Review: Laura Prepon channels Chelsea Handler in 'Are You There, Chelsea?'
Handler plays her own sister as one of several confusing issues in an unfunny sitcom
Laura Prepon and Chelsea Handler in "Are You There, Chelsea?"
Credit: NBC
NBC's new comedy "Are You There, Chelsea?" (Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.) is a riddle wrapped in an enigma drowned in Kahlua. Among the confusing issues:
* The show is based on the early life of comedienne Chelsea Handler, and Handler appears on camera in it - but playing her own older sister, while Laura Prepon from "That '70s Show" plays Handler herself.
* The show was originally called "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea," which is the title of one of Handler's books, and remains as a line of dialogue in the opening scene - a charming vignette about young Chelsea praying to get out of trouble for a DUI - but was changed to "Are You There, Chelsea?," which suggests a show told from the point of view of the vodka.
* About 18 minutes of each episode is packed with the kind of unapologetic, frank and raunchy insult humor Handler has built her career on, yet the last 2 or 3 are devoted to phony, dissonant uplift establishing that Chelsea and her sister really do care about each other, darnit.
One thing that's not confusing: "Are You There, Chelsea?" is terrible.
Forget Handler's weird on-camera presence (she says she's too busy with her day job at E! for a full-time job) and the dumb name (which clearly arose out of someone at NBC being uncomfortable putting "vodka" in the title). This is a sitcom that is crude without being the least bit clever about it, and which doesn't even have the guts to let its main character be as nasty as she clearly wants to be.
The series deals with a twentysomething Chelsea, working as a waitress in a North Jersey sports bar, alongside best friend Olivia (Ali Wong), bartender Rick (Jake McDorman) and little person(*) bar back Todd (Mark Povinelli). In the premiere episode, Chelsea and Olivia move into an apartment with Dee Dee (Lauren Lapkus), a very strange(**), virginal woman who mainly seems excited to have them as roommates because Chelsea's cat will give her an excuse to do her own impression of a cranky kitten. There's also a lot of time spent on Chelsea's relationship with older sister Sloane (Handler) and her father Melvin (Lenny Clarke), the tree off which her own drunken apple fell.
(*) One positive I'll say about the show is that almost none of the humor about Todd has to do with his size. He's not an especially memorable character, but he's also not just an excuse for short jokes.
(**) Okay, another positive: the character of Dee Dee is ridiculous, and not written as someone who would ever want Chelsea and Olivia to live with her, but Lapkus has a nice, weird energy to her performance, and seems like someone I'd be happy to see in a better-written sitcom one or two development cycles from now.
The running joke of the show is that Chelsea keeps promising to change her hard drinking, sexually reckless ways, but changes so tiny that the human eye can't register them. She moves in with Dee Dee not because a virgin might be a good influence on her, but because having an apartment within walking distance of the bar will give her license to keep drinking heavily without having to get into a car.
There are a number of writers involved whose work I've admired in the past. The pilot was co-written by Dottie Dartland Zicklind, one of the creators of "Dharma & Greg," and the second episode was written by Robin Schiff, who wrote "Romy & Michelle's High School Reunion" and the underrated mid-'90s CBS sitcom "Almost Perfect." But the overriding voice feels very much like Handler's, full of blunt, sexually explicit punchlines that don't have any wit behind them, and which don't even have any shock value any more. (In this day and age, anything that can be said on an NBC sitcom isn't all that startling.)
When Rick (predictably set up in a will-they/won't-they dynamic with Chelsea) offers to loan Chelsea a video camera to document the birth of Sloane's baby, Chelsea tells him, "I know we've had our differences, but I am this close to giving you a handie." She's so impressed by the layout and décor of Dee Dee's apartment that she declares, "It's giving me lady wood."
Prepon does what she can with the lead role, but Handler's on-camera presence just undercuts her. Instead of being a cute in-joke, it's a large distraction: any time Prepon is making any headway towards making the character her own, Handler turns to remind you what the real Chelsea looks and sounds like. And it's not like the show is interested in playing the kind of meta-narrative games that would have fun with the idea of Chelsea Handler in a brunette wig looking on disapprovingly as a younger actress acts and talks the way she used to.
And as for the fictionalized Chelsea, she occupies that irritating middle ground where she's not likable enough to be watchable when she's just existing, and yet neutered enough that her bad behavior isn't actually all that funny. As I said, both episodes I've seen climax with Chelsea and Sloane putting their many differences aside to hug it out and affirm their sisterly bond, and it doesn't track the least bit with anything that's come before. Better the writers should have gone the route of pure black comedy where the show feels no more need to apologize for her than Chelsea herself does.
Instead, those hug-it-out moments, like the decision to take vodka out of the title, speak to the schizophrenic, blinkered approach the broadcast networks take to edgy content. Because E! and NBC are now part of the same big Comcast corporate family, NBC wants to put on a show involving one of E!'s biggest stars, but they only want to go so far and no farther with her material. NBC Chelsea can drink a lot, but Heaven forbid the name of her favorite drink be in the title of her show. NBC Chelsea can insult everyone and throw out as many single-entendres as possible, but we have to know at the end of the day that she's really a good egg who loves her sister deep down.
Now, I'm not a big Chelsea Handler fan to begin with, so I don't know that I would enjoy a darker version of "Are You There, Chelsea?" But at least I'd respect it more.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupBen
January 9, 2012 at 10:40AM EST Reply to CommentI think the line about writers whose work you have liked on much better shows should have said "admired" rather than "admitted".
And while I am a fan of Chelsea Handler's other endeavors, the thing that makes her books and E! talk show work is how she can bring a hard-driving, nasty edge to the material that, even in 2012, doesn't fit into a network sitcom framework at all. This show has no chance of success, which is also sad because Laura Prepon is a good actress who deserves a post-70s Show boost. Maybe with her next pilot.
Jobin
January 9, 2012 at 10:51AM EST Reply to CommentAlan,
I think they should start hiring you to punch up some scripts, this had me laughing more than I'm sure this show will.
"NBC's new comedy "Are You There, Chelsea?" (Wednesday at 8:30 p.m.) is a riddle wrapped in an enigma drowned in Kahlua."
Karen
January 9, 2012 at 11:00AM EST Reply to CommentNBC is one sorry network. Just from the promos I had absolutely no interest in tuning in. I trust your opinion to believe it's not worth the time.
ZacharyTF
January 9, 2012 at 11:05AM EST Reply to CommentAm I the only one who read the title in Dr. Cox's voice?
Girl's Name Not anymore.
January 9, 2012 at 4:13PM ESTMike
January 9, 2012 at 11:15AM EST Reply to Comment"Because E! and NBC are now part of the same big Comcast corporate family, NBC wants to put on a show involving one of E!'s biggest stars,"
They're already squandering one of E!'s stars. Why not just help his show? Please...
La THANK YOU.
January 9, 2012 at 12:00PM ESTMike
January 9, 2012 at 11:16AM EST Reply to Comment"Because E! and NBC are now part of the same big Comcast corporate family, NBC wants to put on a show involving one of E!'s biggest stars,"
I'd be happier if they just gave help to the E star they already have.
"Whitney" Sucks
January 9, 2012 at 11:16AM EST Reply to CommentSounds 100 times better than the "critic's darling", "Whitney". And best of luck in your new time slot WC.
Nick
January 9, 2012 at 11:22AM EST Reply to CommentWhile I dislike Chelsea Lately, I've actually grown to really enjoy After Lately. Less jokey and rampant mean-spiritedness done pretty well.
The fact that this, though, has a laugh track was already a strike against it for me but throw in the sappy ending and I'm not sure I should even bother giving it a try. Airing at the same time as Suburgatory and with American Idol starting next week, it had to be great to stay on my radar to begin with.
In any case, 8 and 9 PM on Wednesdays is going to be death for NBC for a long time, which makes it the perfect place to just stick Community and its loyal audience.
Jobin
January 9, 2012 at 11:28AM EST Reply to CommentThis seems more like a cross-promotional exercise than an attempt to actually make a successful TV show.
Why else would they have Chelsea act in the show, she's a bad actress, and there isn't some sort of meta joke going on?
Just seems like they wanted to have a reason to promote the hell out of Chelsea.
Pennywise
January 9, 2012 at 11:34AM EST Reply to CommentUgh. Why does she have to be from North Jersey? As if we don't have enough bad pop culture associations.
Crittab
January 9, 2012 at 11:49AM EST Reply to CommentLet's cut to the chase.... how long before this show is cancelled and Community gets reinstated?
Col Bat Guano
January 9, 2012 at 12:03PM EST Reply to CommentIt was nice of NBC to put Whitney in front as a sort of warning to steer clear of this turd. Sort like those signs warning of mine fields.
"Here be dragons."
M
January 9, 2012 at 12:16PM EST Reply to CommentAre you sure the title change was b/c they didn't want to use the word vodka and not because the original title was just insanely long for a television show?
NJMark
January 9, 2012 at 12:59PM EST Reply to CommentThe title change may well have had something to do with the word vodka, but as it was, it was just too long ... for a show they're going to promote simply as "Chelsea" anyway.
As for the type of "humor" (who calls it a "handie"?), what's the V-index on this one, i.e. how many times did they use the word "vagina" in a single episode?
srpad
January 9, 2012 at 1:32PM EST Reply to CommentDoes it at least get the New Jersey right? I tolerated the otherwise awful movie Beer League because it got the New Jersey right.
mcspinelli
January 9, 2012 at 7:10PM EST Reply to CommentSo you're pretty much saying this is the equivalent of "Whitney" with Laura Prepon playing a drunker version of Whitney. I'll check it out, but expect it to be garbage.
Chrissy
January 9, 2012 at 8:27PM EST Reply to CommentJust out of curiosity, does the show take place currently, or is it set 10 years ago? Do they have clunky cell phones?
Joe Mama
January 9, 2012 at 9:06PM EST Reply to CommentGlad this is going to be a failure. The more new NBC comedies that fail, the more easily Community will be back!
Stan
January 10, 2012 at 9:41AM EST Reply to CommentEvery time I watch Chelsea's talk show I think this is a great concept with a lot of potential. Unfortunately, I think Chelsea and the majority of comedians on her panel discussion (including Whitney) got too famous too famous and now their professional lives are stunted. I don't mind that Chelsea is vulgar, I mind that her delivery is always so clunky, slurred, and sloppy.
Stan sorry. I meant to say, "too famous too fast"
January 10, 2012 at 9:42AM ESTFrank
January 10, 2012 at 12:48PM EST Reply to Comment"which suggests a show told from the point of view of the vodka."
I almost chocked on my cereal when I read that. Funny!
Haik Mendelovich
January 10, 2012 at 3:42PM EST Reply to CommentIf NBC would spend half the money that Chelsea is costing them on promoting Community and P&R, they might end up with another Cheers on their hands, instead of an endless series of Whitneys.
On a related note, I feel sorry for Laura Prepon, who really deserves better material.
Fabian
January 10, 2012 at 6:11PM EST Reply to CommentI love Laura Prepon so I am going to help her out and tune in. It doesn't actually look that bad to me, but then again, I haven't seen the whole thing. You always have to give a show several episodes to figure itself out though.
Craig Ranapia
January 11, 2012 at 7:19PM EST Reply to CommentWow... I seem to be spending a lot of time saying "I'm not a prude but..." but, in 2011 is it really such a shocking idea that women can drink, screw around, talk dirty and generally act appallingly? The $290m global box office for 'Bridesmaids' would suggest not.
Larry But the characters in "Bridesmaids" were likable. Not so in this show.
January 11, 2012 at 11:10PM ESTwatt d fark actually, it's 2012...
January 12, 2012 at 3:59PM ESTI'm ok with raunchy women, but it at least has to be somewhat clever. Just saying "vagina" and farting repeatedly does not cleverness make.
watt d fark
January 12, 2012 at 3:56PM EST Reply to Comment"But the overriding voice feels very much like Handler's, full of blunt, sexually explicit punchlines that don't have any wit behind them, and which don't even have any shock value any more."
Precisely, and I'll add that you could write pretty much the same sentence about 2.5 Men
Andrew
January 12, 2012 at 8:18PM EST Reply to CommentHorrible show!! They have Laura reading from Chelsea's book - Wouldn't been a lil funnier if Chelsea' rough voice would read it - And include her laughs etc how she loses it on E???? NBC hire me I'll work cheap - andrewdrake333@gmail.com
troopermsu
January 13, 2012 at 1:18AM EST Reply to CommentSounds like the perfect show to pair with 'Whitney'.