Cristela

Even before I press play and watch the pilot of this I was pretty sure on what to expect! There will be a Kitchen (check), a witty protagonist (check) that might have the same name with the titular character (double check), a grumpy and unsupportive mother or mother in law (check), kids ready to go to school (check) and prerecorded loud laughs to hurt your ears right from the first second (check).

So it is the standard formula for a situation comedy.

The question now is, is it worth watching or in other words, is it any different than the others? The answer for me is..hmm..No! Not by much...

...You see this is (another) sitcom that tries to exploit racism (for one) and stereotypes as a source for jokes. Well, sorry, we've seen lots of those too. Blacks, Asians, gays...you name it. Here it is about being Mexican trying to succeed on U.S. soil.

Never saw or heard before for Cristela Alonzo. She's OK I guess but not enough to win a big audience, especially if, like me, don't know much about Mexican culture or ...Tony Romo, whom I googled just now for writing this review.

Overall. This is a standard sitcom that could have more appeal to certain people than others. It is Cristela's project, but from what I saw, is far inferior in comparison with another personal project:.. Mindy's!! that it is more fresh and funny and interesting and spare us from the fake laugh track.

Cristela (Cristela Alonzo) is a struggling law student desperate to land an unpaid internship for Trent. The other interns are Josh and the boss' daughter Maddie. She's living with her sister Daniela and her family. Her brother-in-law Felix wants to get her out of the house. Her mother is also living in the house dismissing her dreams. Then there is Alberto (Gabriel Iglesias) who works for Felix and has a thing for Cristela.

This is basically a traditional network sitcom. Personally, I like Cristela Alonzo and that's half the battle. The rest is simple family sitcom and a workplace sitcom. There is a splash of Latino flavor but it's a cartoon version. I have no problem with not being original. Not every show has to recreate the wheel.

To see a regular TV sit com that is actually funny is rare. This show is the rarity. Cristela Alonzo has a quick wit and she's clever - a rare combination with television today.

There are plenty of not-so-positive Mexican jokes packed into the show; Cristela turns the negative to positive with her quick retorts. Her mother, who immigrated from Mexico, always plays the downer, nagging at Cristela for pursuing her dreams. But both Cristela and her sister make light of their mother's negativity by humorously playing off it.

I've only seen one episode of Cristela, but I intend on becoming a regular viewer. It's refreshing to find intelligent, funny television on a non-pay channel.

"Cristela" is a poorly researched litany of old stereotypes: Latino men don't respect women, Latino women defer to their husbands, people won't accept a Latino as a lawyers, the head of a law firm is a greedy white male who cares only about money but will give his kid a pass on everything...

Need I go on? For a show where a woman works as an intern at a law firm, the producers don't realize that private companies must PAY interns ("for profit" entities cannot have "free" labor -- that would violate the laws of the US.

The show is a disconnect from reality. It should have been set in the 1970s or 1980s not the 21st Century.

I loved the pilot. It was smart, funny, honest, and self-deprecating in places. I hope it stays this way in future episodes. As a first generation American, I could relate to many of the sentiments expressed by the characters. They expressed them in humorous ways. I am not a Mexican American, but I feel I will understand them better and feel we can relate to each other. The interplay between family members was very real, and can relay to any family, regardless of ethnicity. That too was done in a very funny way. I am anxiously waiting for Cristela's progress in pursuing her legal career. I am sure it will be hilarious, I can see many potential funny developments.