Two and a Half Men - The Complete
First Season starring Charlie Sheen,
Jon Cryer, Angus T. Jones
Two And A Half Men- The Complete First Season
Hedonistic bachelor Charlie (Charlie Sheen) is a jingles writer who, he
blithely states, makes a lot of money for doing very little work, sleeps with
beautiful women who dont ask about his feelings, drives a Jag and lives at
the beach, and sometimes, in the middle of the day, for no reason at all,
likes to make himself a big pitcher of margaritas and take a nap out on the
sundeck. His brother, Alan (Jon Cryer), evicted from his house by his
soon-to-be-ex-wife, is rigid, inflexible, uptight, obsessive and anal-
retentive. Charlie and Alan are twisted Jungian archetypes, according to
series co-creator Chuck Lorre in one of this sets bonus features. If by
twisted Jungian archetypes, he means Oscar and Felix from The Odd
Couple, then yes, Charlie and Alan are twisted Jungian archetypes, and
this inaugural season finds rich comic tension in their period of adjustment.
Charlie is a Man Behaving Badly, whose idyllic life is upended when fuddy -
duddy Alan moves in, accompanied by his impressionable 10-year-old son,
Jake (Angus T. Jones), with whom he shares custody with his iceberg-
cold, sexually confused (a comic conceit thankfully abandoned by seasons
end) estranged wife, Judith (Marin Hinkle). Alan is a single father who is
appalled by his amoral brothers lifestyle and by the influence Charlie might
have on Jake (Uncle Charlie, I understand the point spread, but Im still
confused about the vig). And then theres Berta (effortless scene-stealer
Conchata Ferrell), Charlies formidable, tart-tongued housekeeper who is
initially driven out the door by Alans fussiness (The peanut butter stains on
Jakes shirts really require an enzyme presoak). Two and a Half Men is a
guy show that sets feminism back a good three decades. Women are
portrayed as either bimbonic objects of lust (Transformers Megan Fox
guest stars as Bertas teenage granddaughter), vengeful and retaliative
(Heather Locklear as Alans divorce lawyer), crazy hot (Jenna Elfman as an
unstable single mother on the run), or emasculating (Holland Taylor as
Charlie and Alans mother, or, as Charlie refers to her, Mom, the Impaler).
The charming Melanie Lynskeys is a particularly thankless role, that of
Rose, Charlies insightful and disturbing stalker, who becomes Jakes
babysitter. While Charlies bad-boy act could quickly get old in lesser
hands, Sheen, in the past not the most natural of comic actors, is in his
element. Charlies genuine affection for Jake goes a long way toward
redeeming his character (and lack of it). Two and a Half Men, a Peoples
Choice Award-winner its first season, really adds up with a crudely funny
sense of humor that is all kinds of wrong, but also smart and, at times,
even sweet. --Donald Liebenson
Imagine a modern day version of The Odd Couple, with a kid added, and
youve got a pretty good idea of what Two and a Half Men is all about. This
program is frequently panned by television critics in Australia, and I cant,
for the life of me, figure out why, since this is one of the funniest shows I
have seen in years. The scripts are great and never fail to make me laugh
(although, be warned, given that the main character is a chronic
womanizer, many of the jokes are a bit off-colour), but what really makes
this show stand out it its cast. Its not just the two leads, Charlie Sheen and
Jon Cryer, who make this show (although both fit perfectly into their
respective roles, and often, just seeing the look on Sheens face, is enough
to get me chuckling), but also Holland Taylor (one of the funniest, and
most underrated, actresses of all time) as Sheen and Cryers self-absorbed
and domineering mother, who steals every scene she is in, and Melanie
Lynskey as Rose, Sheens slightly-psychotic ex-girlfriend, who also
happens to be one of the most surreal characters on prime-time television.
If you havent already seen an episode of this excellent series, I strongly
recommend that you give it a try.
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