'Sunnyside' Episode 1 review: Kal Penn and Kiran Deol's banter is the only sunny side to this dull comedy
Kal Penn is back on TV! If you're a fan of 'Harold & Kumar' or 'Designated Survivor', you might be delighted to see a glimpse of his comical side in the NBC series 'Sunnyside'. But here's a heads up: It is indeed only a glimpse!
Don't get us wrong. Created by Matt Murray, the series has good intentions as it tries to paint a picture of immigrants and their struggle in the American community.
The first episode scuttles its way into the life of Garrett Modi, the youngest New York City Councilman ever who falls down the rabbit hole that comes with the power and glamour of politics after a video of him getting busted for public intoxication goes viral.
In a bid to get his life in line, he crashes at his sister Mallory's (Kiran Deol) place. Outlining the reality to him, she says, "Talking is the only thing you're good at."
Mallory also tells her brother to "get a job" while he flaunts his five-step plan. The first step is to lie low, the second one is to get a job and then he directly skips to the fifth step, which is to get re-elected!
The two do get along, but he still is a burden and excess baggage for her independent life, as is proven time and again on the show.
Garrett soon finds a new job: A group of immigrants hires him as they need his help to get citizenship. He meets Dominican Griselda (Diana-Maria Riva), who has multiple jobs, Brady (Moses Storm) who has lived in America since he was two but the government tags him as Moldovan, Asian siblings Jun Ho (Joel Kim Booster) and Mei Lin (Poppy Liu) who are glued to their phones and Hakim (Samba Schutte), a cardiothoracic surgeon from Ethiopia who has turned into a cab driver.
Originally set out to portray a brand new theme, it simply turns into a plot about culturally stereotyped individuals with no humor or thrill. The brother-sister duo, played by Penn and Deol, are the only ones who add joy with their performance.
Others do little to add a fun dimension to the politically-charged tale. Viewers will just have to wait and watch if the comedy series really has a "sunny side" to it!