By: By Michelle Lerner

I’m almost thirty, so maybe that’s why I found I HATE MY 30’S almost funny. The sets are bright, the pace is quick, and the actors are shiny and fun to look at. If only it was funny. OR maybe it is, and I’m just not quite old enough to get it. Am I missing something?

I would recap the plot, if I knew what happened. What I gleaned was this: Mandy’s sorority sister, Jenny is getting married, and Mandy is tired of going to weddings alone. So, she enlists, Kyle, the geekiest guy in her office to be her date, and makes him pretend to be a plastic surgeon with a gold Ferrari. As I was watching this all unfold, I kept thinking, “Mandy is so familiar.” Then it hit me; she played Jesse Bowers, the Bluth family publicist on ARRESTED DEVELOPMENT. Then, I realized that I wished I was watching that, instead of I HATE MY 30’s.

Mandy’s officemate, Chad, is also invited to the wedding. He wants to bring Carol, his co-worker. They, I guess, do a recurring bit where she pretends they can’t be together, but “secretly” wants to be with him. It really bored me. Chad was sweet, and cute, and I didn’t understand why Carol had to make such a fuss. If it were FUNNY I would get it, but it wasn’t.

Ok. There were a few funny moments. The musical number, which was “Tell Me More” from GREASE crossed with “Don’t You Want Me Baby” by the Human League, was amusing, and actually sounded pretty good. And the Pokerdome was good for about two minutes of laughs. Tina Turner was awesome. So was, Travis’ Mel Gibson MAD MAX: BEYOND THE THUNDERDOME hair.

I also liked the opening sketch. I had high hopes after Dr. Rod’s monologue. It was charming and delivered with perfect dryness. But I never got into the pace of the show. Was it a parody of an eighties sitcom? A sketch comedy show? A sketch sitcom? Absurd, or sweet? Sweetly Absurd? It was never painful, only kind of confusing, like watching a movie in a language you understand, but don’t know well.

The biggest thing I didn’t understand was Vicki. She is clearly in her thirties, but she dressed like a fifteen year old from 1987. Is she a parody of a hipster? If so, then I think it’s a little over the top. Some times comedy becomes a little too self-referential, and I think this might be one of those occasions. Though her outfits are kinda fun.

The whole show felt kind of slapdash, like they, the actors and writers, were throwing everything that made them laugh in the room, into the script. There was no twist, no big pay off, no real laughs. It was like cotton candy on T.V.: pink, different, and momentarily satisfying, but not as good as it looks.