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"2 Broke Girls" Serves Up Female-Friendly Laughs

Allegra Tepper |
September 19, 2011 | 10:59 p.m. PDT

Staff Contributor

"2 Broke Girls" Mondays on CBS (photo by CBS)
"2 Broke Girls" Mondays on CBS (photo by CBS)
If there's one sitcom coming to the air this fall that's soaked in hype, it's CBS’s "2 Broke Girls."  It's the latest from "Sex and the City" producer Michael Patrick King, not to mention the brainchild of one of Hollywood's most promising up-and-comers, Whitney Cummings (who is also producing and starring in NBC's "Whitney").  Couple those factors with an ad campaign that was impossible to miss and the hipster cred afforded by star Kat Dennings and you've got a recipe for a hit.

"2 Broke Girls" serves up a heaping plate of girly laughs with a side of edge.  Dennings plays Max, a sassy Brooklynite with a gritty past working two jobs to make ends meet.  Newcomer Beth Behr plays Caroline, a trust-fund baby whose luck took a turn for the worse and the yin to Max’s yang.  The two work in a greasy spoon diner with a host of other characters.  Actually, make that caricatures.  A grimy and flirtatious Russian cook, a Chinese-transplant boss working on his citizenship and his broken English, and a wise-crackin’ old black cashier round out the cast at the Williamsburg Diner.  (I’m sure it now comes as a big surprise that the writers piled on the racist jokes like Sriracha on a Kogi shrimp taco).  

Dennings’ bite factor has been dialed up, but beyond the added bit of tongue-in-cheek, she’s playing the same role we’ve seen her in time and time again. That’s not to say it isn’t effective—she’s got the sarcastically irresistible thing down pat, and in the show’s pilot, she carries the cast.  Behr is cute in her role, but rather underwhelming.  Granted, the character sits somewhat outside of the Barbie girl trope (Caroline’s a Wharton grad with obvious dollar savvy), but she still has the vibe of a theatre major debuting in a student-directed musical.  

It’s no surprise that the show is catering to the women 18-49 demo, and it’s likely to be a hit in that neighborhood.  The humor is edgy and current. The pilot featured one-liners that ranged from the female-friendly (i.e. dry vaginas and pregnancy tests) to the pop-culture laden bromides like jabs at Schwarzenegger’s late night housekeepers and a Manhattan socialite who names her twins Brad and Angelina.  One more punch line that will no doubt make frequent appearances is Caroline’s back story; she’s the daughter of Martin Channing, a fictionalized version of Bernie Madoff. 

"2 Broke Girls" will be competing for an audience with Fox’s "New Girl," which stars indie idol Zooey Deschanel.  According to New York Magazine’s Anticipation Index, "New Girl" dwarfed the "2 Broke Girls" buzz by a mile.  That, however, can be ascribed to Deschanel’s hyperactive Twitter presence, and I think "2 Broke Girls" will be giving it a run for its money, if not right out of the gate, then definitely by mid-season. 

The pilot has its contrived moments, and skeptical viewers will be agitated at the quick-as-instant-cocoa development of the friendship and subsequent plan to open a hot new cupcake shop between the two leading ladies. 

But it’s got the basics of a multi-cam sitcom that will be a hit with its target. As LA Times’ Mary McNamara put it just perfectly, “meat-and-potatoes remain popular for a reason, and amid the parade of bunnies, angels, stewardesses and princesses tromping across the screen this season, a couple of smart, sassy waitresses from the opposite sides of the tracks are as welcome as a cup of hot coffee in a white diner cup.”  She’s right; 2 Broke Girls serves up a good brew, and a scrumptious slice of apple pie, too. 

Reach reporter Allegra Tepper here
Follow reporter Allegra Tepper on Twitter

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