From the moment the cameras started rolling on the pilot, CBS’ Two and a Half Men has mined Charlie Sheen‘s bad boy past and struck comedy gold. If it doesn’t go down in television history as one of the greatest sitcoms ever, it has to remembered as one of the boldest.
I honestly don’t know how they got away with some of the one-liners they’ve fired at censors, but obviously even the show’s most hardened critics have seen the charm the Men display when they’re at their best.
It may be time to stop swinging the pick axes at this comedy goldmine, though. the December 13 episode, “Chocolate Diddlers or My Puppy’s Dead” (I know, but I swear it relates to the episode), failed to ignite the laughs the show has become almost legendary for.
Not only did they start out with Jenny McCarthy in lingerie, the ep featured Courtney Thorne-Smith and Jane Lynch, who has risen to comedy fame with Fox’s Glee. I thought for sure the audience was going to go nuts when Lynch returned as Charlie’s psychiatrist, but there wasn’t even canned laughter.
So let me get this straight, I'm on Glee and your audience still isn't excited. Your problems go pretty deep, Charlie!
While they didn’t have the entire regular cast (Where’s Rose when you really need her?) there were plenty of talented guest stars to draw from and knock one out of the park. Instead, we were treated to yet another week of a drunken Charlie Harper stumbling about, moaning about being alone. Granted, some of the show’s biggest laughs have come from this subject, but Sheen looks like he isn’t acting anymore.
I honestly expected him to take a page from As Good as it Gets pull a Jack Nicholson while in the shrink’s office and scream, “Please help me stop being this way!”
But he didn’t, and the show actually suffered for it. The contrast between Charlie and Alan’s personalities – the ultimate bachelor and the devoted family man without the family – was a strong premise that people identified with, in the beginning. Now, not only are people are too preoccupied with Sheen’s public meltdowns to see anything else when they watch Two and a Half Men, the writers appear to be distracted by it too.
Sheen’s new contract guarantees him one more season. Problem is, there’s no guarantee it’ll be a funny one.
WHEN EVEN CHARLIE SHEEN LOOKS BORED WHILE IN BED WITH JENNY McCARTHY, YOU KNOW SOMETHING’S WRONG.
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