I came for Jeremy Allen White, who has exceptional presence on screen, only to discover that this is an ensemble series with precious few characters to care about, and several you wish would die off (first up: Richie).
I made it through the infamous veal stock scene, which was so remarkably stupid that I had watch it twice to make sure that, yes, the huge vat of precious veal stock was stored on top of a box which itself was on top of a high shelf (stupidity No 1); and yes, chef Sydney, in the middle of some childish snit, did insist on lifting it down all by her own short self rather than accepting help from a bigger stronger chef (No 2), and yes, it spills all over the floor which anyone could see coming and therefore isn't funny (No 3). Why??
Still, I kept going, hoping to find a reason for the show's popularity. I even made it through the Xanax in the Kool-Aid episode (I'll watch anything with Oliver Platt), until...
Jamie Lee Curtis showed up as the deranged matriarch in "Fishes" (Season 2, ep. 6), an episode that could have satirized an Italian seven-fishes Christmas feast. Dozens of sitcoms, maybe more, have used holiday gatherings as ways to laugh at minor family dysfunction (read: no criminal behavior). Not "The Bear." Insults fly, tensions flare, and none of it, not even the food fight, was funny.
Again, why is this considered a comedy? Or, no, wait-- the problem is bigger than that. Forget categories. Even as a drama, "The Bear" is a disappointment.
I made it through the infamous veal stock scene, which was so remarkably stupid that I had watch it twice to make sure that, yes, the huge vat of precious veal stock was stored on top of a box which itself was on top of a high shelf (stupidity No 1); and yes, chef Sydney, in the middle of some childish snit, did insist on lifting it down all by her own short self rather than accepting help from a bigger stronger chef (No 2), and yes, it spills all over the floor which anyone could see coming and therefore isn't funny (No 3). Why??
Still, I kept going, hoping to find a reason for the show's popularity. I even made it through the Xanax in the Kool-Aid episode (I'll watch anything with Oliver Platt), until...
Jamie Lee Curtis showed up as the deranged matriarch in "Fishes" (Season 2, ep. 6), an episode that could have satirized an Italian seven-fishes Christmas feast. Dozens of sitcoms, maybe more, have used holiday gatherings as ways to laugh at minor family dysfunction (read: no criminal behavior). Not "The Bear." Insults fly, tensions flare, and none of it, not even the food fight, was funny.
Again, why is this considered a comedy? Or, no, wait-- the problem is bigger than that. Forget categories. Even as a drama, "The Bear" is a disappointment.