Life on a Stick

I watched this show and there were a lot viewers saying this show sucked but when I checked it out I thought it was kind of funny and kind of stupid somewhat. It's not one of my all time favorites but it's okay. The show is about two teenagers who try to make a living in a fast food court in a shopping mall while the other one deals with dysfunctional family. It premiered on FOX back in March 2005 and then after only airing 5 episodes the show got canceled April 2005. This show is okay but not great.

User Rating: 5/10

BOTTOM LINE: OKAY BUT NOT A FAVORITE

Life on a Stick was a short-lived multicamera comedy on FOX. Only five episodes aired before cancellation though the full 13 episode order was eventually shown in a number of countries. The show was one of many failed attempts by FOX at extending the family comedy brand established by That '70s Show and while it featured a number of veterans behind the scenes it can easily be seen as by-the-numbers at best.

The major plot line revolved around the romance of Laz and Lily, two young out-of-high-school workers at a mall food court hot dog counter/restaurant. It's not a case of will they/won't they, it's fairly telegraphed like the Eric/Donna romance on That '70s Show. Instead the conflict comes from Laz wanting a relationship while Lily wants something casual.

Laz's best friend Fred also works at the restaurant and is your typical "wacky" guy. Laz is the oldest sibling in a family where the mother and father each have a child from their previous marriages as well as one child together. Laz is the child Rick, the father, while the middle sister, Molly, comes from the mother Michelle's previous marriage. The shared child is Gus who doesn't figure much in the show.

As with Laz/Lily, Molly has a romance runner with Jasper, the boy she likes but who is dating at the time they meet but she stays close as a friend hoping things change. Many plots also revolve around the parents seeking approval from her or her being embarrassed by them.

You would expect pranks and hijinks around the hot dog setting, and there are some, but mostly it's a wasted opportunity. Perhaps the episode where a competing mall food court establishment sings to attract customers and annoys the gang enough to want to fight back shows where they could have gone more to distinguish the sitcom setup. However the show sticks more to the relationship comedy formula.

In the end it's a very throwaway show. Laz is played by Zachary Knighton, nowadays known best from Happy Endings, and some of the other actors are of the "where do I remember that guy from?" type. If there's any breakout actor/character it is Rachelle Lefevre as Lily, but that's not saying much given the general blandness of the comedy.

One could say that the show has "doomed" written all over it after already having an abruptly changed time slot for the season premiere. In the ads for the upcoming show, you saw unfunny little bits of working in fast food (a hot dog stand... who'da thought?), but the show surprisingly didn't have as many scenes in the food joint as the title suggests.

This kid lives with his parents after graduating High School, and his parents are leaning towards kicking him out. Sound familiar? Yeah, a bunch of shows have done this before a long time ago. Nevertheless, the re-married couple agree to have him stay in the house as long as he "hangs out" with his step-sister. Sounds like a deal to me. Wasn't this supposed to take place at a Hotdog stand? He has a buddy too... and you can guess how he is. Yup, the kid probably has less brains than the hot dogs he serves, and it's not funny at all. Think "Bill & Ted" after 12 years of Special Education curriculum. Mixed in with the Apu of Fast Food management and a love-interest and you've got yourself a TELEVISION SHOW! Rock on! Other than that.. between the 4-minute commercial breaks, we're left with about 18 minutes of laugh-tracks and all-around "meh" television. This will leave you wishing American Idol Result Night was an hour long again. This show MIGHT have worked in the early-/mid-90's, but not today in the land of giant elimination/reality shows and teeth-gritting dramas. Even among those genres, I've always wondered if a genuine 30-minute sitcom could still stand tall. I was wrong.

This sitcom is a fairly obvious joke about sitcoms. Very graduate school meta humor. And so, so lame.

You've got the precocious little boy. The doofus dad. The sexy mom. The angsty teen. The doofus young male and his dumb friend. The pretty girlfriend. All of them firing out quips in the midst of pure zaniness. Gosh darn it, if only the FONZ could grab his water skis and put us out of our misery, it would be PERFECT here in Sitcom Land! The worst part is all of these people could do at least slightly better. Except Amy. Amy Yasbeck is a charmer, and a thousand times smarter and better than her material. She delivers her "lines" very professionally, without a hint of justifiable, teeth grinding fury over an agent with worse judgment than the captain of the Titanic.

I love this show. Amy Yasbeck and Matthew Glave turn in solid performances as the parents, Rachelle LaFevre is a decent female lead, Charlie Finn is a funny sidekick, Maz Jobrani is a hilarious supporting actor as Mr Hut, and Zachary Knighton and Paige Thompson are brilliant stepsiblings.

The lines are brilliant, and Laz (Knighton) and Molly (Thompson) are easy to care about. This is a funny, sympathetic show that shows what a not-quite-adult comedy should be like. People compliment That 70s Show and Saved By The Bell as the apogee of that genre, but, especially for a show only having had one season, this blows them away.

If the humour is graduate meta humour, so be it, I loved this show. Very, very, VERY impressive.