create, write, produce, and star in a comedy. In the show, she plays a law school graduate looking for work, or at least an internship. She lives with her sister, Daniela (Maria Canals-Barrera) and brother-in-law Felix (Carlos Ponce) as well as her old-school mother, Natalia (Terri Hoyos), Rounding out the main cast is her new boss at a law firm, Trent Culpepper (Sam McMurray) and co-worker Josh (Andrew Leeds).

THE GOOD: The best thing about a rather formulaic pilot is that the cast seems to be enjoying each other. I think that starts with Cristela herself. She radiates a genuine warmth with each cast member and it's in a sweet, but teasing way. She seems to be one of those actors who elevates everyone else around her. She is charismatic and naturally funny. This pilot is far from perfect (more on that below), but I feel like there are people who immediately dismiss it because it's a multi-cam sitcom that seems like it could be from 1997. It may not be overly sharp or witty, but it's familiar and fun and Cristela herself seems like the real deal.

THE BAD: I have no problems with a live studio audience laughing and all that jazz, as some critics do. But too often in the Cristela pilot, the lines were set-up, joke, set-up, joke. Sitcoms need to tell stories, that's the "sit" part of the genre and it greatly enhances the "com" part. While there was natural chemistry in the pilot, the material just wasn't there. The first scene in the kitchen was a particularly bad offender. It didn't make me think this was a real family, it made me think this is a formulaic sitcom. It got a little better as it went on, but it needs to be confident enough in its premise and characters to not need a joke every ten seconds. That will never work in the long run.

BOTTOM LINE: The consensus on Cristela from critics seems to be that she is charming and fun, but the show is a dud. I don't think I'd go that far. I agree that she's charming and fun and the show definitely needs work, but I'm not counting it out yet. I like Cristela the creator, producer, and star. I just need to like her as a writer. Tell stories, not jokes, and ABC might have a Friday night winner here.