Mikes Film Talk

The Ranch on Netflix has an eclectic cast, Sam Elliott, Debra Winger, Elisha Cuthbert,  Danny Masterson and Ashton Kutcher.  It is a strange mix of That ’70’s Show, where Kelso and Hyde are grown up and a sort of mild All in the Family. Sam Elliott’s grumpy old man is not Archie Bunker but he does share the trait of everything being black and white, and not in a racial way.

In truth it would be hard to be racist, like old Bunker, as there is not one person of colour in the redneck comedic offering of a one stop-light town in Colorado.  In some ways the series has much in common with a Hulu sitcom; Crowded. Not in the level of comedy it presents but it features a “child” moving back home. (Thus far, despite the odd mix of players, The Ranch is funnier than Crowded, just putting that out there.)

Kutcher plays the 34 year-old semi-pro football player Colt Bennett who is still chasing his dream of the big league offer.  Colt comes home to tryout for a new semi-pro team in Denver.  Fireworks ensue when his strict father Beau (Elliott)  starts the pressure.  Colt’s brother Rooster (Masterson) enjoys the stress and fighting although he has his own issues with Colt.

Watching the entire season in one sitting, more or less, shows that the “uneven” comedy runs throughout.  The problem, apart from that annoying laugh-track, is down to casting.  Sam Elliott is a brilliant actor, associated with westerns and war films, et al. The actor plays roles that scream gravitas, somewhat akin to Morgan Freeman, and while he is funny as the Bennett patriarch it is his image that seems to throw many watching the show.

Perhaps the biggest problem with the comedy is the there are two different styles at work here. Kutcher and Masterson are practicing what could be called the ’70s style of delivery, mixed with a certain amount of counter-acting seriousness. Elliott and Debra Winger play their roles straight, which would work better if all the actors were on the same page.

Another cast member who plays it straight is Elisha Cuthbert, who plays Colt’s old flame, and she  falls into the same camp as Elliott and Winger.  This division of styles, and that damned laugh track cripples the show, although not irreparably. There are still funny, laugh out loud moments and these do stand out.

If one watches  the entire season two things become apparent. One is that after a short time Elliot’s performance becomes funnier as he relaxes a bit with his delivery and reactions to the other actors. (Elliot reacts perfectly, is has to be said, but again his straight style jars with Kutcher’s and Masterson’s broad delivery.)   The second is that the laugh track never stops being intrusive. It is too much.

It is interesting that to note that the show is recorded on a set.  Could not a real audience have been drafted in?  This need for taped “yuks” and the canned sounds of wild amusement do does not fit the scenario here.

There are other issues with the show in terms of ethnic mix.  This must be the most “white bread” series on television. Presumably in cattle country, Colorado, no one other than white caucasian people frequent the bar that Winger’s character owns.  Of course this is “country” aimed comedy (think the Grand Ole Opry here but with profanity and before Charlie Pride) where the demographic is a lot of “good ole boys and girls” who drink to excess and yet do not smoke, apart from marijuana…

Overall it is exciting to see Elliott and Winger on the small screen together and despite the problems of the series, it is a compelling show to watch.  There are funny moments, poignant ones and it also has Elisha Cuthbert.

The jokes tend to be wide ranging, from  Colt’s wearing Ugg boots to the fact that the football player cannot spell massage.  It does really feel like both Rooster and Colt are just variations on the old Kelso and Hyde characters but with a country flavor and that too is part of the problem.

The Ranch is on Netflix streaming all 10 episodes at once. It is worth a look, even if that intrusive laugh track does take the comedic edge off.