Why Ashton Kutcher's a smart choice to replace Charlie Sheen on 'Two and a Half Men'
Hugh Grant would have been brilliant, but Kutcher should fit in just fine
Ashton Kutcher is reportedly replacing Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men."
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A very strange thing happened yesterday: as word began to leak that CBS and Warner Bros. had approached Hugh Grant about replacing Charlie Sheen on "Two and a Half Men," a bunch of my fellow TV critics took to Twitter, e-mail, instant messaging and possibly even some ancient social media device called a telephone to expression some variation on the phrase, "Huh. I might actually have to watch that show now."
You could have counted me among those, as it was both such a surprising choice (who expects to see Hugh Grant on an American sitcom?) and yet a perfect one, since Grant plays cads so well (see "About a Boy") but is only occasionally asked to do so.
Alas, things didn't work out with Grant. Tonight, the news broke that the actual man who would be Sheen is Ashton Kutcher, and this time the reaction from many of my bretheren was more along the lines of "Ugh. Now I never need to watch again."
And on that level, I agree with them. Ashton Kutcher is not going to turn me into a regular "Two and a Half Men" viewer all of a sudden going into the ninth season.
But that's missing the point. Though I'm not particularly excited to see Kutcher gaming attractive but dumb women and laughing wryly at Jon Cryer (or some other minor variation on the Charlie Harper character), I actually think he's a great fit for the show - in at least one way, significantly better than Grant.
Like Sheen, Kutcher brings a certain tabloid notoriety to the gig. His celebrity is more a matter of having married a very famous, and much older actress - if there was a period where he was regularly getting in trouble in the press, I've long since forgotten - but I think filling Sheen's shoes is easier when you bring in somebody who's more than just a good comic actor. (Grant, on the other hand, had both the fame and the scandal, but, again, oh well.)
And Kutcher is a good comic actor - specifically, a good sitcom actor. He did, after all, spend 7 seasons as a regular on "That '70s Show," which was not only quite funny in its early days (before it began repeating the same half-dozen jokes over and over), but which made clear quite early that both Kutcher and Topher Grace had the chops to go onto bigger things. The movies haven't entirely worked out for Kutcher (though "No Strings Attached" was a success earlier this year), but he's very comfortable in this format - far more than Grant would be, at least initially - and has proven in the past that he can excel in it.
I can absolutely see him doing most of what Sheen did, and doing it well. In some ways, bringing in a younger guy still at the peak of his handsomeness makes a Charlie Harper-type character (which we all assume he'd be playing) make even more sense while still being funny. Kutcher can be a d-bag who's irresistible to women and feels superior to Alan. Easy.
Will Kutcher's presence reinvent the show? No. But that's not the point. From CBS' perspective, "Men" needs no reinvention. It was the biggest comedy hit on television and a license to print money before Sheen had his final meltdown. They need Kutcher to come in and hang onto that audience that enjoyed the show for what it was, even if many people found it skeevy, or misogynist, or lazily crude, or whatever. If he happens to bring in some of his Twitter followers - particularly on the younger end of the demopgrahic - swell, but if a Kutcher-fronted "Men" can come close to the ratings the show was pulling with Sheen, it's a huge victory for all involved on the network and studio levels.
I would have definitely sampled a Hugh Grant version of "Men" for a while, but this is not a show that was ever meant to please the critics first (or at all). "Men" with Kutcher likely won't be a drastic change from "Men" with Sheen, and that's exactly what CBS needs.
Alan Sepinwall may be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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May 12, 2011 at 11:56PM EST Reply to CommentI think it's a good fit. But shouldn't he be in Cougar Town instead? =P
May 13, 2011 at 12:23AM ESTbob We refer to it as Wine Time now.
May 13, 2011 at 12:36AM EST
May 14, 2011 at 4:39PM EST
May 13, 2011 at 12:04AM EST Reply to CommentWhat a depressingly accurate assessment...
And I was so looking forward to Hugh Grant showing the world why Jon Cryer winning Emmys was a bad thing.
Jessamyn I'm actually very glad that Grant won't be stuck on a show I find formulaic and unwatchable (House, you waster of Hugh Laurie, I'm looking at YOU!), but now that you mention it, I would love to see a smart comedy series with something like Grant's About a Boy character - or even better, his Music and Lyrics character. That would be fantastic!
May 13, 2011 at 8:50AM ESTTony
May 13, 2011 at 12:07AM EST Reply to CommentPlus he has an amazing body.
Zach L
May 13, 2011 at 12:07AM EST Reply to CommentInteresting choice. I'll check out the first few eps, but I'm hoping we don't get a Fez cameo until Kutchers second season. Do we know how long his deal is for, and Alan out of curiosity, what actor could CBS have gotten to make u watch the show?
May 13, 2011 at 12:08AM EST Reply to CommentHe will get one chance from me. I'll watch the season opener and if it doesn't work for me, then TaaHM is over. Period.
May 13, 2011 at 12:21AM EST Reply to Commentwon't he essentially be Kelso the adult years?
mike
May 13, 2011 at 12:48AM EST Reply to CommentThis is the perfect choice because when they were rumored names like Rob Lowe and Hugh Grant I was slightly conflicted because ultimately I want the show to crash and burn to witness the ensuing war. But Lowe and Grant are great actors and I would have actually had to watch and hope for success as to not tarnish either of those actors. Luckily Ashton Kutcher was the ultimate choice and I can sit back with some popcorn and wait for the train wreck.
mike
May 13, 2011 at 12:59AM EST Reply to CommentNever really cared for Kutcher's movies but after having too much time on my hands and watching all of That 70s Show on Netflix I thought he was good on TV. Then I thought he would be a good fit for Carrell's replacement on The Office if he wanted to come back to TV. So, I don't know, never really watched 2 and a half men and probably won't tune in anyway. Wish he would have moved showed up at our favorite Scranton Paper Company instead.
Liz
May 13, 2011 at 1:23AM EST Reply to CommentI was really pulling for Jerry O Connell. I think he'd be perfect.
Mark
May 13, 2011 at 1:30AM EST Reply to CommentJust when I thought this show couldn't get any worse, they go and do something like this, proving me completely wrong. Well played, Two and a Half Men, well played.
Dan
May 13, 2011 at 1:38AM EST Reply to CommentDon't you think you are being totally disingenuous when you say with Grant you and other critics would have watched the show and Kutcher makes it unnecessary to ever watch again. I am sure you and every other TV critic in the world will be watching Two and a Half Men to evaluate Kutcher. It will be the biggest story on TV this fall and required watching for anyone who writes about TV. Are you honestly going to never watch the show with Kutcher and not write about this subject in the fall?
Stewart Please read beyond that paragraph to the rest of the article. Jeez.
May 13, 2011 at 2:02AM ESTTracey What, you expect people to read more than 140 characters? OMG, you must be old!
May 14, 2011 at 8:34AM ESTSwearin
May 13, 2011 at 2:14AM EST Reply to CommentCBS is living in a fantasy world if they think the ratings wont go down with Kutcher on the show. People watched the show for Charlie Sheen; they watched to see a celebrity narcissist they've watched for decades, with drug and women problems play a fictionalized version of himself. If Kutcher plays the same kind of character, people will just say "Oh, he's trying to be Charlie Sheen" and if he just plays a version of himself they'll say "Oh, it's just Ashton being his same smug, self-glorifying self and I don't like his real life persona anyway".
And I hope nobody thinks this will bring in hordes of younger viewers, most of them don't watch Two and a Half Men...or CBS for that matter.
Viginti
May 13, 2011 at 2:40AM EST Reply to CommentJust in case you had started running out of disparaging names for CBS's chauvinistic, one-note, lowest common denominator 'comedy' Two and a Half Men, another option was added with today's news; Cockroach, it is a show that just won't die. Its head has been removed (and arguably its body too) and yet it will still return next season, probably to even higher ratings than ever. The rumours were that either Rob Lowe or Hugh Grant would take the role, but in the end CBS apparently decided not to go down that conventional road of hiring an actor for the lead part, instead choosing Ashton Kutcher to fill Sheen's spot as 1 and 1/2 of the titular men (I'm not sure Cryer counts).
Will he winning? Please don't tune in to find out; If the show is still a success without Sheen then next year's up-fronts will be filled with spin-offs and copy-cat's and Hawaii 2-five isn't a title I ever want to hear mentioned in serious tones.
May 13, 2011 at 8:45AM EST Reply to CommentI love Hugh Grant - it would be great to see him in a GOOD sitcom. Always hated 2 1/2 men so I can continue to NOT watch it with Kutchner.
M
May 13, 2011 at 8:52AM EST Reply to CommentIf they were gonna hire someone who's been married to Demi Moore they should have gone with Bruce Willis. Now THAT I would have watched. But I can't stand Kutcher and I know a lot of people who feel the same way.
joshmassey Or Emilio Estevez... (Ok, I don't think they were married, but they were together for awhile.)
May 13, 2011 at 1:17PM ESTRyan
May 13, 2011 at 9:02AM EST Reply to CommentThis isn't really relevant to Two and a Half Men, but Sepinwall's comment about Grace and Kutcher showing the chops on That 70s Show made me realize something. Who could have ever imagined that Mila Kunis would be the biggest star and most acclaimed actress from that show? She always struck me as a weak link. A beautiful weak link, but still. And now a few years later she was given serious Oscar consideration and has become kind of an A-Lister right now.
sepinwall I was just thinking that this morning, Ryan. It's not that she was bad on That 70s Show - Jackie could be a funny character - but nothing about Kunis screamed "future star" the way Kutcher and Grace seemed to.
May 13, 2011 at 10:11AM ESTBut that happens sometimes. Nobody watching "St. Elsewhere" in the 80s, for instance, would have imagined Denzel Washington becoming what he's become.
KansasDan I mentioned the exact same thing to my family last night during a rerun of That 70's Show. And isn't Kunis extremely intelligent, unlike her character of Jackie? And where is Laura Prepon nowdays? She made a big mistake going blonde IMO.
May 13, 2011 at 10:21AM ESTAs for Two and a half Men, does anyone know how they plan to explain Charlie's absence and Kutcher's arrival?
RWGibson13 IIRC, Prepon is due to play Chelsea Handler in her new sitcom, if it gets picked up.
May 13, 2011 at 10:53AM ESTRWG (I might give that one a look)
Josh Goldman In the same way that I never really thought Michelle Williams during the early days of "Dawson's Creek" would become the break-out star from that show.
May 13, 2011 at 3:49PM ESTSarah Yeah, I never particularly liked her as Jackie. Her delivery always seemed so flat and shouty.
May 14, 2011 at 2:00PM ESTBut, she definitely has improved. While I never would have guessed she'd get to where she is now, I've enjoyed her in her recent stuff far more than I ever did on "That '70's Show."
May 13, 2011 at 9:07AM EST Reply to CommentAgree completely with you Alan....I am not a fan of the show but would have been compelled to check it out with Hugh Grant on board.
With Ashton Kutcher signed on, I feel no such curiosity. The show remains on my Must Skip List.
Still, will be interesting to see if the show survives all this.
May 13, 2011 at 9:33AM EST Reply to CommentThis may take some balls but I want to see 2.5 Men take a different path and actually deviate from formulaic characters a bit considering there's no way the "new" 2.5 Men can duplicate the Charlie Sheen-era version of 2.5 Men.
Kelli Oliver George
May 13, 2011 at 10:12AM EST Reply to CommentYes, I agree with you, Alan. That said, my husband and I did (somewhat) enjoy the show, not for Charlie Sheen (cringe) but rather for the likes of Evelyn, Judith, Herb, Rose and oh my heaven, Sweet, Lovely, Acid-Tongued Berta. For Berta alone, I am glad they can keep the show alive. Charlie Harper stopped being funny by season 2 or maybe 3, but the hilarious characters around him kept the show funny.
Haik Mendelovich
May 13, 2011 at 4:15PM EST Reply to Comment2.5 Men is such an unfunny show, no actor could save it.
Another year, a different actor mouthing horrendous sex jokes, again and again.
That a show like Better Off Ted is gone while this offal lives on... well, we apparently haven't learned anything since the 70s and Three's Company.
hipo
May 13, 2011 at 9:42PM EST Reply to CommentWine Time. Perfect.
Harry
May 13, 2011 at 10:24PM EST Reply to CommentLot of interesting comments, but why does Ashton's Charlie have to replace Sheen's Charlie Harper persona? Yes, Sheen was Harper and Harper was Sheen, but weren't there so many episodes when Harper was in a relationship (not drunk or sleeping around or hiring prostitutes all day) and the show still worked (for the watchers)?. I do not think it is too hard to change the focus of the show just a tad to suit the writers, creators or even the public personas of the actors.
Tracey
May 14, 2011 at 8:57AM EST Reply to CommentI confess, I'm a fan of the show. I think there has to be a 12-step program for this. I like the Odd Couple vibe, and Sheen and Cryer really worked for me as two people who were brothers with very different personalities, with a dysfunctional relationship with their mother. For me, the show was fundamentally about the family relationships -- between the brothers, between the brothers and their mother, between the boy and his father and uncle, between Cryer's character and her ex-wife. And most of that disappears when you take away one of the brothers and replace him with a guy who is almost 15 years younger. If he were any younger, they could change the title to One And Two Half Men.
I'm scratching my head at how they're going to explain this change. It's Charlie's apartment. Alan and his son live there because Charlie lets them. So how does this new guy wind up there in place of the guy who owns the place? That's why I was thinking the wacky plastic surgery angle (that it's still Charlie, but he got plastic surgery to avoid a crazy woman or a woman's crazy husband)
Anyway: they've lost me as a fan, because I despise Ashton Kutcher.
michael
May 14, 2011 at 10:58PM EST Reply to CommentTrying to replace charlie sheen is about the most stupid idea that loser chuck lorre has ever coughed up. what a stupid idiot! He should concentrate on big bang theory which is a great show and forget how his ego screwed up two and a half men. and why hasn't mike and molly been cancelled yet?