Betty
White. Need I say more?
A
woman who’s been around the block a few times in the land of sitcom, White woos
us yet again in the TV Land comedy Hot in
Cleveland. Although the show features other spunky sitcom actresses—Valerie
Bertinelli (One Day at a Time), Jane
Leeves (Fraiser), and Wendie Malick (Just Shoot Me)—it is White who we can’t
help but laugh at.
Promoted
from her dumb blonde persona as Rose in the late 1980s comedy The Golden Girls, White transforms into
the snarky, quick-witted Elka Ostrovsky, caretaker of a house in the burbs of
Cleveland. And when three forty-something women from L.A. move in, Elka can’t
help but ask the realtor, “Why are you renting to prostitutes?”
White
gets much applause for her ongoing acting career (she turned 90 last
week), however, the show itself could use a bit of a tune-up. Although worthy
of a good laugh, Hot in Cleveland
disappointingly stereotypes forty-something women as desperate and
self-loathing. The main reason Bertinelli, Leeves, and Malick’s characters even
make the move to the Midwest is because the men there are ruggedly handsome,
pull out their chairs, and appreciate their beauty, unlike the self-absorbed,
metrosexual men of Los Angeles.
Oddly
enough, like any TV series really, it’s these exaggerated stereotypes that keep
me coming back for more. Melanie (Bertinelli) is a recently divorced writer,
whose naivety not only makes her lovable but gets her into trouble (“I’m gonna
staple my mouth shut…as soon as I fix this”). Victoria (Malick) is a bigheaded
TV soap opera actress who thinks every person on earth is her biggest fan.
After her show gets cancelled, however, she struggles to accept the fact that
she is only wanted for mother/grandmother roles and becomes the spokesperson
for “Mrs. Lady Pants,” Japanese adult diaper pants for women that will make you
“feel as fresh as Mount Fuji.” And Joy (Leeves) is the bitter beautician who
was left at the altar, gave her son up for adoption, and is the butt of jokes
for Elka. The upside? She’s the artistic genius behind Oprah’s perfectly shaped
brows.
As
TV Land’s first original scripted series, the show is doing well for itself. In
2011, White won the Screen Actors Guild Award for “Outstanding Performance by a
Female Actor in a Comedy Series,” and the cast won “Outstanding Performance by
an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.” The show also won the 2012 People’s Choice
Award for “Favorite Cable TV Comedy.”
Hot in Cleveland isn’t going to
get cold any time soon. In fact, the comedy is only five episodes into season three
and they have already signed on for a fourth season. So try it out—if not for
your own enjoyment, then for documenting Betty White’s last hoorah as an
actress (and I’m sure she’ll go out with a bang).
