First Impressions: Allen Gregory

When it comes to creativity, animated shows have always had a leg up on its television competition. Without the rules and limitations of regular old television with humans, animated shows have the freedom to create vastly different realities with all sorts of different premises, those both outlandish (anything on Adult Swim) and somewhat realistic (Family Guy in its earlier days). When an animated show is at its best, it manages to mix and match the unique qualities of the real world and the created, making us not only laugh about the world we live in, but step back and think about it for a moment or two.

Allen Gregory does none of this. In all reality, it might be the least funny animated show I’ve ever seen (excluding pretty much anything Adult Swim, which is too weird and nonsensical for my tastes). Co-created by Jonah Hill (yes, the chubby kid from Superbad who isn’t so chubby anymore) Allen Gregory is about the life of its titular character (voiced by Jonah), a spoiled seven year old living with his father and life partner, who finds out he is going to have to begin public elementary school (thanks to some undefined financial issues brought upon by his father). Of course, this brings about a lot of drama in Allen’s life, and the first episode deals with his first day at public elementary school, and establishes the relationship between him, his two parents, and their recently adopted sister Julie.

The problems with Gregory all stem from the same fundamental problem: Allen in an unlikable, unbelievable, arrogant and absurdly condescending little kid. I have to ask, FOX: how long are people going to watch a show where the main character is such an asshole? He spends the whole pilot walking around like he lives life in his own little bubble, and once its been popped by the teachers and principals of his new school, turns into a whiny little piece of shit. Am I really supposed to feel bad for a kid who was trying to drink alcohol at lunch (one of the many times Allen disregards plausibility for an attempt at a joke), and had gross sexual fantasies about his ancient principal (which we’re given no insight into why he’s so attracted to her)?

As I watched this pilot, I couldn’t find anything about the show that wasn’t offensive to either gay people, children, or adults who work in school administration (not to mention adopted immigrant children). Allen’s gay parents may be at the top, with Richard’s super selfish attitude and obsession with the material, combining with the absurdity of Jeremy’s back story (as he tells Allen, he was straight and married with a family until Richard hunted him down and pretty much forced him to be gay) combines for some of the most idiotic parenting combinations ever on television – and its not even funny in the slightest, by far the worst part.

I’m not really sure what the point of Allen Gregory really is: it’s not trying to tell a coherent fish out of water story (the selfish attitudes and behaviors of the protagonist’s family, combined with the absence of anything interesting or funny in the elementary school prove this), and it’s not a story about people becoming a closer family – thanks to Allen’s condescending, self-righteous attitude, the opportunity for that will never happen. It’s bad enough Gregory doesn’t have a single funny moment in its pilot, but when you add in the outlandish behavior of the shows characters, combined with the absence of any sort of morality, all you have is a shitty animated show that rips off the same gay and smart kid jokes we’ve seen on television for the last 40 years. A poor effort, and I definitely recommend you should SKIP IT!