Benders
By Joyce Slaton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Crass humor, drinking, drugs, in raunchy hockey comedy.
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Benders
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What's the Story?
In Paul Rosenberg's (Andrew Schulz) life, two things reign supreme: playing in hockey league the Chubbys with his fellow BENDERS and going to the bar with his teammates afterward. Paul's best friend Anthony (Chris Distefano) is the team's slightly arrogant best player and constant striver, moneyed übernerd Dickie (Mark Gessner) is just glad to be on the team, and stoner Sebalos (Ruy Iskandar) might just be in it for the snacks. At home, Paul's wife, Karen (Lindsey Broad), keeps Paul barely on the rails in between scrapes with his teammates.
Is It Any Good?
Genial but clichéd, this comedy is easygoing and watchable enough and its actors likable, but it's straining to be better than it is. As is typical with this type of sitcom setup, hockey is the framing device to get a bunch of guys -- and the occasional nagging and/or attractive woman -- together to get up to hijinks. Think fantasy football with The League, the pub in It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, the firehouse in Rescue Me. It's not an accident we bring up Rescue Me, as its star and creator Denis Leary is Benders' producer, and it shows -- his type of brash, crass, occasionally funny humor is all over this show. It would be a lot funnier if the women in the show had more depth or if it didn't feel as if Paul's buddies were developed and cast to be types -- this guy's the one who always says something stupid, this one's the guy who always gets the gang into trouble. Add to that a boatload of comic tropes -- such as overenthusiastic Christians, hot female coworkers who unwittingly turn on their male colleagues with double entendres, what happens when one character tries to stop drinking -- you've seen before.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about why comedies about sports are common. What comedic situations do they enable? What types of people do they hope to appeal to?
Is the audience supposed to like the members of the Chubbys? How can you tell?
How would this comedy change if it were set among tennis players? Basketball players? Swimmers? Would it be the same show? If not, how would it be different?
TV Details
- Premiere date: October 1, 2015
- Cast: Andrew Schulz, Chris Distefano, Mark Gessner
- Network: IFC
- Genre: Comedy
- TV rating: TV-MA
- Last updated: November 2, 2022
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