HUMOR, ANXIETY ARE HIGH IN `BIG DAY'.Byline: David Kronke Television Critic The title sequence of ``Big Day'' perfectly captures the show's skewed skewed curve of a usually unimodal distribution with one tail drawn out more than the other and the median will lie above or below the mean. skewed Epidemiology adjective Referring to an asymmetrical distribution of a population or of data wit. George Michael's ``Faith'' plays on the soundtrack as we see a factory assembly line crank out smiling plastic wedding-cake couples that glide and then plummet off a conveyor belt. High emotions can make any couple's wedding day fairly traumatic, but ABC's new comedy ``Big Day'' applies Murphy's Law to a ``24''-style conceit -- an eventful, disaster-strewn day plays out over the course of one season -- for a series that boasts a farcical far·ci·cal adj. 1. Of or relating to farce. 2. a. Resembling a farce; ludicrous. b. Ridiculously clumsy; absurd. far , eager-to-amuse energy. ``Big Day'' examines the efforts of sweetly high-strung Alice (Marla Sokoloff) and goofy neo-slacker Danny (Josh Cooke) to survive their wedding day, which has been precision-planned to within an inch of its life by Alice's anal-retentive mother, Jane (Wendy Malick, using every weapon in her comic repertoire). Unbeknownst to Alice, Jane has surreptitiously sur·rep·ti·tious adj. 1. Obtained, done, or made by clandestine or stealthy means. 2. Acting with or marked by stealth. See Synonyms at secret. changed a number of the event's details, including changing the reception menu from Alice's beloved Caesar salad to baby greens. The ensuing consternation is played at the same high pitch as when Jack goes rogue on ``24.'' Jane defames the Caesar: ``It's heavy, it's creamy and (incredulous pregnant pause) ``croutons? We have people flying in from Canada!'' It may not scan on the page, but Malick's line reading is absolutely priceless. Salads, alas, will soon become the least of the day's worries. Alice's father, Steve (a droll droll adj. droll·er, droll·est Amusingly odd or whimsically comical. n. Archaic A buffoon. [French drôle, buffoon, droll, from Old French drolle Kurt Fuller), doesn't think his daughter should be marrying a doofus doo·fus n. pl. doo·fus·es Slang An incompetent, foolish, or stupid person. [Perhaps blend of doof, fool (from Scots) and goofus, fool (from goof). such as Danny, whose own father (Stephen Tobolowsky) turns out to be an even bigger eccentric. Alice's sister, Becca (a very wry Miriam Shor), after spending the night with Danny's best friend, Skobo (Stephen Rannazzisi), accidentally drinks from a water glass containing his contacts, effectively blinding him; his subsequent disinterest dis·in·ter·est n. 1. Freedom from selfish bias or self-interest; impartiality. 2. Lack of interest; indifference. tr.v. To divest of interest. Noun 1. in her has them at each other's throats. ``Give me a basic level of common courtesy,'' Becca implores Skobo. Skobo replies, ``And you don't think that sounds clingy?'' Moreover, wedding guests have issues of their own with the happy couple, the wedding planner (Stephanie Weir) is perpetually on the brink of a meltdown, and the unpredictable weather threatens to transform ``Big Day'' into a big disaster. And that's just three episodes' worth of mayhem. At times, the plotting feels more like piling on, and so far each episode has Alice and Danny bickering before making up anew, a trope trope n. 1. A figure of speech using words in nonliteral ways, such as a metaphor. 2. A word or phrase interpolated as an embellishment in the sung parts of certain medieval liturgies. that could get tiresome if repeated throughout the season. But even when ``Big Day'' threatens to stumble into coarse slapstick slapstick Comedy characterized by broad humour, absurd situations, and vigorous, often violent action. It took its name from a paddlelike device, probably introduced by 16th-century commedia dell'arte troupes, that produced a resounding whack when one comic actor used it to , the deftly funny cast strives to ensure that this is the best comic evocation of a worst-cast scenario. David Kronke, (818) 713-3638 david.kronke@dailynews.com BIG DAY - Three and one half stars What: A young couple's amusingly disastrous wedding day plays out over the course of a season. Where: ABC ABC in full American Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. television network. It began when the expanding national radio network NBC split into the separate Red and Blue networks in 1928. (Channel 7). When: 9 tonight. In a nutshell: Occasionally too broad but nicely performed and often funny. |
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