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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Friday, March 29, 2024

TV Review | ‘Mixology’ serves up bitter, disappointing concoction

Feature-Image_Place-HolderTISCH

“Mixology” is, hands down, the most astoundingly awful series released thus far in 2014. It is baffling how ABC, a network with a large female audience and a tendency toward mild, family-friendly humor, could unveil a show with such offensive writing and overdone ideas. In the midst of ABC’s most recent forward-thinking hits, including “Modern Family” (2009-present), “Scandal” (2012-present) and “Grey’s Anatomy” (2005-present), this low-level bar comedy sticks out like a sore thumb.

In its defense, the high-concept sitcom offers up a somewhat novel premise. The entire season centers around a fateful night at the club — which is viewed from a new character’s perspective each episode. As advertised by its tagline, “This is the story of 10 strangers, one night and all the ridiculous things we do for love.” Yes, it is reminiscent of “24” (2001-2010) in its timeline and “Vantage Point” (2008) in its basic principle, but this specific brand of romantic comedy can’t quite be found anywhere else on television. “Mixology” has failed any potential viewers by executing this quality idea through a stereotypical, misogynistic lens. In doing so, what could have been a fresh, captivating new show becomes stale.

The main focus of the pilot episode is on Tom (Blake Lee), a broken-hearted mess urged to explore bachelorhood by his best friends, Cal (Craig Frank) and Bruce (Andrew Santino). These “bros,” who make a rather obnoxious point of being emotionally vacant, attempt to teach Tom how to seduce single twenty-somethings around them in hopes of getting their friend over his sob-story breakup.

This might sound like a trite exemplar of every overdone single-and-ready-to-mingle plotline. Still, “Mixology” promises a new point of view each episode, so that viewers can reasonably give the show the benefit of the doubt and hope for a more original storytelling perspective as the series progresses.

What can’t be overlooked, however, are the characters’ blatantly degrading attitudes toward the women around them. Cal and Bruce’s comments range from judgmental — “Remember: the higher the heels the looser she feels” — to jaw-dropping and simply unacceptable — “Look at that chick throwing up; I’m going to bang her out.” The most upsetting line in the show refers to women who seem uninterested in our protagonist: “You are a Viking,” one of Tom’s friends says to him by means of encouragement. “You rape and pillage and take what you want!” This is a low point even for TV bar humor, and it is particularly appalling to slip a show with such a slimy tone into the time slot directly following “Modern Family.”

It is disappointing, as well, that such sexist attempts at jokes are delivered by each and every character, both male and female. In fact, women utter some of the worst lines: one gem involves tough Maya (Ginger Gonzaga) telling a friend that she only dates professional athletes because they aren’t afraid to “smack [her] in the mouth; now that is [a] man.”

One might expect a few vulgarities to arise from the show’s writers, Jon Lucas and Scott Moore, the creative masterminds behind “The Hangover” trilogy. Even those films, though, became wildly successful without approaching the level of distasteful content “Mixology” offers up. With so many questionable lines packed into less than 30 minutes, the series needs some serious changes if it hopes not to repulse those watching and to avoid a swift cancellation.

Stripped of its predatory overtones, there is not much left of “Mixology.” One has to wade past a myriad of eye-roll-inducing characters, like the macho bartender who can’t care to remember his girlfriend’s name, before getting to any kind of emotional core. Even then, a much higher dosage of wit and imagination would be needed for the show to distinguish itself from other comedies of its kind.

As all the characters in “Mixology” know, finding love is hard. But nobody experiences this more poignantly than the frustrated audience, who most likely want a lighthearted laugh and are instead served an aggressive, borderline hateful concoction. This is 2014, and options for more modern, feel-good entertainment abound. So, if you are considering watching this new series, remember that there are plenty of other fish in the sea.