Sunday, March 1, 2009

To Mr. Perry with Love

The first day I saw House of Payne on TV, my heart just plummeted to the floor. This was clearly going to be quite a craptastic show. It was like a group of friends played ‘Spot the Stereotype’ then just for spits and giggles used the template of the game to make a TV show. There is the never-ending fat joke that is this family. They seem to wallow in their obesity instead of worrying about the laundry list of complications that can rise from their ‘larger than life’ existence. This charming nuclear unit breaks down into the oh-so-usual suspects. The fat loud-mouthed sassy Mom, with just the right balance of obnoxiousness and a lack of sex appeal to make the perfect modern day Mammie. There is the buffoon of a father who at least impresses by having a job and taking care of his responsibilities. But that is about the only good news I can think to offer about this show. The young people are broken down into the usual ‘Pretty Boy’, ‘Slut’, ‘Insert one dimensional character here’ .
Which of course brings me to the question of who is watching this unoriginal poorly executed show. This post came up because I had the misfortune of discovering that there is going to be a new season.. DANG IT. This show pulls enough ratings to be renewed, meanwhile Weeds was cancelled. On the one hand, I would like the people of color who think this stuff is funny to tell me what is so DAMN funny. I like racial/ethnic humor as well as the next person-Ray Ramano, Chris Rock, Seinfeld, Russell Peters- these are funny ways to do the whole ethnic shtick. This show not so much. And to the majorities who think this is funny, Why? I am assuming it is not the trite trafficking in stereotypes that tickles your fancies, so please let me in on it. Is it the fact that this family speaks in shouts and earthy grunts and odd little body spasms and dances? Really this show is like a bootleg, XL version of ‘My Wife and Kids’ without the funny.
Just so everyone is clear, this show gives about as much insight into the Black family as the Blue Collar comedy tour is a reflection of White people in the South. Basically it is all CRAP.
Of course now I have to feel bad because I am panning a Black enterprise, which employs Black actors, and goodness knows some of these people could use the paycheck. But I think we can do better. What was the difference between ‘Love and Basketball’ and ‘Soul Plane’? Both had all Black casts.(Just to help you answer this puzzle, here is a clue -one of the films starred Sanaa Lathan a graduate of Yale University Drama School, the other had Snoop Dogg, a graduate of the School of Marijuana.) Let’s not regress from the Cosbys to House of (Stereotypical) Pain, that is just sad.

No comments:

Post a Comment