{alltv} 'Mike & Molly' displays a healthy appetite for humor

Sunday, September 19, 2010

{alltv} 'Mike & Molly' displays a healthy appetite for humor

You can be excused for expecting big things from Mike & Molly.

This CBS sitcom, after all, comes from Chuck Lorre, the producer behind TV's two most popular comedies, Two and a Half Menand The Big Bang Theory— the latest in a remarkable unbroken string of successes that includes Grace Under Fire, Cybilland Dharma & Greg. Not since Norman Lear has one man been responsible for so many sitcom hits.

Don't be surprised if this sweetly amusing show about the romance between an overweight cop and a plus-sized schoolteacher adds to the string.

Produced with Men writer Mark Roberts, this love-fits-all rom-com may be the first series ever to have its "meet-cute" set at an Overeaters Anonymous meeting. That's where Molly (Melissa McCarthy, as effortlessly adorable here as she was on Gilmore Girls) first sees Mike (stand-up comic Billy Gardell, who ably shoulders the brunt of the weight jokes), and instantly falls for him.

Mike falls, too, but it takes him a while to ask Molly out, much to the chagrin of his supportive if often cutting partner Carl, played with amusing ease by Reno Wilson. Molly has a support system as well, her sister (Katy Mixon) and her mother (the wonderful Swoosie Kurtz), but for tonight, they remain underdeveloped.

As with most pilots, Mike lays out its themes in broad strokes — and while many of the weight jokes are very funny, there are a few too many of them. Still, what matters most for the show's future health is that it does not define Mike and Molly as "fat." They're nice, normal, relatable people who eat too much and want to eat less.

Is their show as good as Big Bang? No, but neither was Big Bang in its early days. Lorre has a gift for tweaking what works and dumping what doesn't, which is why you can also expect Mike to get better as the season progresses.

Just wait.

Mike & Molly
* * * (out of four)
CBS, Monday, 9:30 ET/PT