CHICK OR TREAT

Super Fun Night

Season 1 (2013)

Even Rebel Wilson has mixed feelings about her show.

The new fall TV shows are already getting cancelled left and right, some after a mere two episodes.  I would suspect that Rebel Wilson’s new sitcom Super Fun Night is on the bubble, as they say.  I like Wilson (who doesn’t, really?) and though the initial premise of the show sounded cute I read a couple of scathing reviews that convinced me not to bother.  But you know me: willing to give anything a try if they put “Halloween” in the episode description.

Things started off badly, with two rapid-fire fat jokes made by Wilson about herself, which is exactly what the aforementioned scathing reviews highlighted about the show (namely its obsession with its star’s weight).  Luckily the fat jokes disappeared post-opening credits and the rest of the episode was rather enjoyable; amusing at times but it never quite came fully alive.

Our heroine, Kimmie, is hoping to catch the eye of her cute boss at her upcoming office Halloween party.  Being British and therefore clueless about the holiday he asks Kimmie for guidance and ends up suggesting they wear a couple’s costume (a chick outfit for her and a magnet for him).  Kimmie’s friends convince her that this qualifies the evening as a date but her hopes are crushed when he ends up hooking up with another (slimmer) co-worker dressed like a slutty robot.  Meanwhile Kimmie’s two nerdy girlfriends attend their even nerdier neighbors’ Halloween party.

 

Beware the Sexy Robot.  They'll get you every time.

It was weird hearing Rebel Wilson speak with an affected American accent—why couldn’t her character just be Australian, especially since the actor who plays her boss is British in the show?  For every slightly awkward or unfunny moment there was a brighter counterpart, however.  Kimmie’s co-worker’s dramatic entrance and dance number in her robot costume was impressive.  And Kimmie’s dorky friends, especially the rough-around-the-edges Marika (played by Lauren Ash) stole every scene they were in.  Marika suggests there is potential in this show if the writers can move away from fat jokes and hone in on clever character-based comedy instead.

The episode’s best moment was the closing credits, which was a black and white music video featuring the entire cast set to “The Monster Mash.”  I have no idea if every episode ends in a song (Wilson is known for her impressive set of pipes) or this was a special Halloween bonus but it made for an utterly charming ending.

On a final casting-related note, Kimmie’s British boss seemed vaguely familiar to me.  A little IMDBing later and I was pleasantly surprised to find out that he played Jim in Muppet Treasure Island!  He of course has done other projects but none of those matter.  Once you’ve appeared alongside the Muppets everything else is just gravy.

Recurring Themes: The girls and their dorky neighbors engage in a Prank War. Plus thanks to this episode and the recently watched Beverly Hills, 90210 we’ve got ourselves a brand new trope: the Movement Impairing Mermaid Costume!

Halloween Quotient: 4

See It, Skip It, Own It?

Worth seeing, if only just for the “Monster Mash” and robot dance numbers.