The Cool Kids has an excellent cast. That’s about it. The show suffers from slow pacing, mean unlikeable characters, unfunny jokes, and the actors playing fictionalized versions of themselves. It also doesn’t help that the pilot episode’s plot is thin.
During The Cool Kids’ first episode, we meet Margaret (Vicki Lawrence), Charlie (Martin Mull), Hank (David Alan Grier), and Sid (Leslie Jordan). The latter three are mourning the death of their friend Gerry, and want to find a replacement for his seat at the table. They want to throw a party in Gerry’s memory, but the retirement community where they live won’t let them.
Margaret wants to join the gang. However, Hank doesn’t want her to take Gerry’s seat. He tries boot her from the table by having the very gay Sid hit on her, but that falls apart when Margaret forces him to describe “man-woman stuff.” Hank follows this up with auctioning off the seat, which a man with an oxygen tank purchases for 11 dollars. Margaret decides the only way to get the man to move is to shut off his oxygen supply. It’s petty, mean, and stupid. Those words also describe most of the group’s antics.
Whenever a particularly mean-spirited act takes place, this group of 70-year-olds relishes the reactions it gets. They’re worse than middle school bullies. Margaret, Charlie, Hank, and Sid deserve each other.
We don’t deserve them and their actor’s deserve a better show.
After a while, the premiere becomes tedious to watch. Fortunately, there are enough extras where you can play a game of “which ’70s show was this person dug up from.” Jamie Farr (MASH) even makes an appearance. Sadly, finding out Jamie Farr is alive and well was the highlight of The Cool Kids.
This show may be the first casualty of the 2018-2019 television season. If it lasts 13 episodes, it will be surprising.
Rating: 2 out of 10
You’re way off base but I respect your opinion. This had me laughing out loud FINALLY. Tired of same old junk season after season and besides, you say that the scene where Margaret is shutting off the guys oxygen supply was “petty, mean and stupid”? Honestly, that was one point of hilarity. Buddy this is a TV SHOW. NOT REAL LIFE. Mayhaps you need to get one and lighten up a bit. Good golly…. Peace…………
What’s pretty funny though is the crappy “drama”? A Million Little Things – OMG – what a horrible premise, story, acting and overall a piece of garbage. Suicide, mental issues, drugs, unfulfilled adults acting stupid and every other sad thing you definitely do NOT want to watch. Yeah, put in an 11 hour work day, get home, supper, shower, feed everyone, settle down for THIS? Ugh and double ugh. I will take any kind of laughter over this under-achievable bunch of, dare I say, actors?
By the by, the next episode of Cool Kids with Margaret turning 65 did nothing for me. So, lets call it a draw.
Peace………..
Cool Kids needs to stick around. Not all of us enjoy reality shows or the ‘got any talent’ garbage. The baby boomers need to be satisfied because we seem to be the forgotten generation…but we are a large audience and it would be nice to be able to enjoy some true comedy and no one could do it better than this cast. Decades of laughs. It’s a keeper!!