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ABC's 'Fresh Off the Boat' debut not so fresh

(Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox Television)
(Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox Television)

(Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox Television) (Photo courtesy 20th Century Fox Television)

Joining the ranks of ABC’s recent string of family comedies like “Black-ish” and “The Goldbergs” is “Fresh Off the Boat,” a series loosely based on restaurateur Eddie Huang’s life and memoir. It follows the struggles of a Taiwanese family moving from Chinatown in Washington, D.C., to the whitewashed suburbs of Orlando, where they open a steakhouse that blatantly rips off Golden Corral.

Beaming audiences back to 1995, Fresh is narrated by an older version of main character Eddie Huang. Being an 11-year-old Asian-American boy obsessed with hip-hop legends like Nas is hard enough for Eddie (played by Hudson Yang), but his rebellious passions are further jailed by an overbearing mother.

Judging the likes of everyone around her is Eddie’s mother Jessica, performed by Constance Wu. She clings to her children’s grades and reprimands employees at the restaurant for doling out too many extra napkins. While definitely written to fit a few tired stereotypes, Jessica could end up being Fresh’s tough-girl kick in the rear the show needs to surpass ABC’s other race-comedy sitcoms.

Randall Park plays Eddie’s father Louis, a happy-go-lucky business man keeping his failing restaurant just barely above water. While Jessica crushes her subordinates with an iron fist, Louis kills with kindness and encourages an upbeat environment. The personalities of he and Jessica almost agonizingly clash, but the tension between the two could culminate into some hilarious situations if written properly.

The characters so far are written to the tune of many sitcoms before it. The narration style mimics that of Everybody Hates Chris — an older Eddie guides the show along, reminiscing the events of his childhood with both angst and nostalgia. Louis kneels to his wife’s thunder, stepping right into the standard “dad is a fool” trope, while Jessica commands the household like Debra from “Everybody Love’s Raymond.”

Much of the comedy itself is so tightly written and homogenized that the first two episodes almost crack under its own safety. Fresh never feels edgy or sharp in its social commentary even though comedy is at its best when it takes risks.

That’s not to say the show lacks any comedic value, though. Eddie’s oppression under a mother who institutes a self-made after school curriculum because she thinks his school isn’t hard enough, is endearing. Watching the out of place Huang family’s culture shocks can rally a laugh or two as well. But as a whole, Fresh never seems to find its voice during the premiere — which is a shame, because an Asian-American-centric sitcom is a rarity.

Perhaps it’s unfair to judge an entire show based on the first two episodes — many series don’t find a sweet spot immediately — but for now, Fresh doesn’t impress. Focusing the show around Eddie could prove polarizing. Some might call his affinity for hip-hop a poser act, others will find it foreshadowing of who his real life counterpart becomes. Regardless, there’s no middle ground with him, and the same rings true for the entire cast.

Everyone will either make you brandish your teeth in smiling approval or grate them in response to wince-worthy writing and performances. Stereotyping is a cheap laugh and Fresh, for now, is taking the beaten path far too often. If Jessica and Louis’s opposites-attract relationship can hustle more of the limelight and stray farther away from stereotypes, ABC could have a sleeper-hit on its hands.

There's potential here, but only time will tell if Fresh can manage to get off the boat.

“Fresh Off the Boat” airs Tuesdays on ABC at 8:00 p.m. starting Feb. 10.

 

Tell the reporter about your "Fresh Off the Boat" opinions at nlatona@asu.edu or follow @Bigtonemeaty on Twitter.

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