Starring: Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy, Chris Elliott, Jennifer Robertson, Emily Hampshire, Sarah Levy, Dustin Milligan
As we view the mansion and vast surrounding acreage in the opening moments of Schitt's Creek, we see the Rose family, led by video store chain mogul Johnny Rose (Levy), living a life of filthy wealth and excess. Then, the FBI crashes through the door seizing most of their property and belongings, thanks to the Rose's business manager's shady dealings. Now nearly broke, the Roses' only saving grace is a small backwater town which Johnny once bought for his son as a gag gift.
The town: Schitt's Creek (get it?). Seems the feds can't seize the town, so the Roses move there to lick their wounds and figure out their next move.
The Rose family consists of Johnny's wife Moira (O'Hara), who behaves as if she is channeling Katharine Hepburn, Alexis (Murphy), who behaves as if she is channeling Paris Hilton or a Beverly Hills housewife, and David (Dan Levy), an overly stylized pansexual whose facial expression looks constantly like someone who just smelled a dirty diaper. Owning the town does not invoke any special privileges for the Roses, as they are forced to live in a dumpy room in the town's lone motel and run up a tab at the local diner. The Roses, dressed to the nines, stand out like a sore thumb and are resented at first by the town's locals, including the town mayor Roland N. Schitt (Elliott) (get it?)
Thankfully, the show manages to outgrow its juvenile title and its fish out of water setup to allow us to care about the Roses. They grow as people, and in many ways shake loose from their initial personas to embrace their new town and their new lives. Alexis and David have to, gasp, get jobs, while Johnny (always dressed in a suit) works at trying to latch on to a business opportunity which will return the family to its former glory. Moira, meanwhile, dressed as if she is ready to walk the red carpet at any second, is simply trying to muddle through without collapsing under the weight of grief at the disappearance of her formerly privileged life. Pills and alcohol tend to take the edge off for Moira.
The material is livened up by the performances. I think the constructed town of Seahaven in The Truman Show is likely bigger than Schitt's Creek, and there are only so many laughs one can squeeze out of the limited locales. Levy and O'Hara have excellent comic chemistry, which is to be expected and appreciated. Annie Murphy's smile can light up a room, and Dan Levy undergoes subtle changes which his character fights every step of the way. Chris Elliott, as the uncouth Roland, is a skilled comic foil who can leave the Roses aghast with his improper jokes and behavior. I also admired Robertson, as Roland's folksy wife Jocelyn (who seems to barely be holding it together), and Hampshire as Stevie, the motel clerk who deadpans her way through everything.
Having watched five seasons of Schitt's Creek, with a sixth coming to Netflix in the fall, I will say it has heart and subtle humor. However, it is a show which probably should've ended a season or two prior. The natural ending occurred at the end of Season 3, in which Johnny and Moira are at dinner celebrating their anniversary with two friends they knew in their past. Roland and Jocelyn soon join everyone unexpectedly. The Roses' old friends bash Schitt's Creek, and soon Johnny defends his new home and his friendship with Roland and Jocelyn. It is a sweet moment, and we know the Roses have fully embraced their new home and it has embraced them. Would've been a perfect ending.
No comments:
Post a Comment