Stay, Eat, Make Yourself At Home - Hot In Cleveland

[Family Ties Forever!]

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Stay. Eat. Make Yourself at Home. Maybe Find a Man.
ALESSANDRA STANLEY
Published: June 15, 2010

In an episode from the first season of “30 Rock,” Tina Fey’s schlumpy character, Liz Lemon, is delighted to discover that in Cleveland, she passes for a model. “You’re so skinny,” a complete stranger tells her. “You really should eat something.”

And that aperçu — that a size 10 is a size 2 in the Midwest — is the operating conceit of “Hot in Cleveland,” a sitcom on TV Land about three Los Angeles women of a certain age who start new lives in Cleveland. They are not there for the waters. “I feel young and hot,” one says as they are ogled by men in a Cleveland bar. “Like they’re undressing me with their eyes — and not finding Spanx.”

This is the first original scripted comedy on TV Land, a network that was founded on reruns. So not surprisingly, “Hot in Cleveland” is a pastiche of classics — a little bit “Cheers” and “Frasier,” a little bit “The Golden Girls.”

The humor is familiar, and so is the cast: Betty White (“The Golden Girls”) is Elka, an astringent housekeeper; Valerie Bertinelli (“One Day at a Time”) plays Melanie, a writer depressed by divorce; Jane Leeves (“Frasier”) is Joy, a beautician and unmarried; and Wendie Malick (“Just Shoot Me”) is Victoria, an oft-divorced former soap opera star.

The three friends are on their way to Paris when their plane makes an emergency landing in Cleveland. As they enter a bar, men look up, buy them drinks and pull out their chairs. “We appear to have landed in a dimension where men hit on women their own age,” Joy says. “We owe it to science to investigate.”

There is nothing particularly original about the series — “The Drew Carey Show” was set in Cleveland, and even the depiction of Cleveland as a Xanadu for single women comes secondhand — but novelty isn’t everything. There is also pleasure in this kind of female humor, even if it comes in well-worn jokes about sex, weight and aging. All four actresses are comfortable in their roles and in one another’s company.

The heroines of “Hot in Cleveland” follow the model of “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” whereby career women are single. Melanie, who eased the pain of a bad marriage by writing a self-help book, follows her own advice and cashes in her frequent flier miles to go on a trip with her two best friends. Victoria’s daytime soap opera was recently canceled. Joy, who specializes in shaping the eyebrows of Hollywood stars, spots a photograph of Oprah Winfrey in the newspaper wearing someone else’s arch, and she realizes her most famous client is being plucked by another. “Oh well,” she sighs. “At least I don’t have to pretend to like Maya Angelou anymore.”

One fun night in Cleveland persuades Melanie to stay there and start her life over — a staycation version of “Under the Tuscan Sun.” Her two friends decide that they too may be better off in a town where, as one puts it, “everyone is eating and no one is ashamed.”

There is nothing shameful about “Hot in Cleveland.” It’s actually kind of fun.

[Brian Damage]

I thought it was just ok, but then again this was just the pilot and usually pilots aren't the strongest of a series. I think the actresses star power really saved this pilot for me.

[FOLrocks1]

It was okay. The writing was not that great, but thankfully Betty White was there to make it watchable. I could do without Wendy and Valerie - Jane was alright (I like her as an actress, but this part is irritating). The characters are very shallow so far and it's mostly just a bunch of reused one-liners. The "studio audience" sounded very much like a laugh track and it was very loud I thought.

They are replaying the pilot now and already a bunch of stuff is being cut out. Why already?

I think the actresses are good, but they haven't been given very good roles. So far no one is very like-able, they bitch too much. I suppose that might tone down as they get used to their "new environment."

Also, the plot is a little outlandish, but after 60 years of sitcoms, I imagine it's pretty difficult to come up with something original while still being believable.

So overall I'd say: More Betty, fewer whiny, annoying women. I'll watch again next week. And hopefully I'll catch the original airing or I'll be screwed out of 5 minutes of footage

[Family Ties Forever!]

I agree. The pilot was ok. Perhaps the next episode will be better.

I'm so used to Jane Leeves' Daphne accent that her real accent sounds strange, lol. I think I prefer the Daphne accent.

I was surprised that the repeat of the pilot was edited so much. Why?

[comedyfreak]

I set my DVR to record all the shows since I have to go to work. I know I'll like this show just for the cast, the writing can always improve so I'm not worried.

[70s show watcher]

i missed it but from what im reading here it sounds like a show that i could proably take or leave

[AB]

I enjoyed the pilot.