Amanda Peet has a charming new comedy in 'Bent'
While we鈥檙e the first to admit that BENT may not be the type of genre-busting comedy akin to THE OFFICE or a MODERN FAMILY, NBC鈥檚 latest attempt to work themselves out of the ratings basement does have two very important things going for it. As a down-on-his-luck contractor and a newly divorced single mother, actors David Walton (Pete) and Amanda Peet (Alex) have the kind of crackling romantic chemistry money can鈥檛 buy. Add to that an immensely likeable supporting cast including Alex鈥檚 daughter (Joey King), Pete鈥檚 construction crew (J.B. Smoove, Jesse Plemons and Pasha Lychnikoff) and opinionated father (Jeffrey Tambor) 鈥� and what your left with is a solid foundation from which to build seasons and seasons of laughter off of. Assuming of course NBC handles it with care and decides to move the show away from the time-slot juggernaut that pits this charming little series against MODERN FAMILY, AMERICAN IDOL and CRIMINAL MINDS.
Still not convinced? As a public service to fans of quality scripted programming, theTVaddict.com has taken it upon itself to cull together some more positive thoughts from the country鈥檚 leading television critics. See for yourself, after the jump.
Neil Genzlinger,听The New York Times
Sometimes it鈥檚 best not to think too hard and just embrace the idiocy. If you鈥檙e able to bring that mind-set to BENT, a screwy comedy NBC introduces on Wednesday night, you鈥檒l have a pretty good time.听
Ellen Gray,听Philadelphia Daily News
The premise 鈥� boy meets girl, boy takes forever redoing girl鈥檚 kitchen 鈥� may not sound fresh, but there鈥檚 something cooking in BENT that鈥檚 worth hanging out for.听
Robert Lloyd,听The Los Angeles Times
Formula does not always betoken a lack of imagination; sometimes it just betokens an active embrace of formula. And BENT (a bad title, I think, not sufficiently justified by one character鈥檚 description of himself as 鈥渂ent, not bowed鈥�) builds a nice little shelter in a classic style.听
Matt Roush,听TV Guide Magazine
Watching NBC鈥檚 BENT is like sitcom speed dating, with all six episodes of this midseason tryout airing over three weeks of back-to-back episodes on Wednesdays. The scheduling is odd, but BENT is the sort of funky offbeat comedy that grows on you, so watching more than one episode at a sitting turns out to be a good thing.听听
Maureen Ryan,听Huffington Post
BENT, a goofy romantic comedy about an amusingly irresponsible contractor and his uptight client, is a little stiff in its early outings, but it loosens up over its first half-dozen episodes. As is the case with contractor Pete Riggins (David Walton), BENT grows more shaggily endearing over time, and if you鈥檙e already a fan of the goofy/sharp vibes on display in HAPPY ENDINGS, COUGAR TOWN and SUBURGATORY, this new NBC ensemble comedy should be right up your alley.听
Alan Sepinwall,听HitFix
Creatively, BENT is actually in better shape than most of its characters. It is snappy, and funny enough when it needs to be. It is acutely aware of all the will-they/won鈥檛-they clich茅s and enjoys letting Pete, Alex and Ben be aware of them, too. And it has absolutely terrific chemistry between Walton and Peet, the kind that can鈥檛 be manufactured 鈥� even though I鈥檝e seen many, many unfortunate series try. It鈥檚 not perfect, but it鈥檚 also not particularly bent. (Wrinkled, maybe.)听
Ken Tucker,听Entertainment Weekly
Boo to NBC for essentially burning off six episodes of this charming sitcom (two a week) and putting it up against MODERN FAMILY. MODERN fans might be beguiled by the clever interplay between Amanda Peet as a single mom and the goofy but lovable guy she hires to renovate her home. He鈥檚 played by David Walton with mush-mouthed loucheness (Walton appeared on the underrated PERFECT COUPLES, of which BENT creator Tad Quill is also a graduate). Costarring Jeffrey Tambor as Walton鈥檚 dramatic dad, this eccentric romantic comedy deserves a chance to survive.听
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