Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Feb 23, 2015 15:45:14 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/tv/reviews/tv-review-kosher-soul-1201436162/
Brian Lowry
TV Columnist
@blowryontv
African-Americans and Jews have weathered enough grief throughout their histories to survive “Kosher Soul,” a silly Lifetime reality sitcom about black comic O’Neal McKnight and his Jewish bride-to-be, Miriam Sternoff. Why TV viewers would want to is the better question, inasmuch as the show seemingly exists as a feeble excuse to showcase McKnight’s standup act, while trafficking in stereotypes about both groups under the guise of “But they love each other anyway.” After having already braved race relations with the questionable “Girlfriend Intervention,” the channel might be well advised to steer clear of this ebony-and-ivory niche for a while.
As dated as it sounds, “Kosher Soul” seemingly wants to be the unscripted version of “Bridget Loves Bernie,” the early 1970s comedy about a WASP-y woman, her Jewish husband and their mismatched families. As the show begins, Miriam is busy planning their wedding (they’ve been together for years), although she’s having a hard time getting O’Neal enthused about formulating a seating chart or agreeing with her on a honeymoon locale.
O’Neal has several famous friends — including his cousin, music producer Andre Harrell, and mogul Russell Simmons — but his sequences with them are essentially just an excuse for him to riff about relationships, whether that’s complaining about trying to get her pregnant on demand or eating at a delicatessen with his buddy Chico to sample Miriam’s cuisine. (For her part, Miriam endures trying to cook catfish.)
McKnight never really tries to turn off being a performer, which is fine (he receives a producer credit), but also makes what are supposed to be the narrative aspects of the show consistently suspect. When he asks, “Why are Jews so good with money?” during the “This season on” tease, it’s pretty clear he’s just trying to get a rise, as he is when he not only talks about having dated a friend of Miriam’s but proceeds to get specific about sexual acts he’s experienced with both of them.
Similarly, when he considers buying a luxury car without consulting her — or discusses the specifics of his conversion to Judaism — they’re such obvious sitcom plots it’s hard to take any of it seriously.
Perhaps foremost, mixed-race couples are common enough now that while it’s theoretically worth exploring how they balance cultural differences, approaching the subject this broadly simply risks trivializing them. From that perspective, “Kosher Soul” would have fared better as a scripted comedy, as opposed to trying to infuse the proceedings with a reality label that doesn’t serve the players particularly well.
Granted, there’s nothing wrong with bringing a sense of lightness to such material, but as constructed, the producers have largely reduced the premise to a punchline. So while it’s nice that Miriam loves O’Neal, the TV portion of their partnership doesn’t feel very kosher, or exhibit much soul.
TV Review: 'Kosher Soul'
(Series; Lifetime, Wed. Feb. 25, 10 p.m.)
Production
Produced by Ish Entertainment.
Crew
Executive producers, Michael Hirschorn, Melissa Cooper, Wendy Roth, Rasheed J. Daniel, Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue, Mariana Flynn; supervising producers, Steve Unckles, Trevor Hansford; supervising story producer, Stephanie Saster Dunphy; producer, O’Neal McKnight; camera, Brian Winckler. 30 MIN.
Cast
Featuring: O’Neal McKnight, Miriam Sternoff
Brian Lowry
TV Columnist
@blowryontv
African-Americans and Jews have weathered enough grief throughout their histories to survive “Kosher Soul,” a silly Lifetime reality sitcom about black comic O’Neal McKnight and his Jewish bride-to-be, Miriam Sternoff. Why TV viewers would want to is the better question, inasmuch as the show seemingly exists as a feeble excuse to showcase McKnight’s standup act, while trafficking in stereotypes about both groups under the guise of “But they love each other anyway.” After having already braved race relations with the questionable “Girlfriend Intervention,” the channel might be well advised to steer clear of this ebony-and-ivory niche for a while.
As dated as it sounds, “Kosher Soul” seemingly wants to be the unscripted version of “Bridget Loves Bernie,” the early 1970s comedy about a WASP-y woman, her Jewish husband and their mismatched families. As the show begins, Miriam is busy planning their wedding (they’ve been together for years), although she’s having a hard time getting O’Neal enthused about formulating a seating chart or agreeing with her on a honeymoon locale.
O’Neal has several famous friends — including his cousin, music producer Andre Harrell, and mogul Russell Simmons — but his sequences with them are essentially just an excuse for him to riff about relationships, whether that’s complaining about trying to get her pregnant on demand or eating at a delicatessen with his buddy Chico to sample Miriam’s cuisine. (For her part, Miriam endures trying to cook catfish.)
McKnight never really tries to turn off being a performer, which is fine (he receives a producer credit), but also makes what are supposed to be the narrative aspects of the show consistently suspect. When he asks, “Why are Jews so good with money?” during the “This season on” tease, it’s pretty clear he’s just trying to get a rise, as he is when he not only talks about having dated a friend of Miriam’s but proceeds to get specific about sexual acts he’s experienced with both of them.
Similarly, when he considers buying a luxury car without consulting her — or discusses the specifics of his conversion to Judaism — they’re such obvious sitcom plots it’s hard to take any of it seriously.
Perhaps foremost, mixed-race couples are common enough now that while it’s theoretically worth exploring how they balance cultural differences, approaching the subject this broadly simply risks trivializing them. From that perspective, “Kosher Soul” would have fared better as a scripted comedy, as opposed to trying to infuse the proceedings with a reality label that doesn’t serve the players particularly well.
Granted, there’s nothing wrong with bringing a sense of lightness to such material, but as constructed, the producers have largely reduced the premise to a punchline. So while it’s nice that Miriam loves O’Neal, the TV portion of their partnership doesn’t feel very kosher, or exhibit much soul.
TV Review: 'Kosher Soul'
(Series; Lifetime, Wed. Feb. 25, 10 p.m.)
Production
Produced by Ish Entertainment.
Crew
Executive producers, Michael Hirschorn, Melissa Cooper, Wendy Roth, Rasheed J. Daniel, Eli Lehrer, Mary Donahue, Mariana Flynn; supervising producers, Steve Unckles, Trevor Hansford; supervising story producer, Stephanie Saster Dunphy; producer, O’Neal McKnight; camera, Brian Winckler. 30 MIN.
Cast
Featuring: O’Neal McKnight, Miriam Sternoff