Friction plays well on 'Family'
"Happy Family" would be just another mediocre family sitcom, doomed to eternal confusion with the bland likes of "Still Standing," or "The In-Laws," or "My Wife and Kids," or -- wait, where was I? It would be the Next Not-So-Big Thing.
Except that "Happy Family" has a promising streak of domestic gonzo, as it goes forth into the sort of situations only nervously joked about on other shows. Most notably, by the end of tonight's premiere, at 8:30 on WHDH-TV (Channel 7), 20-year-old Tim (Tyler Francavilla) is shacking up with the older divorcee next door. Stricken by "The Graduate"-like confusions, he's gone and pulled an Ashton Kutcher with his parents' best friend.
"Happy Family" also has a cast that could help to distinguish it. You either like John Larroquette and Christine Baranski or you don't, but if you do, they're here in fine form as harried middle-aged parents hoping for a peaceful empty nest. Baranski's droll comic stylings are especially sharp, and she works her lines as if they had big quotes around them. Newcomer Francavilla, who looks like a full-size Frankie Muniz, invests his grown-up child with a sweet appeal. As Sara, the terminally single daughter having a mock affair with her parrot, Melanie Deanne Moore manages to make pathos into snappy fun. The writers should think about giving her more than just Single White Female jokes.
And finally in its favor, "Happy Family" is free of schmaltz. The show's idea, of course, is that the Brennan family is anything but happy. Along with Tim's May-December affair and Sara's lack of affairs, Mom and Dad have to contend with the infidelities of favorite son Todd (Jeff Davis). But while other family sitcoms will pause all the unhappiness in order to pluck the heartstrings before the last commercials, this show never asks us to "Awww" over warm moments when all's forgiven. The Brennans are on a bumpy ride, and that could save them from crashing.
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. Globe on NECN
Here's what's happening on "Around the Globe" today on NECN:
12:30 p.m.: "Globe at Home" -- Deputy national editor Kevin Galvin and Louise Mutterperl, of Borders books, suggest a selection of titles with political charge. 4 p.m.: "Around the Globe" 6:30 p.m.: "New England Business Day" 8 p.m.: "NewsNight" Schedule is subject to change.
