Mom Review: Anna Faris' New Comedy Fails to Put the Fun in Dysfunctional

We're reviewing all of the five network's newbies, and we've got gathered up everything you need to know about Mom

By Leanne Aguilera Sep 23, 2013 10:48 PMTags
Mom, Anna FarisMonty Brinton/CBS

Another mother is coming to CBS!

Tonight TV fans will have the opportunity to tune into the series premiere of the new fall series, Mom. Created by TV powerhouse Chuck Lorre, the CBS comedy stars Anna Faris as Christy, a newly sober single mom who is trying pull her life together and mend her relationships with her rambunctious kids and crazy off-the-wall mother, played by Allison Janney.

To help you decide which of the many new series debuting this fall are worth your time, we're reviewing all of the five network's newbies, and we've got gathered up everything you need to know about Mom.

Mom (CBS)
Premieres:
 Monday, Sept. 16, 9 p.m.
Time-Slot Competition:
 Dancing With the Stars (ABC), Sleepy Hollow (FOX) Beauty and the Beast (The CW), The Voice (NBC)
Cast: Anna Faris
, Allison Janney, French Stewart, Nate Coddry, Matt Jones, Sadie Calvano
Status:
 We've seen the pilot episode

Mom vs. Mom: Unlike the other dysfunctional parent sitcom that premiered last week, (We're talking about you, Dads!) Mom at least gave us with a chuckle or two due to the always-amazing Janney and her ability to make us fall in love with her after just one sentence.

Janney plays Bonnie, Christy's estranged mother and a flirtatious former drug addict/alcoholic who is now two years sober—well if you don't count Xanax, of course. Despite being a terrible role model for Christy, Bonnie's blunt personally and her inability to fully register sarcasm makes every scene with her completely enjoyable. Unfortunately, she was only in two scenes.

Faris' Christy, on the other hand, was a little too whiny for us to fully embrace her wacky ways. She's endearing and charming, but overall she's not as likeable as we would hope, which is a bummer because we've always adored Faris!

When the show first begins we're forced to watch Christy ball her eyes out in the middle of her shift as a waitress, because she misconstrued a compliment as an insult. Gasp! He said you were a good waitress? How dare he! At one point, Christie actually screams out, "Oh come on! Like me!" And that pretty much sums up the series premiere in one sentence.

Rocky Relationships: Despite Janney's scenes, the show also failed to make us care about Christy's endless list of rocky relationships with the other people in her life. By the end of the episode we learn that Christy's possibly pregnant daughter Violet (Calvano) passionately hates her, and her son's deadbeat father would rather spend all his money on pot instead of paying child's support.

Oh, and did we mention the fact that Christy is sleeping with a spineless married man who is also her boss? Lorre tells us that we'll be seeing Christy struggle to mend all of these demons throughout the first season. "She's trying to heal the relationships in her life and move on with her life in a healthy way, but maybe she's not so good at it," he said.

A Familiar Face: Lorre fans will appreciate one bright spot of the premiere when a Two and a Half Men star stops by. Although we're not going to tell you who or when, it was fun to see these two CBS worlds collide. Plus, it gave us hope that this could be a regular occurrence amongst his array of quirky comedies!

Unfortunately, Lorre exclusively told us that this is going to be the only cross-show cameo for a while. "We don't have any other plans at the moment, but it could happen," he revealed. Aww, snap!

Basically, if you're a fan of Lorre's other comedies (Two and a Half Men, Mike and Molly, etc.) then you should definitely turn it on if you're in the mood for the same type of laugh-track-infused humor. The only thing that is keeping us intrigued is knowing that Justin Long and Octavia Spencer are both coming on as guest stars in a few weeks.

Verdict: DVR it. Watching Mom is like eating a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It's sweet and enjoyable, but it'll leave you craving something a little bit more exciting. 

Our Review in GIF Form:

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Watch, DVR, Pass: Mom

Mom?
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50.1%
DVR
19.4%
Pass
30.5%