Premiere Particulars: Super Fun Night

Did the premiere of Rebel Wilson’s new comedy meet its “super” expectations? Here are the particulars of ABC’s Super Fun Night.

What I liked:

The bizarre silliness and/or awkwardness of Rebel Wilson’s humor. Her signature style is undeniably present.
Pitch Perfect fans rejoice—Wilson sings in the premiere! I won’t lie, I had Barden Bellas flashbacks.
The relationship between Wilson’s character, Kimmie, and her office crush. Kimmie isn’t pathetically following around dreamy Englishman Robert like a lost puppy dog. They have a genuine, fun friendship, and it’s refreshing.
The zany lines. For example, Kimmie is talking to a friend she used to work with on another floor. He says to come back and say hello to everyone—except Terry. Co-worker: “Forget about Terry. She’s dead to us now.” Kimmie: “Why? What did she do?” Co-worker (deadpan): “She died.” I laughed.
One more. Kimmie: “My friends say I have a voice like a one-legged angel—sometimes shaky but magical.” Best. Simile. Ever.

What I didn’t like:

Wilson’s American accent. It’s just…not great. Which makes it distracting. I kept wincing at all the words that were pronounced funny. Frankly, I don’t see why she couldn’t have kept her natural Australian accent. Aussie accents are much more fun anyway!
I feel like I say this for every premiere, so let me type it really big for all the writers who still aren’t paying attention: LET US GET TO KNOW THE CHARACTERS. The script is a whirlwind of funny lines and actions, but at the end of the episode how much do we know about these people? Next to nothing. The show seems to be relying entirely on Wilson’s charming awkwardness to get us attached, which might not work for every viewer.
Sometimes, it feels like the show is trying too hard—so hard that the characters (particularly Kimmie’s two friends) become pretty unbelievable. Of course, comedies allow a certain degree of absurdity, but Super Fun Night could very easily go too far.
The somewhat bland themes. The premiere episode screams “self-love” and “get over your insecurities.” Good messages, sure, but not especially powerful when so many other forms of entertainment have done it bigger, better, and with a more unique spin.

The Potential: Right now, Super Fun Night is less “super fun” and more “kinda meh.” A trio of quirky, bold female geeks should be a beautiful, hilarious thing, yet it’s not quite up to par. Granted, there are some very funny moments in the premiere, and if Wilson has any say, I’m sure there will be many more. But the moments aren’t enough to make me love the characters, the themes, or the show itself. Super Fun Night has taken its first, wobbly baby step into ABC’s 9:30/8:30c time slot, but it will have to amp up the “super” and the “fun” to keep me interested.

My Grade: C+