Editor's Note: This article contains additional information for readers who have not viewed the first episode yet.
In the very first scene of ABC's new sitcom, "Bless This Mess," the Rio therapist (Lake Bell) shows a grainy photo of a charming farmhouse standing under a blazing blue sky. She tries to convince her patients that she is not having a nervous breakdown as she prepares to leave her job and give up her life in New York for a small farm. 39, alfalfa in rural Nebraska.
"How could I not move to a Nebraska farm when it looks like this? she said about the picture. Bam, I live in a Pinterest page. "
As you can imagine, fantasies begin to appear when Rio and her husband, music journalist Mike (Dax Shepard), finally arrive at their farm, inherited from Mike's dead aunt, in the land of good life: home is a dilapidated hut. , the sterile soil.
Unshakeable, Mike carries his wife over the threshold. Then the ground collapses quickly. Then the ceiling.
The new series, which debuted tonight and will be broadcast at 20:30. Tuesdays on ABC follow the couple as they try to try out Bucksnort Farm, a fiction, in Nebraska. Along the way, they make friends with colorful residents like Rudy (Ed Begley Jr.), a barn dweller who sometimes uses the couple's bathroom, and Constance (Pam Grier), sheriff of the city, hardware and director.
It is true that the series covers a well traveled territory; The plot will seem familiar to anyone who has ever seen "Green Acres" or "The Money Pit". But "Bless This Mess" works, thanks to intelligent writing and a solid selection of seasoned professionals.
Bell, who is also a co-creator, and Shepard are immediately sympathetic as an unlucky couple, skillfully playing two roles that could quickly become unbearable under less agreeable actors. (Rio is addicted to his smartphone, Mike, citing his good faith from the US Midwest, boasts of being able to find the best traditional tomato at Whole Foods.)
But Grier and Begley Jr. steal the first episode of the series with a hilarious and awkward scene in which the two men discuss stretch denim in the Constance store. I laugh the loudest at Rudy's direct explanation about the exchange: "We have a lot of sexual chemistry.
David Koechner, Lennon Parham and JT Neal also appear as a close family staring at Mike and Rio's farm if the couple fails in his dreams.
Although the series was shot in California with a green backdrop of Nebraska, the first episode has several nods that will surely please its audience in the Midwest: the couple passes in front of the green sign "Home of Arbor Day" then As they travel to their new home, Mike wears a Husker hat while he repairs the ruined roof.
The series boasts a mostly Midwestern writing staff, including Barbie Adler, originally from Omaha. Co-creator Elizabeth Meriwether says that Adler is a kind of Nebraska consultant for showrunners.
And it plays well on the screen. The jokes are downright on the urban couple, not the locals. The Cornhusker State is only the background of a story that mocks the often idealized image of "the simple life."
Here, Mike and Rio discover that success depends more than mere appearances. This comes from a combination of hard work and, perhaps, a small dose of Nebraska.
In the last scene of the pilot, the couple clings to the roof of the farm after the fall of its ladder, which fails them. Suddenly, Constance arrives and comes to the rescue with a team of new neighbors.
"Hey," she explains, "it's just what we do, okay?"
"Dumb and Dumber" (1994)
There is this scene where Lloyd makes a mistake by heading to Lincoln, Nebraska, instead of Aspen, Colorado. Of course, nowhere does this pair of signs exist. IMDB lists Nebraska as a location. But if the scene of the wrong direction – or the one in which Lloyd bought out TOTALLY – was that of Nebraska? I can not be sure. It seems like it could be Nebraska.
"Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" (2013)
In the comedy starring Johnny Knoxville, our older hero lives in Lincoln. No scenes were filmed at this location, but they shot images of the Nebraska State Capitol to intersperse Lincoln's scenes.
"Dances with the wolves" (1990)
Although the best winning picture was almost entirely filmed in South Dakota, her film locations included Nebraska. A note at the end of the film mentions that the last group of free Sioux Indians went to Fort Robinson, Nebraska.
"Elizabethtown" (2005)
Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy filmed scenes of the Scotts Bluff National Monument and its environs, to the west of Scottsbluff and Gering, and to Carhenge, north of the Alliance.
"The murder of Richard Nixon" (2004)
You may not remember this shoot of this Sean Penn movie in several downtown and downtown Omaha locations. Penn also shot parts of his 1991 film "The Indian Runner" in Omaha.
"Held Up" (1999)
The comedy Jamie Foxx and Nia Long were shot partly in Fremont, Nebraska.
"Paper Moon" (1973)
Peter Bogdanovich shot parts of his classic road movie near Rulo, Nebraska.
"Lucky" (2011)
This serial killer comedy by Colin Hanks and Jeffrey Tambor was shot in 30 venues in Omaha and Council Bluffs, including the offices of the Daily Nonpareil.
"American honey" (2016)
Shia LaBeouf briefly moved to a Bennington family to shoot scenes from Andrea Arnold's film.
"Dumb and Dumber" (1994)
There is this scene where Lloyd makes a mistake by heading to Lincoln, Nebraska, instead of Aspen, Colorado. Of course, nowhere does this pair of signs exist. IMDB lists Nebraska as a location. But if the scene of the wrong direction – or the one in which Lloyd bought out TOTALLY – was that of Nebraska? I can not be sure. It seems like it could be Nebraska.
"Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" (2013)
In the comedy starring Johnny Knoxville, our older hero lives in Lincoln. No scenes were filmed at this location, but they shot images of the Nebraska State Capitol to intersperse Lincoln's scenes.
"Dances with the wolves" (1990)
Although the best winning picture was almost entirely filmed in South Dakota, her film locations included Nebraska. A note at the end of the film mentions that the last group of free Sioux Indians went to Fort Robinson, Nebraska.
"Elizabethtown" (2005)
Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy filmed scenes of the Scotts Bluff National Monument and its environs, to the west of Scottsbluff and Gering, and to Carhenge, north of the Alliance.
"The murder of Richard Nixon" (2004)
You may not remember this shoot of this Sean Penn movie in several downtown and downtown Omaha locations. Penn also shot parts of his 1991 film "The Indian Runner" in Omaha.
"Held Up" (1999)
The comedy Jamie Foxx and Nia Long were shot partly in Fremont, Nebraska.
"Paper Moon" (1973)
Peter Bogdanovich shot parts of his classic road movie near Rulo, Nebraska.
"Lucky" (2011)
This serial killer comedy by Colin Hanks and Jeffrey Tambor was shot in 30 venues in Omaha and Council Bluffs, including the offices of the Daily Nonpareil.
"American honey" (2016)
Shia LaBeouf briefly moved to a Bennington family to shoot scenes from Andrea Arnold's film.