PILOT REVIEW: Bordertown

BORDERTOWN

Voices: Hank Azaria, Alex Borstein, Missi Pyle, Judah Friedlander, Nicholas Gonzalez, Jacqueline Pinol, Efren Ramirez

Created by Mark Hentemann
Written by Mark Hentemann and Lalo Alcaraz, Directed by Jacob Hair

THE PREMISE
Bordertown is FOX's long-delayed animated comedy set at the United States/Mexico border in a fictional state called Mexifornia. It centers on two families that are neighbors. One is redneck border agent Bud Buckwald and his family while the other is recent immigrant Ernesto Gonzalez and his family. The two families are forced to co-exist even more when Ernesto's son falls in love with Bud's daughter.

THE REVIEW
I should preface this review by saying that I'm not an animated sitcom fan at all. I don't watch (and have never watched regularly) The Simpsons, Family Guy, Bob's Burgers, etc. As I expected, there were a few clever and funny moments such as Bud's daughter channeling Honey Boo Boo right after they were accused of being rednecks, the Spring Break line late in the episode, and Bud responding to his daughter about what's next after going after immigrants with "we'll cross that gay bridge when we get there."

But, the problem with animated sitcoms for me is they are just too prone to doing something stupid. Maybe it's my sense of humor, but I just don't find a character's head popping off or fire coming out of a character's butt as funny. For every clever moment in an animated sitcom, they seem to have to follow it up with something that's just so... cartoon-y. I get that this is what they do and shows like The Simpsons and Family Guy have had long, very successful runs, but I just don't get the appeal. I'm not saying this show is of the same quality as FOX's most successful animated sitcoms. I'm just saying the genre as a whole doesn't appeal to me.

That being said, I do think this is an interesting premise and would probably be more interested in watching it if it was a live action sitcom. With all the raging debates over immigration, this could really be a show that pushed boundaries and made some noise. But as an animated sitcom, it won't be. Even the funniest and sharpest lines don't elevate it from being a silly cartoon.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
I think that's a pretty obvious no.