Review: FX's 'Unsupervised' offers enthusastic teen mayhem
Animated series from 'Always Sunny' writers feels like a happier 'Beavis & Butt-Head'
- Critic's Rating B-
- Readers' Rating B
"Unsupervised" best friends Gary (Justin Long) and Joel (David Hornsby).
Credit: FX
"Beavis & Butt-Head" returned to television a few months ago, and the boys were essentially unchanged from their '90s origins. But even as they're back on the air, there's a generation of comedy writers who grew up watching their original adventures, and — in the same way that Seth MacFarlane's "Simpsons" love gave us "Family Guy" — who have now tried crafting their own animated comedies about oblivious teenage boys.
One of those, MTV's "Good Vibes," actually aired as a companion to "Beavis & Butt-Head," and tonight at 10:30, FX debuts another: "Unsupervised." Created by "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" writers Rob Rosell, Scott Marder and David Hornsby, it's about best friends Gary (Justin Long) and Joel (Hornsby), who technically have adult guardians but have essentially had to raise themselves — and who have a fundamentally flawed understanding of the world as a result. (Joel in particular seems very Beavis-like, with his shock of yellow hair and frequent moments where he can't keep control of his emotions.)
But what's most interesting about "Unsupervised" — and what kept me watching all three episodes FX sent out for review, even though I didn't find any of them terribly funny — is that Gary and Joel's DIY upbringing hasn't turned them into slack-jawed, hateful morons. Instead, despite having no one to care about them but each other, they are the most exuberant, optimistic characters on television this side of Leslie Knope on "Parks and Rec." They have no idea what they're doing, and tend to make the worst possible choices, but all their mistakes come from a good place.
In one episode, for instance, the boys are introduced to a new kid at school who assumes they can help her find drugs, and an indignant Joel tells her, "Nurture your freaking body with sunshine! You don't need to do it with freaking chemicals!" In another, the boys get in trouble for throwing rocks at a rival school's bus, but they only did it out of an overdose of school spirit. When the principal brings them to her office for punishment, they try to impress her with their own homemade school anthem, whose lyrics begin, "Maynard High is the greatest freaking school, and we won't take no shit from nobody, and we won't ever stop being passionate!"
The relentless positivity is a very unexpected choice for an FX animated comedy — especially one that features abundant profanity, drug use, and jokes about animal sex (including a human character who has an unhealthy interest in Kangaroos) — and yet it's hard not to be charmed by Gary and Joel after a little while. They're idiots, but good-hearted idiots, and there are occasional moments where it seems like they're going to be able to steer the other characters — including overweight friend Darius (Romany Malco) and judgmental Megan (Kristen Bell), who only hangs out with them because no one else will have her — to good outcomes before things inevitably go awry.
And yet the actual comedy of the piece could use some fine-tuning. There are a number of strange supporting characters (including the aforementioned kanga-loving Australian neighbor, a Panamanian immigrant voiced by Fred Armisen and Sally Kellerman as the frustrated principal), but most of the laughs need to come out of what Gary and Joel are doing, and in these three episodes, the laughs are lacking.
By making Gary and Joel such fundamentally decent, if misguided, kids, the creators have set a much higher bar for themselves to clear than if they'd just made them sarcastic troublemakers who looked down on everything. I mentioned "Parks and Rec" before, which at the moment makes it look incredibly easy to generate comedy out of an incredibly nice, optimistic central character, but you have to remember that the first season of that show had all kinds of problems before they figured it out. In that case, I trusted the people in front of and behind the camera enough to stick around through the growing pains. Here, I'm a fan of "Always Sunny," and I like Gary and Joel enough at first blush that I'm going to give them a similar grace period. The toughest part of most new series is coming up with characters that the viewer will want to watch for weeks, if not years, on end, and they've already licked that part of it. We'll see if the rest follows.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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About This Blog
All through his childhood, Alan Sepinwall's relatives told his parents, "All that boy does is watch television! How's he going to make a living doing that?" His career as a TV critic has been 15 years and counting of his attempt to answer their concerns. "What's Alan Watching" is a blog whose title is self-explanatory: Alan watches TV shows, then writes about what he watched. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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January 19, 2012 at 1:03PM EST Reply to CommentI'm in just based on the accent Hornsby gave his character. Not sure exactly where it originates, but I live in Wilmington, Delaware, where more than a few people have it, and he nails it.
Wacoshade
January 19, 2012 at 1:25PM EST Reply to CommentLooking forward to it. Interesting to note that Hornsby also plays Rickety Cricket on Always Sunny. Very funny character.
CK
January 19, 2012 at 3:30PM EST Reply to CommentDefinitely will give it a solid 6 episodes, maybe a season, thanks for the review Alan. Also what is being blurred out in the picture at the top? My first thought was cigarette, but I assume they wouldn't need to blur it out, so is it a joint? That's kind of ridiculous to blur out a joint, people who know what it is would have recognized it and people who don't would have probably thought it was a cigarette anyway. Blurring it out just draws attention to it.
writerchick i think that's kind of the point
January 19, 2012 at 3:44PM ESTGman I think he's slipping the finger in the frame
January 20, 2012 at 12:58AM ESTCK After watching the episode, it's definitely a cigarette so I have no idea why they blurred it out. Also, @GMAN, I see that blur too, but I was referring to the one next to his mouth.
January 24, 2012 at 9:56PM ESTStymie
February 6, 2012 at 12:19AM EST Reply to CommentI think it's pretty funny and have it set to DVR. Have watched every episode so far twice. Getting tired of every reviewer/critic bringing up "Beavis and Butthead". That pretty much shows a closed mind right off the bat. Mitch Hedberg had a great line for when people said he was like Steven Wright. He used to say he was just doing his own thing and that if he were making potato chips instead of comedy, he could sell them in a bag and no one would say anything but if he put them in a can everyone would instantly say he was trying to be like Pringles.
sabih
February 15, 2012 at 11:11PM EST Reply to CommentI THINK THIS SHOW IS AWESOME. it offers a very calm polite approach to a very relative scenario across america today. unsupervised children growing up and facing the realities of life. the reason i love this show is because it has a very passive, subconscious way of inferring positive approaches to life when dealt all the opportunities and temptations to chase the bad options.
Greg
February 24, 2012 at 10:13PM EST Reply to CommentIm going to go against the grain here. I tried to find an official blog to talk about this show and could not find one, so I guess this one will have to do... I love Justin Long and think he is a great actor. But as someone who grew up with Beavis and Butthead that show was awesome. I have seen every episode of this show and this show SUCKS. It is not funny to me at all. The comedy is lacking and I think it is something that if a 5 year old could understand they "might" think it was funny. I definitely do not think there should be another season. FX should stick to the shows that are funny. The League, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Stay away from this show... it will only bring down the ratings of FX.