It's no secret that I'm a huge fan of the ABC show Trophy Wife (Tues 9:30/8:30c). And your impression of it might be the same as my first impression of it; another made-for-men sitcom about a middle aged man and his tits for brains new wife and their maladjusted life together.
SPOILER ALERT: THIS IS NOT WHAT THIS SHOW IS. AT ALL.
It's actually a predominantly female-driven vehicle of a show without an air of sexism. I know, it's called Trophy Wife. I know. I hear you. Now shut up.
Good job.
Now jump past the semi-ironic and therefore fully misleading title and I will tell you why you should love this show.
Synopsis, so you're not lost on what I'm about to tell you.
Trophy Wife centers around the Harrison family. Simple as it seems, that means many things. Peter is the patriarch of the family. Twice divorced. His first wife is Diane and they have two children - Hillary and Warren. His second wife is Jackie and they have an adopted son Bert. And his current wife is Kate - the "Trophy Wife". The show itself centers around the family adjusting to life with each other in some very interesting and hilarious ways.
The writing.
The writing on this show is spectacularly funny. With every episode comes more dialogue I want put on a t-shirt. I don't think there has been a show with so many one-liners in quite some time. I truly would love to meet these writers and pick their brains because they write such smart, funny and sweet material that it seems impossible.
The characters.
This part is two-fold. Another credit to the writers for writing such brilliant characters; all so different and yet they remain a family - much like life, I suppose. (DEEP.) To write so many quirks for so many characters is so impressive. These characters came from the script seemingly fully-formed and perfect.
The second portion of this credit goes to the fantastic actors, obviously.
Bradley Whitford. (Peter, the husband, the ex-husband, the father, the butt of "old man" jokes.)
Whitford is perfect at the semi-cynical, caught in the middle husband/ex husband balancing two ex-wives, three kids and a current wife. Nothing about his character panders to the concept of the middle aged man marrying a woman half his age. It's mentioned in jest and harshly critiqued by other characters (*cough*Diane*cough*), but it's not the focus of the show, which is great. Because frankly, I'm tired of those shows and those characters and would benefit from a break from the sexist "older guy bagged a hot young thing" mold this show has broken. Whitford brings the intention that Peter is a genuinely good guy who's just trying to balance out his family life and stay sane in the meantime.
Malin Akerman. (Kate, the "trophy wife", the third wife, the stepmom.)
I'll be real honest with you; prior to this show I wasn't SUPER familiar with Akerman. That's not really saying a lot because I really don't know Justin Bieber from that kid I just yelled at to get off my lawn, but I digress. Malin Akerman brings such a sweet element to Kate. I may be 28, but I was a child of divorce and I, too, had a stepmom (who, ironically, was also from Sweden) and I hated her - and she hated me - so I'm always quick to have a distaste for the stepmother character in really anything. (DEEP.) And to see the warmth and love Malin brings to the character of Kate is really wonderful. Kate just wants a family and to connect with her stepkids and to be civil, if not friends, with Peter's ex-wives. She's adjusting to the end of the single, party, binge-drinking phase of your life and embracing a comfortable home life. It's a really sweet, well-intentioned character and Akerman really drives the show beautifully.
Marcia Gay Harden. (Diane, the "first wife", the mother, the headstrong overachiever.)
I think by now we all know I have a soft spot for Marcia Gay Harden. I have for fifteen years. For more on that, go here. While I'm slightly biased because Harden was the reason Trophy Wife caught my eye and made me curious enough to go back and watch the episodes I'd missed, much like Akerman, Marcia Gay Harden also drives the show. Her knack for comedy is phenomenal. The hard-ass, but also bad-ass mom of two, Diane, is the mom every kid deserves. She pushes a little too hard for perfection sometimes and won't bat an eye at spying on her children, but she loves her kids more than she loves success. And as always, Harden brings a unique beauty and emotional sensitivity to a character that another actress might portray as stiff and cold.
Michaela Watkins. (Jackie, the "second wife", Bert's momma, the loveable goofball.)
As a child of comedy, I of course knew Michaela Watkins from Saturday Night Live. Anyone who passes the Lorne Michaels test of an SNL audition HAS to be funny. I always liked Watkins on SNL, but I fell in love with her on Trophy Wife. Jackie is a character that I don't think any other actress could do such justice. Quirky and a little strange, she is an organic-obsessed, somewhat flighty, always hilarious, sweet and loving mother. She's usually the one that brings the mishap to the table, but her intentions are always good. I can't say enough good things about how wonderful of a character Michaela Watkins has made Jackie. I'm actually at a loss for synonyms. Every single English teacher I've ever had would roll over in their graves... because I like to assume they're dead, apparently. But trust me when I tell you, Michaela Watkins is perfect as Jackie. Perfect.
Natalie Morales. (Meg, Kate's best friend, the troublemaker.)
Meg is everybody's last friend to settle down. Meg drinks too much, parties too often and is the bearer of all the fun trouble when she comes around Kate. She's the friend that just doesn't have it together yet. Meg is most women my age. Meg is me, if I'm being honest. She doesn't get the joy of married life or being around children all the time or anything Kate has recently taken into her life. Natalie Morales does a really great job of playing the disinterested-in-family-life friend of Kate. Stuck in party mode, but attempting to understand the life her friend is making for herself, Morales plays Meg with an almost wonderful child sense about her. Feeling traded in for a husband and family is not something people in their late 20s are unaccustomed to and I think it's a really hilarious, but really honest portrayal of that feeling and being that friend.
Bailee Madison. (Hillary, the daughter, the perfectionist, the Kate hater.)
I was not previously familiar with Bailee Madison's credits, as expansive as they are. However, I'm always impressed with child actors who are so naturally good at what they do. Bailee brings the character of Hillary to life in a really great way. She's a very atypical actress in that you don't see her acting. You see her being. (DEEP.) Her vast emotional range is very subtle and understated and that makes it fantastically real. The relationship between Diane and Hillary is a beautiful mother-daughter relationship (especially in this week's episode - "The Tooth Fairy"). Hillary has a knack for perfectionism and success and a distaste for Kate - just like her mother - but like Harden, there is no coldness or stiffness to the character. A great character played by a truly great young actress that should stand the test of time.
Ryan Lee. (Warren, the son, the optimist, the naivest of the naive.)
Few young actors can make me laugh as hard as Ryan Lee has this year. His portrayal of Warren, a very sweet, but slightly misguided kid who gets excited when his parents call is nothing short of hilarious. Ryan brings a truly charming naivete to the character of Warren and somehow manages to do it without being too broad. Again, another super sincere performance from a very, very promising young actor with a lot of big credits under his belt already. Thoroughly impressed with the kid-casting on this show.
Albert Tsai. (Bert, the other son, the adorablest of the adorable.)
There is no way to properly describe Albert Tsai without words you wouldn't also use to describe a puppy. Adorable, sweet, funny, adorable, adorable, adorable! This nine year old is the funniest kid on tv right now. His delivery is always so perfect and so uniquely hilarious. And you can tell the writers have fun coming up with stuff for this kid to say. (see: the episode where he randomly starts using various Yiddish words). Bert is Jackie's adopted son and the relationship they share is something really sweet and special that you don't see a lot of in sitcoms. They're like best friends and sometimes they switch parent/child roles. Did I mention this kid is freakin' adorable?
I know I promote this show constantly, but to be honest, there hasn't been such a great show in a lot of years. Right now this show is on the fence of getting a second season. It needs it because it's truly, truly deserving. A smart, funny show about family with a cast that has palpable chemistry is very rare.
If you already like Trophy Wife, write to ABC here, select programming feedback and tell them that it needs a second season. It takes two seconds and feedback is always helpful. Also, livetweeting with the cast on Tuesday nights (9:30/8:30c) using the Trophy Wife hashtag is also helpful.
And they're all there:
@WhitfordBradley
@MalinAkerman
@Beloving2
@MichaelaWat
@NatalieMorales
@BaileeMadison
@RyanLee
@AlbertTsaiActor
Plus the show's twitter (@TrophyWifeABC), the writers (@TWWritersRoom) and the fans (@TrophyWifeFans, @TrophyWifeQuote).
Word of many mouths is needed for this show. PUH-LEASE help it out! If nothing else, so I'll shut up.
If you haven't watched Trophy Wife yet, you can watch it here if you have Hulu Plus or here if you don't.
If nothing else, go here or here and watch the Christmas episode. If that doesn't sell you, I don't know what will.
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