Mikes Film Talk

“Crowded,” which pretty much left this reviewer cold, has taken a different path, inviting some impressive comedic guest stars to pump things up a bit. Betty White, along with the delightful Jane Leeves  appeared in last week’s “The Fixer” and this week Carol Kane showed up as “fake Linda.”

Overall both episodes had much to offer in the laughter department and the regular cast have managed to calm down in terms of delivery. The first few episodes of the Hulu comedy felt very hit and miss with the actors all trying too hard to get those laughs.

Now, however, all the players have settled into a comedic rhythm that feels more natural and therefore funnier.  There is a tendency to “play to the cheap seats” by some of the cast, but the overplaying and too loud delivery has been toned down.

Patrick Warburton, Carrie Preston,Stacy Keach, Miranda Cosgrove, Mia Serafino and Carlease Burke have all hit their stride and the episodes are funnier, tighter and better overall.  

In “The Fixer,” Mike (Warburton) and Martina (Preston) are attending couple counseling after having Betty White and Jane Leeves enter their lives. White plays Leeves’ mum and the squabbling mother and daughter are making each other miserable.  Sandy (White) picks on everything about Gwen (Leeves) even her English accent.

Sandy looks after a sick Mike and Stella (Serafino) does a makeover on Gwen in return for allowing the young actress to learn her accent. The episode was funny, gave the legendary Betty White plenty of room to shine and finished on an interesting note.

Shea (Cosgrove) gets a boyfriend, a funny “nerd” romance that plays out brilliantly against the “couple counseling” that mom and dad are undergoing.

Mike decides to call his mother, whom he has not seen in years after Sandy looked after him throughout the show. The phone call at the end of the episode lead to the next installment where all the women decide to track down the ex-wife of Bob (Keach) and Mike’s mom.

The episode, “Given to Fly” has Mike and his dad Bob taking over the “Guy in the Sky” traffic news when Guy passes out. The two become a sensation with their bickering and Bob’s “cranky old man” is a crowd pleaser.

The women do a “Nancy Drew”  and find “Linda” (Carol Kane) who is a hoarder and “cat lady.” Stella  gives her grandma a makeover and later they learn that she is an imposter.

Along with the cream of comic performers guest-starring on the show, everything is looking better and the pacing is improved.  There are five episodes left in season one.  Whether Mike’s mother shows up or not, if the series continues to improve on its delivery, Hulu may just bring “Crowded” back for another go.

“Crowded” airs Sundays on Hulu. Stop by for a bit of catch up and then see how the rest of the season plays out.