Mom
By Joyce Slaton,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Quippy mom-and-daughter sitcom plays sex, drugs for laughs.
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A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this TV show.
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Based on 12 parent reviews
Very Disappointing and Unfunny
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Mom without Christy
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What's the Story?
Christy doesn't have to remember the mistakes of high school -- she's still living with them. She's a waitress instead of the psychologist she wanted to be. She has two kids, including a precocious teen. And she's only now starting to see eye to eye with her blithe floozy of a MOM (Allison Janney), who was too busy snorting cocaine and gallivanting with men to notice what her daughter was up to while she was growing up. Christy doesn't have it easy, particularly since she's newly sober. At least she has the support of her pals in Alcoholics Anonymous. But with daughter Violet smoking pot and sneaking her boyfriend in and out of her bedroom, her grade school son wishing wistfully for more mom time, and mother Bonnie causing behind-the-scenes complications with her difficult personal life, Christy's facing an uphill battle.
Is It Any Good?
There's the germ of a good comedy on Mom. Faris is as resolutely charming as ever, relatable whether she's crying theatrically over a restaurant table or trying to have a breakfast table heart-to-heart with her rebellious daughter. But the jokes are so broad and the laughter so loud, fake and laugh-track-y that it's a turnoff to the kind of viewer who prefers a subtler guffaw.
Nonetheless, Two and a Half Men is a giant hit for a reason: people like to laugh at pratfalls and hooker jokes. You'll find both here, and they're even occasionally funny. The best thing about Mom is its fabulous cast; the worst, the sitcommy writing and setups. But if Two and a Half Men-style comic stylings are your things, Mom could prove to be decent viewing, provided you're okay with giggling over cocaine addiction, teens who are an "easy lay," and cooking meth.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether the relationship between Christy and her mother is realistic. Do they talk like real people? Do they act like them? Are real people ever funny enough to be on a television show?
Watch this show bookended by another mom-and-daughter(s) show, such as Gilmore Girls or Roseanne. How are the relationships between different TV moms and their daughters the same as on Mom? How are they different?
Mom showrunner Chuck Lorre also produces Two and a Half Men. How is Mom similar to Two and a Half Men? How is it different? Compare dialogue, costumes, characters, plots.
TV Details
- Premiere date: September 23, 2013
- Cast: Allison Janney , Anna Faris , French Stewart
- Network: CBS
- Genre: Comedy
- TV rating: NR
- Award: Emmy
- Last updated: March 31, 2022
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