PILOT REVIEW: LA to Vegas

LA TO VEGAS












Starring: Kim Matula, Ed Weeks, Peter Stormare, Nathan Lee Graham, Olivia Macklin, and Dylan McDermott

Created by Lon Zimmet
Written by Lon Zimmet, Directed by Steven Levitan

THE PREMISE
LA to Vegas has a very clever premise. In case it's not clear by the title, each episode is set on a weekend flight from Los Angeles to Las Vegas and back. The plane is piloted by the eccentric Captain Dave Pratman (Dylan McDermott) and the flight attendants are Ronnie and Bernard (Kim Matula and Nathan Lee Graham). Much like Norm and Cliff in Cheers, there are "regulars" on the plane including a stripper, Nichole (Olivia Macklin) and a Russian bookie, Artem (Peter Stormare). Roun. Rounding out the main cast is a UCLA professor, Colin (Ed Weeks), who becomes interested in Ronnie.

THE REVIEW
I found LA to Vegas to be a breath of fresh air with an odd charm to it. It's a very unique setting. While Wings was set at an airport, I can't think of any show that was primarily set on a plane besides the dreadfully dull Pan Am in 2011 (and even that had more land scenes than this one did, at least in the pilot). I'm quite curious to see what it looks like on a weekly basis. Will they always stick to the plane and airport or will they venture into Vegas from time to time? I think they would be better off sticking completely to the plane for as long as they can. If Cheers can get 11 seasons while rarely leaving the bar, I think this show can come up with enough stories to stick to its premise.

Among the cast, the standouts of the pilot were definitely Dylan McDermott and Kim Matula. Matula is a natural and a strong protagonist. The opening of the series with her running through an airport was a joke that's been done before in different ways, but Matula landed it with good comedic timing (and it was also well shot). And then McDermott is just ridiculous as the pilot. For an actor that I've seen primarily in very serious roles, this was a hilarious turn. He seemed to lean fully into being an outrageous personality and it was fun to watch. Although it didn't happen in the pilot, I also love the casting of Dermot Mulroney as a rival pilot given all the jokes about the two actors over the years.

I wasn't completely sold on the rest of the cast because they seemed closer to caricatures. McDermott was also playing a caricature but doing it very effectively while the others were less convincing though Peter Stormare had a few funny lines ("this baby man is in my seat"). There were a few sitcom cliches and jokes that didn't land (JFK jokes weren't funny and I wasn't surprised in the least when there was a hookup in the airplane bathroom). But all in all, it was a solid start. This show may be confining itself to the plane but it seems intent on becoming a character driven sitcom even with the gimmicky premise. Up, up, and away!

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Definitely. It wasn't perfect but it definitely showed me enough to make me want to jump on future flights. And it was much better than I remembered from the trailer.