Most college students find it hard to believe that 40 is the new 20. It seems impossible that someone roughly our mothers' age could toss back shots, flirt with bouncers and bring younger guys home for the night.
In ABC's new comedy "Cougar Town," watching a woman almost twice the average Tufts student's age suffer from a hangover and get walked in on by her teenage son makes it seem like middle-aged women can party (almost) as hard as twenty-somethings.
"Cougar Town," one of four new comedies that the network debuted on Wednesday night, features veteran actress Courtney Cox as Jules, a new divorcee who constantly embarrasses her teenage son as she tried to relive her twenties and jump back into the (much younger) dating scene. The show's creators, Kevin Biegel and Bill Lawrence of` "Scrubs," try to take on some cultural double standards while tossing in a few corny one-liners, but the show fails to rise above the guilty pleasure category. Jules is an over-the-top caricature whose behavior is downright outlandish, yet funny enough to keep viewers watching. The show premiered to higher-than-expected ratings and a respectably large audience, but it is unclear whether viewers were simply tuning in briefly to gawk at the sheer ridiculousness of Jules' character, or if there is enough substance in "Cougar Town" to keep them coming back for more. The show kicked off its pilot episode with Cox jiggling her nonexistent body fat and calling herself a farm animal. This gave even women in their 20s reason enough to have a cow over her ludicrous complaints about elbow flub and imaginary belly rolls.
In fact, Jules seems to have all the insecurities and the maturity of a thirteen-year-old rather than a forty-something. She constantly gossips with friends, delivering lines such as "I started thinking with my coochie cooch." Perhaps the reason Jules is attracted to younger guys is that her low maturity level matches theirs.
To the show's credit, the teeny-bopper one-liners coupled with a fair share of squirm-worthy awkward moments keep the show light-hearted and funny. Viewers can't help but laugh at Jules' first misadventure bringing home a younger guy as she struggles to clumsily dim the lights or explains that her impressive stomach scar is actually from her C-section.
While the show doesn't take many steps to break prescribed gender molds, Jules nabs a few independent woman points for writing the alimony checks to her deadbeat ex-husband (played by Brian Van Holt) and for having the courage to follow her twenty-something friend out to the bars.
Still, many of the show's characters are just blatant, underdeveloped stereotypes, from Jules' irresponsible, un-empathetic ex-husband to her bitter, married friend to the real "cougar," her scary coworker who preys on younger men just to feel better about herself. But take Grayson, Jules' recently divorced neighbor, portrayed by Josh Hopkins. He brings home younger women almost every night without qualms, much to Jules' chagrin
Grayson's "man-whore" role serves to highlight the double standard between men and women in our youth-obsessed culture. Younger women find Grayson's age adorable; he can prey on all the younger women he wants and flaunt it. Jules, despite her attractiveness, feels the need to obsesses over her signs of aging and sneak her latest hookup into the house. "Cougar Town" manages to make a few intelligent remarks about society and peoples' insecurities.
For viewers who cringe at lines like "Give a girl a warning, my uterus almost shot out" and are easily annoyed by formulaic, superficial characters, "Cougar Town" is probably a show to pass on this season. But for those who enjoy slapstick one-liners about BJ's and wrinkly elbows and a couple of jabs at our cultural double standards, the show is worth a shot.
