A
Amaris
Guest
*POTENTIAL SPOILERS*
You have been forewarned.
Is anyone else watching Partners on FX? If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's a show about two lawyers who team up to start their own practice.
Marcus Jackson (Martin Lawrence) is a community activist and lawyer who is in the middle of a divorce that is affecting him terribly. He's kind, honest, and gentle, in how he approaches his casework.
Allen Braddock (Kelsey Grammer) is a high profile lawyer who skirts the rules, and does whatever is necessary to win. He's been divorced before, and is currently married to a younger wife, and has a spoiled rotten daughter.
It all starts when Braddock (Grammer) is fired from his father's firm for constantly breaking the rules. He is then ordered to appear in court where the judge, who knows him and doesn't like his tactics, assigns him a pile of pro bono cases to teach him a lesson about his ethics. Meanwhile, Jackson (Lawrence) is going through a tough divorce, and he's so fed up with it and guilty about it that he's letting his wife have 70% of all of his assets, and half of his business. Braddock overhears the Judge talking to Jackson about this, and so he offers to take on the proceedings if Jackson works the pro bono cases for him. After some prodding, he agrees.
From there, hijinks ensue.
There have been about 6 episodes so far, and I've watched 4 of them. To be honest, the show isn't as good as I hoped it would be. It's not Grammer, who's damned good at nearly everything he does. It's not even Lawrence, who seems like he's sedated, and not really all together. I'm not sure if it's his medications, or if he just isn't really interested in the role, but he seems really lethargic. I'm also not a fan of the supporting cast. They all act like they're starring in a Nickelodeon TV series, where they over-exaggerate everything to an absurd degree. Even longtime actress Telma Hopkins (Bosom Buddies, Family Matters) seems out of place as Marcus Jackson's wise cracking mother, who lives in his house with him and his daughter Laura (Daniele Watts).
The office staff at the partnership is even worse. There's Tomboy Quirky Girl Veronica (Edi Patterson), and Obviously Gay Guy Michael (Rory O'Malley), who are hyperbole incarnate. To top it all off, there is a laugh track. Now, laugh tracks can be used effectively, but this one is just awful. It's overbearing, it interferes with the flow of the story, and it's horribly fake sounding.
I am an admirer of both Grammer, and Lawrence, and this show just feels like it's not even reaching for anything but the lowest branch on the tree. The stories aren't interesting, the humor is forced, the plots are turgid, and the supporting cast is just bad. Part of me wants the show to get canceled so Kelsey Grammer can be picked up to star in something good. I don't mean to be so down on the show, but it isn't at all what I was hoping. I was hoping something akin to Boston Legal, or even Frasier. What I've got so far is more like "Two and a Half Men" Meets "Victorious."
Is anyone else watching this? If so, what do you think so far? Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe I'm missing something. What do you think?
You have been forewarned.
Is anyone else watching Partners on FX? If you don't know what I'm talking about, it's a show about two lawyers who team up to start their own practice.
Marcus Jackson (Martin Lawrence) is a community activist and lawyer who is in the middle of a divorce that is affecting him terribly. He's kind, honest, and gentle, in how he approaches his casework.
Allen Braddock (Kelsey Grammer) is a high profile lawyer who skirts the rules, and does whatever is necessary to win. He's been divorced before, and is currently married to a younger wife, and has a spoiled rotten daughter.
It all starts when Braddock (Grammer) is fired from his father's firm for constantly breaking the rules. He is then ordered to appear in court where the judge, who knows him and doesn't like his tactics, assigns him a pile of pro bono cases to teach him a lesson about his ethics. Meanwhile, Jackson (Lawrence) is going through a tough divorce, and he's so fed up with it and guilty about it that he's letting his wife have 70% of all of his assets, and half of his business. Braddock overhears the Judge talking to Jackson about this, and so he offers to take on the proceedings if Jackson works the pro bono cases for him. After some prodding, he agrees.
From there, hijinks ensue.
There have been about 6 episodes so far, and I've watched 4 of them. To be honest, the show isn't as good as I hoped it would be. It's not Grammer, who's damned good at nearly everything he does. It's not even Lawrence, who seems like he's sedated, and not really all together. I'm not sure if it's his medications, or if he just isn't really interested in the role, but he seems really lethargic. I'm also not a fan of the supporting cast. They all act like they're starring in a Nickelodeon TV series, where they over-exaggerate everything to an absurd degree. Even longtime actress Telma Hopkins (Bosom Buddies, Family Matters) seems out of place as Marcus Jackson's wise cracking mother, who lives in his house with him and his daughter Laura (Daniele Watts).
The office staff at the partnership is even worse. There's Tomboy Quirky Girl Veronica (Edi Patterson), and Obviously Gay Guy Michael (Rory O'Malley), who are hyperbole incarnate. To top it all off, there is a laugh track. Now, laugh tracks can be used effectively, but this one is just awful. It's overbearing, it interferes with the flow of the story, and it's horribly fake sounding.
I am an admirer of both Grammer, and Lawrence, and this show just feels like it's not even reaching for anything but the lowest branch on the tree. The stories aren't interesting, the humor is forced, the plots are turgid, and the supporting cast is just bad. Part of me wants the show to get canceled so Kelsey Grammer can be picked up to star in something good. I don't mean to be so down on the show, but it isn't at all what I was hoping. I was hoping something akin to Boston Legal, or even Frasier. What I've got so far is more like "Two and a Half Men" Meets "Victorious."
Is anyone else watching this? If so, what do you think so far? Maybe I'm wrong, and maybe I'm missing something. What do you think?
