Thursday, October 24, 2013

The Unsuccessful launch of Super Fun Night


Actress Rebel Wilson is notorious for playing the same types of roles over and over again. On Wednesday, October 2nd, the pilot episode of Super Fun Night aired creating a new side of Rebel Wilson, one where she loses her Australian accent. With Super Fun Night’s first episode accumulating an audience of 8.2 million viewers, the show has steadily been on the decline. In an article titled: Rebel Wilson: Four Film Roles more fun than ‘Super Fun Night,’ it talks about how the show “wastes the Australian actress’ considerable comedic gifts in favor of sight gags about her weight.”  

The three movies that I have seen with Rebel Wilson include What to Expect When You’re Expecting, Bridesmaids, and Pitch Perfect. In all three of these movies her character is similar.

In What to Expect When You’re Expecting, she plays a bubbly clerk for a breastfeeding boutique. Rebel’s natural humor breaks through in this movie in a scene where there is a book signing at the boutique. Rebel states “I was breast fed myself until I was 6 and look how good I turned out.” This is the kind of humor that fans want to hear. Although her role in this movie is minimal, her one-liners are sure to make you laugh.

In 2011’s Bridesmaids (a comedy hit about friendship), Rebel plays the roommate who is very clueless about her surroundings. She claims that she got a free tattoo in a van (not sketchy at all). Her character in this movie is ironic because she is the clueless woman, yet she somehow still finds ways to give advice to her roommate Annie (Kristen Wiig).

By 2012, Rebel Wilson became even more well-known when she was a lead character in Pitch Perfect. In this musical comedy, Rebel is featured as a Tasmanian born “natural star.” She proves her stardom by becoming a part of the college a capella group. She introduces herself as Fat Amy. Her reasoning for this is “Yeah, so twig bitches like you don’t do it behind my back.” My favorite scene from Pitch Perfect is between Bumper and Fat Amy. Bumper: “I have a feeling we should, kiss.” Fat Amy: “I sometimes have a feeling I can do crystal meth, but then I think mmmmmm…. Bettahh nottt.” This is the pure and raw humor that we love to hear from Rebel Wilson.        

So what is it about Super Fun Night that isn’t making us latch on? Some might argue that her role in Super Fun Night is not “spicy” enough. Rebel is known for her outwardly different characters. Super Fun Night features her as an attorney that lives a simple life with her two best friends. This doesn’t necessarily give the show a whole lot of edge. The most edgy thing about the show is the crude fat jokes that are referenced in nearly every scene. A lot of critics argue that the show pokes so much fun at her body image, that you almost cannot enjoy the show itself. In a recent episode, Marika (Lauren Ash) is upset about how she looks in a dress. Kimmie Boubier (Rebel Wilson) tries to console her by saying “We can’t all be models Marika. That’s unrealistic.”

The show itself seems to frown upon people that are overweight. That stereotype definitely shows. They use Rebel’s body to poke fun at a larger community. In one particular episode, her roommates are making meatloaf. Rebel proceeds to say “I don’t know what that is, but I want a large slice.”

There are, however, a few similarities between the movies she plays in and Super Fun Night. For instance, I noticed that the theme song for Super Fun Night has a catchy tune resembling something of a musical (Pitch Perfect). This could be to draw that connection of familiarity between Pitch Perfect and her new show. Another thing that is the same is her sarcasm. She still has the same eccentric kind of humor. Super Fun Night also does a good job of throwing in semi up-to-date terms that a younger audience would know such as “ratchet.”  

Although these “hip” terms are not catching a large audience, Rebel isn’t concerned. "I think with any show it just takes time," Wilson told HuffPost TV at Cosmo's Super Fun Night with Rebel Wilson in New York City. She truly thinks that people will be surprised with what is in store down the road. She claims that it is her first show in America so she does not expect it to be a huge success right off the bat.


 

References

imdb.com

Keegan, R. (2013). Rebel Wilson: Four film roles more fun than ‘Super Fun Night.’


Weingus, L. (2013). Rebel Wilson Talks ‘Super Fun Night’ Pilot, Compares it to ‘Seinfeld.’

            HuffPost TV. Retrieved from

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