'Duncanville' Season 1 Episode 3 Review: The show hits its stride with failed parent-children connections
Spoiler alert for Season 1 Episode 3 'Undacuva Mutha'
One of the more mundane but still nigh insurmountable challenges of being parents is the ability to relate to and connect with their kids - especially once they become teenagers.
In 'Undacuva Mutha,' both Annie (Amy Poehler) and Jack (Ty Burrell) try to do just that. Their success is arguable but enough disastrous shots in the dark lead to a hit here and a hit there. At the very least, they have made quite a few memorable moments. The series appears to have hit its stride with its wholesome but random humour — while being unoriginal in style — still manages to be highly entertaining.
Annie is attempting to make detective but she has a long way to go. When she discovers Duncan (Amy Poehler) has been swindled by shoe salesmen, she drags him along for an undercover case to bust an illegal shoe ring wide open. This leaves Kimberly (Riki Lindhome) and Jing (Joy Osmanski) in the care of Jack, who is desperate to let them know what a cool dad he is.
Despite what your local bookstore will claim, there's no real manual on good parenting. Despite roughly 15-17 years (or however old Duncan is) of parenting, Annie and Jack are obviously still making it up as they go along, and they know it. They keep trying, however, leading to a pretty vulnerable moment for Annie when Duncan asks her a difficult question during stakeout. Instead of shutting him down, Annie attempts to give Duncan as honest an answer, which is a lovely thing to see on television.
For a show that seems so grounded in a lot of ways, moments of absurd cartoonism are heightened silliness to great effect. The poor worker bees, the sniggering police dog, the divorce of absolute coincidence are all hilarious random moments in an already fast-paced suburban comedy. It's a delightful episode in a series that promises to be more of the same.
The next episode of 'Duncanville' airs March 8, on FOX.
