The Moodys' quirky dynamics between the oddest of family members makes for one of the most refreshing aspects of the Fox reboot
This article contains spoilers for the pilot, and episode 2.
Fox's upcoming reboot of the iconic Australian comedy 'The Moodys' of the same name might be about the cantankerous married couple - Sean Sr. and Ann. But even though the middle-aged duo tries to brave the husband, Sean Sr.'s breast cancer diagnosis and simultaneously reunite with their three grown kids for Christmas, it is the extraordinary absurd family dynamics between the couple and their extended kin that proves to be the most refreshing aspect of television comedy this season.
For most comedies on dysfunctional families, we have the typical mother-daughter drama where the child is constantly frustrated of trying to live up to her mother's impossibly high standards, but not in the Fox reboot. Here, the daughter or the couple's middle child Bridgette, the overachiever's relationship with her mother is as normal as it gets; it is her snappy, sassy verbal exchanges between Bridgette and her grandmom that are to watch out for. Minutes into the pilot as the couple and their extended family gather around the living room in anticipation fo the Christmas dinner, Bridgette and her grandmother are engaged in a whole other conversation. Think subtle, civil, back and forth bickering, where the jabs revolve around growing age, marriage trouble, and classic family banter that you wouldn't expect a senile, lovely grandma to throw at her grandkid.
On one hand, the siblings are tight. There's Bridgette, the middle and only girl child, of course, and then there's the youngest brother, Dan, the creative, and the oldest one - Sean Jr. - the screw-up. Bridgette is an established lawyer who likes to look back on her school years as a popularity fest where other kids were jealous of her and wouldn't wait a second to bring her down. Though her brothers, when things end up badly on account of her telling her husband about cheating on him, don't really let her bask in the glory of her accomplishments. They know when to head her out of the madhouse, or when to give her privacy, but they are also there to provide her with sporadic reality checks to make sure she doesn't get too into her own head. The brothers' compassion and unique affection is mirrored by Bridgette's behavior towards them. they obviously can't lie to her as she is the one to crack that Dan was actually dumped, and Sean Jr. is pretty much never moving out of his parents' home.
Elizabeth Perkins' matriarch as Ann is not entirely the crazy mom losing her shit at Christmas; well, not yet. And while Dennis Leary's patriarch is a hilarious father figure to be around, it is his brother Roger to watch out for. Uncle Roger is the quintessential family racist, sexist, offensive, politically incorrect jack*ss, for the lack of a better term, who thinks he made it big by marrying a woman way out of his league. The fact that she's pregnant with another man's baby doesn't bother him because he is too busy cracking these crass 'jokes' that he believes are the epitome of humor, but just makes him look like the a**hole who either acts clueless about the nature of his jokes on purpose, or is just really, really dumb.
And then, of course, is this very odd cousin of the sibling trio - Marco - who is a pretentious hustler at his finest. Marco loves to drop frequent little humble brags here and there, as he arrives with his very attractive new girlfriend, Cora, with whom Dan immediately clicks. But Marco is successful and Dan can barely make ends meet, and even though this would be one of those cousin rivalry equations, where you just love to hate on that one particular family member, the Moodys are quite welcoming to everyone. Including the middle-aged black guy attending their Christmas party who pretty much looks like the token black friend who makes pie and hides at the mention of the men in blue. In short, 'The Moodys' is a camaraderie of the odd and the misfits but somehow they blend in like crisp edges of puzzle pieces just fitting in snugly to make the broader picture.
'The Moodys' premiered with the first two episodes back to back on Wednesday, December 4, at 9 pm ET, only on Fox.