Du côté de chez Fran

I was fortunate to be at the taping of the pilot episode the other night. The writing was brilliant, lots of laughs, and the chemistry between the cast members was awesome! Fran Drescher is the perfect choice for hip & sexy divorcee, Fran Reeves, and I couldn't imagine anyone other than Misti Traya in the part of Allison. She owned her role of the obnoxious little sister with an attitude to boot!

Ryan McPartlin is really easy on the eyes as Riley, the "goy toy" as Fran's son Josh refers to him, and even though he is younger than Josh, he is believable as Fran's live in lover. Ben Feldman brings the show together as Josh... The son who thought his world was coming undone when he snapped and got kick out of medical school. As he soon found out, that was nothing in comparison to coming home and finding his mother playing house with an ex-jock. I really hope this show gets picked up, and that I can be there for the taping of the 100th episode.

Josh to Riley: "You're only here because my mother is having a mid-life crisis. If she were a guy, you'd be a Porsche."

Well, I saw the pilot episode last night on the WB, and I have to admit, it's not that bad at all. In fact, I got quite a few laughs out of it. I knew I would have to concentrate on the episode itself so that I would not keep comparing it to the Nanny, but I think overall, it can be a good series. The boyfriend's acting does seem to be a little wooden. He seems to be stiff and nervous in front of the camera, but the son, the daughter, and Fran all seem to be at ease and determined to have fun. The bonus episode was really cute as the tension between Fran and Riley's mother builds. I think that if they just give "Riley" some better acting lessons, they might just be able to pull off another hit for Fran Drescher and crew.

How can you tell when an actress can't act, without even needing to see her perform? When she has to put her own name in the title of her sitcom! Let's face it: Fran Drescher has only ever been able to play Fran Drescher. She's always the nasal, long-nailed, 'white trash with a heart of gold' character that she was on The Nanny, and we are led to believe that her off-screen persona, while possibly slightly less annoying, is in fact pretty close to her on-screen one.

I know some people loved this 'character' on The Nanny, so I suppose it's not all that surprising that Living with Fran is pretty much the same show (only this time she's got 3 of her OWN kids, not babysitting that British guy's - oh wait! The British guy IS the father of these kids!). Fans of The Nanny must be happy.

But as I watched this show for the first time, all I could think was: Isn't Fran Drescher getting bored with herself? I mean, she's been playing the same part, with the same affectations, the same type of clothes, the same exasperating-white-trash-with-a-heart-of-gold character for, like, 20 years now! Isn't she embarrassed to be showing everyone how very little acting talent she has? Couldn't she have gone to acting class during the years after The Nanny when she had nothing to do? It's no surprise this show was canceled. What's disconcerting is that it ever made it past a pilot in the first place.

My best friend and I were really looking forward to Living With Fran, and we must say we are totally disappointed. The writing was trite, the acting below average. We did like the daughter, Allison. The actress playing that role was the only believable character. The handsome 'goy toy', easy on the eyes, but needs a few more acting lessons.

I expected more from Fran, whom I just love. She is selling herself short on this sitcom. The second episode was a flip of the first episode. How many times will we have to see family members be shocked to learn of their age difference?

Fran would have been better off going for a more dramatic role, like the guest starring role she played on Lifetimes 'Strong Medicine'. She was sensational in that role.

To sum it up, its not what we expected at all. To those who enjoy it, good for you. We won't be watching, sorry Fran.

I have watched the show since the premiere and I think it is a hit. I don't think that Fran can do a bad show, she has talent just oozing out of her, she is real, down to earth, funny, and quick witted. I LOVE THE SHOW and don't change anything about it. I watched her show the Nanny from the pilot episode to the series finale, and even though I have seen it many times, it is still funny, not the kind of humor that gets boring after awhile, but she is continuously funny and refreshing.

Fran Drescher is the kind of actress that can take a bad script and turn it into a hit, thats why I say I don't think she could do a bad show.

SHE IS AWESOME!!!!!