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TV Show Reviews
"The
Goodwin Games" review by
Sundi
Airs Mondays 8:30/7:30 (ET/PT) on FOX
Summer television is upon us, so I am happy to see my DVR
fill up with a little lighter fare. I started my summer
watching schedule with Fox’s
The Goodwin Games, airing on Monday nights. This show
is a half-hour comedy focusing on the three children of an
eccentric father that recently passed away. The father is
pitting them against each other for his millions in an
elaborate game that is part
Jumanji, part
National Treasure. The winning sibling will collect
the twenty-three million dollar inheritance and the other
two won’t get a cent. The father, Benjamin Goodwin, played
by Beau Bridges, was an admittedly lousy father and his
scheme is meant to bring the children together. Chloe,
played by Becki Newton, is an aspiring actress with wasted
potential, Scott Foley, plays Henry, the high-wired arrogant
overachiever that I think we are supposed to like, and Jimmy
is played by TJ Miller as a dim-witted petty criminal with a
precocious daughter and loveable charm. So far, so good, and
while it is really hard to judge a show’s mettle from the
pilot, I liked it well enough to watch a few more episodes;
mostly in hopes that it will find its stride.
The premise is unique enough to keep me interested, but the
relationships seems a little forced. It is hard to see the
father as the antagonist as the children flashback to
moments that are supposed to demonstrate his worst traits,
but just seem to make him seem endearing. Also, the dynamic
between the siblings swings between animosity and nostalgia.
The humor persists, and the jokes are reliably funny, but it
is unsettling when they turn from one emotional extreme to
another. It is my humble opinion that they need to stay at
each others’ throats to sustain the humor, and that
potential is going to keep me around for a few more
episodes.
I am willing to overlook the clichés, such as Chloe as
former, and repentant mean girl to the father’s lawyer, the
idiot-brother bit Jimmy is saddled with and the neurotic big
city doctor with a soft emotional core. If the writers can
find a way to keep the balance between snark and
sentimentality, then The
Goodwin Games will find its niche. After all, the
characters are likeable enough and it has its funny moments.
Abstract and absurd humor is a way to this lady’s heart
every time.
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