Ronna & Beverly

If you're looking for a window into the yenta communities of Boston, Long Island, Los Angeles or Miami you need look no further than this hilarious relationship comedy featuring two spot-on perfect portrayals of two 50-something Jewish Mother/authors who make you cringe in the best way a la The Office or Larry David. Like the best cutting edge comedies, Ronna & Beverly is often irreverent, pushing the boundaries of social morays but always hitting the comedic mark. What makes this show even better is the Simpsons-like attention to detail (catch the 'Robert Parish' sandwich order) that let's you discover something new on the second, third and even fourth viewings. I've read that this is just a pilot but here's one plea to Showtime to reconsider their decision. There's a dearth of quality comedy on television and cable as it is, and we can't afford to let a project with such vast potential die on the vine.

I'm glad this didn't take itself seriously; that's the only part I liked about it. If you are a 14-year-old boy, you might like this, and that's cool. But If you are older and are getting just a little tired of all the crap, the media and the world around us has the guts to throw at us, then you shouldn't watch this. It's bad; it's real bad. But not that bad if you just turned on the TV on a Sunday afternoon and have nothing else to do. In the end, this is what there is for most of in our world today. The consumers decides what the media throws at us, and when the majority of the consumers are in fact, young or shallow-minded, this is what we get. 7/10.

Every aspect of the show is great, but the brilliance of Jessica Chaffin (Ronna) and Jamie Denbo (Beverly) cannot be overstated. They'd played these characters for years in their live shows before writing the pilot, so when the camera starts rolling it's catching these ladies in the middle of amazingly full, rich lives. Individually, they're a riot, but when they start to riff and spar together, it's bust-a-gut and wet yourself hilarious. Like, seriously consider wearing a diaper while you watch. What's amazing is the line they walk between caricature and gloriously, painfully real (and often pathetic) characterization. I love these women. I really hope it gets picked up and becomes a show I can watch every week, or perhaps twice a week, like American Idol.

The Ronna & Beverly pilot had me rolling on the floor laughing. Jessica and Jamie play hilarious and believable characters (particularly so if you come from Boston and have a Jewish mother yourself). They are so on-the-money portraying Jewish middle-aged divorcée Bostonians, that I was slightly embarrassed for myself, yet couldn't get enough! From the opening scene to the final frame, I was laughing out loud! I DVR'd the show... watched it twice already, and a third time with my husband who was busting at the seams! I hope Showtime picks up the show as an ongoing series.... it would entice me to keep Showtime in my cable lineup for 2010.

The brilliant comedic team of Chaffin and Denbo gets a long-overdue TV vehicle, in collaboration with "Weeds" creator Jenji Kohan. Think of it as a distaff "Curb Your Enthusiasm," but with TWO impossible Jewish protagonists instead of just one. It's a joy to watch the improvisational virtuosity of these two performers, who've honed their chemistry at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater and elsewhere. Especially hysterical: Beverly's violent reaction to a cute baby, in which her affection is articulated as a bloody rampage. Of course, like Larry David, these two are masters of mortification, so be forewarned. Painful, indeed, but also painfully funny.