Thursday, September 29, 2016

Don't Mess With This Mom: Speechless Review

Ever since Modern Family debuted in 2009, ABC slowly but surely has been creating a lineup of some of the most funny family sitcoms than they have since TGIF. And strangely enough, some of the best of them have been centered around some of the better comic actresses  playing some of the most brilliant mother figures: Patricia Heaton's trying to stay afloat Sue Heck on The Middle, Constance Wu's constantly pushing tiger mom on Fresh off the Boat, and Wendi McLendon-McCovey's nudging 80s mom on The Goldbergs.
To this team of mothers-you-don't-want-to-F-with comes Minnie Driver's Maya Dimeo on the dark but still funny Speechless. She's played some unconventional mothers before on cult series like The Riches and About A Boy, but rarely has she mined such anger for her role in this very unconventional comedy. Maya is a mother with three children, but the one who is the focus of her life is JJ, a budding teenager with cerebral palsy, who can neither speak nor walk, and who is nearly as angry as his mother - but not for the same reason. Only able to communicate by a 'helper' who reads a message board in front of him, JJ wants to explore the world - which is something Maya does not want him to do. In her scorched earth policy, she has moved her family around the country looking for a way to help JJ - usually at the expense of Dylan and Ray, the other teenage children, who are having their own growing pains, and just want to stop moving.
Now, they've arrived in a school that seems perfect, Maya nevertheless devastates the world around her. The spirit of inclusion that she wants for her son doesn't satisfy her, so she starts arguments often just to fight - the poor head of the school (Marin Hinkle, finally back on TV in a role worthy of her) doesn't have a prayer of standing up to her. But right now, her other children are trying to find their own way to break free - Ray wants to find happiness with his first crush, and Dylan wants to find a space for herself in this little box of a suburb.
In the wrong hands, this comedy could be seen as offensive. But its one of the funnier series so far to debut this season. And it seems a lot more grounded in the way it treats a person with a physical disability than any other series with the exception of Breaking Bad.  JJ is very particular about who he wants as his 'voice', mocking one of as a Disney Princess, and bonding with the school janitor, Kenneth, an African-American who bonds with him, considering he may be the only black man in this community. Their scenes together where he treats JJ like a man in a way that his mother has been struggling with is surprising emotional without being mawkish. It's very revealing that part of the series is dealing with how Maya is going to have to let go of her son as he tries to grow up - which she isn't prepared to do.
The numbers for this series have been more encouraging for any ABC comedy since black-ish, which makes a certain amount of sense considering that it is, like that series in dealing with the more personal issues. And considering how good Driver is, it might not be too early to put her in talk for this years Emmys. It's still working the kinks out, but considering that ABC just gave it a full season, there's reason for faith.
My score: 4 stars.


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