Actors: Zooey Deschanel, Max Greenfield, Damon Wayans Jr., Jake M. Johnson, Hannah Simone
Summary: Jess Day is a young woman who, after discovering her long-term boyfriend is cheating on her, moves into a loft apartment with three male roommates - prickly bartender Nick, womanizer Schmidt and intense personal trainer Coach. The guys try to help Jess get back on her feet and into the dating world.
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[NOTE: This review may contain spoilers, so please watch the show before reading, or don't.]
In the last the review, I mentioned that I really don't care for sitcoms. Even after writing that review, I still don't have a reason, but after watching New Girl, I can easily explain what I like about certain sitcoms.
It's all about the delivery. If the actors say their lines like they should be winking afterwards, then that is what turns me off. This is why I believe that shows like The Office, Scrubs, and now New Girl, have excited me more that your generic Rules of Engagement-type sitcoms (seriously, I thought that show was going to be the next According to Jim). Each of those shows lead actors (Steve Carell, Zach Braff, and Zooey Deschanel) has the uncanny ability to deliver their line to almost absolute perfection. Sure they will miss from time to time, but I will give an actor a little rope, if they've been good in the past.
Make no mistake about, Deschanel steals this pilot. She is pitch perfect in every scene. It is a really hard job to make the awkward girl a tolerable character. She plays Jess as sweet rather than goofy. Each time that she makes a mistake, it registers as her trying too hard, not being goofy for attention. It's a fine line, but she balances it wonderfully.
Jess' three roommates, Nick, Schmidt and Coach (really?) are still a work in progress. There are flashes of comedic brilliance from Nick (played by Jake M. Johnson), especially when he realizes that Jess just created a theme song for herself. His deliver of line is genius because it's like he's the audience. Also, it appears that he could have the ability to stay with Deschanel if the scenes skew dramatic.
The opposite can be said about Coach (Damon Wayans Jr.) and Schmidt (Max Greenfield). The lines and delivery for both characters is wooden and stale. Schmidt douche-y personality seems more sad than douche-y. While the Coach character suffers from the same problems as Schmidt, I think Wayans Jr. has better chance to grow the character than Greenfield. But neither has been given a good 3D character to work with.
The writing is very good. Jokes are crisp, and it allows Jess' personality to shine, but it fails to deliver as strongly with the other characters. I'll hold judgement on Cece (Hannah Simone) because she was really there to show that Jess had another friend. For a pilot, the writers did their job and showcased the main character but hopefully, they show as much TLC to the others in future episodes.
Rating: 8/10. Strong writing, but a little unbalanced in terms of character development.
Interest: High. Deschanel is perfect for Jess. She can play, sweet, awkward, and hurt without much effort. If you want another point of reference, rent 500 Days of Summer tonight.
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