Oct 26 2009
Cougar Town Check-Up
A lot of the early buzz surrounding Cougar Town seemed solely based on the show’s polarizing name. For me, however, all I cared about was that this was the new show from Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence. What I think might surprise a lot of people that were turned off by the “cougar” aspect of Cougar Town is how sweet and heartfelt this show actually is.
Courteney Cox plays Jules, a recently divorced woman who missed out on living it up in her 20′s because she got pregnant and married a deadbeat and spent the last 16 years working to support both of them. She’s a painfully nice character that has a history of sacrificing her own happiness in favor of pleasing those around her. At the urging of her young colleague Laurie (Busy Philipps) and best friend Ellie (Christa Miller), Jules sets out to catch up on all those years she missed and yes, so far she has been dating the younger men.
Jules is not what most people visualize when they think of the term “cougar.” The predatory aspect is not there at all. In fact, five episodes in, she’s only dated two guys, one in the pilot and then another for the last four. The sweetness of the show really comes from this character learning how to have a little fun in her life.
Cougar Town still has some kinks to work out, namely Cox’s tendency to play entirely too big for the single-camera format of the show. I really like her, but she seems to be yelling a lot of her lines and gesturing as if she’s playing to a live studio audience that isn’t there. It’s understandable, after ten years on a show that required that, but she really needs to dial it back.
Right now, I’m enjoying what Cougar Town is dishing out. It’s good, frothy fun and always leaves me satisfied.
