FIRST FAMILY: NBC’s “1600 Penn,” a sitcom premiering tonight about the president’s family, has already been panned on social media. (
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Don’t believe the hype. Although Tweeters have pre-billed NBC’s new sitcom, “1600 Penn” as “horrifically awful” and “looks like the worst show ever,” they are misinformed.
For one thing, their opinions are based on the promos. And for another, I give you “Work It,” and worse, “The Playboy Club.” I would add “Political Animals” but I won’t because that would mean that the White House was bombed twice in one year.
“1600 Penn” is a sitcom that should have been so much better than it is. For one thing, it was written by Jon Lovett, a former Obama speechwriter, and Mike Royce of “Men of a Certain Age” and “Everybody Loves Raymond.”
Despite his credentials, unless Lovett was writing the jokes for the Correspondents Dinner, presidential speeches aren’t known to be knee-slappers. Unfortunately, neither are most sitcoms.
And that’s where “1600 Penn” comes in. It’s supposed to make both funny.
To that end, we have the very, very typical sitcom family. There’s the clueless Dad (Bill Pullman), who in this case, unfortunately, just happens to the be president of the United States.
Mom, er, step-mom (Jenna Elfman), is equally clueless but extremely thin and chic, if that means anything.
There are also four children including a grown man-child who spent seven years in college before moving back (well, not “back” exactly) to the White House, where his family now resides.
That’s doofus son, Skip, played by Josh Gad from “The Book of Mormon.” (By the way, am I the only person in the world who thinks that “Mormon” is the most overrated Broadway show since “Wicked”?)
Anyway, in the pilot, we see nerdy Skip and nerdy fraternity brothers set the cool-guy frat house on fire by mistake. He’s no John Belushi.
There are three other children in this White House family. There is “perfect” daughter college student, Becca (Martha MacIsaac), preteen daughter, Marigold (Amara Miller), and elementary-school-age son Xander (Benjamin Stockham).
Becca used to be perfect but by episode two, we discover that she had a one-night stand and is now pregnant.
The kids speak in one-liners and from the look and sound of them, they are not only not related, but not even of the same species. One is such an idiot that he sets a frat house and then nearly a prime minister on fire in a single episode, while the 7-year-old son says things like, “I’m sure the military projections are wildly optimistic. Hello? Vietnam?” Hello is right.
That being said, there are some funny moments of the slapstick kind. But why set a sitcom in the White House and avoid political humor?
Political satire à la HBO’s “Veep” can be wickedly funny in the right hands. Or the left.
Problem is in “1600 Penn” they are shooting for “Animal House” in the White House but too often end up with nobody home.