Critic Reviews
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Ritter is still quite adept at broad, keep-it-simple comedy, and this one plays to his strengths. [17 Sep 2002]
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Who knew the dumbed-down domestic sitcom could be fun again? ... OK. It's not "Seinfeld." But "Eight Simple Rules" does just what it's supposed to - amuse, entertain, disperse a few laughs and warm fuzzies. [17 Sep 2002]
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Successfully cross-breeding "Three's Company" and "Full House" may be achievement enough to earn the show's creators a Nobel Prize in genetics, but the audience for a family sex farce may be limited. ... Misgivings about the sexual content aside, "8 Simple Rules" is, indeed, one of the better sitcom prospects of the 2002-03 season. The writing is uneven, but Ritter is a rarity, an actor who doesn't need funny things to say because he can say things funny. [17 Sep 2002]
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Not flashy, not spectacular, "8 Simple Rules" is a cute show that will appeal to its intended audience.
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It's surprisingly sweet and cleverly hilarious. ... The show may not exactly blaze new trails, but it treads some old ones with finesse and veracity -- and even, thanks largely to Ritter, an endearingly rumpled charm. [17 Sep 2002]
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The Hollywood ReporterJul 3, 2014No one is likely to mistake ABC's "8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" for the next great comedy, but it is nicely written, decently paced, solidly performed and ably directed. [16 Sep 2002]
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Ritter has a well-honed sense of comedic timing, and some of the lines are clever, for a change. This one could grow on you. [15 Sep 2002]
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A lot of this material may be hackneyed, but Ritter puts it over with energy and a slathering of shtick. It's simple, really: Like him, like the show.
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I find Ritter's performance -- as a father besieged by a pop culture he no longer understands -- to be, within the confines of the series' dumb-dad punchlines, rousingly substantial.
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It has a few naughty jokes, lots of good-looking youngsters, and is watchable family-entertainment. [17 Sep 2002]
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Ritter ... still has the same deceptively innocent face, the same way with a line, the same gift for a great double take or a bit of physical business. And he's still surrounded by pretty women who invariably get the better of him. Unfortunately, he's also still working with scripts that aren't up to the comic effort he pours into them.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 5 out of 7
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Mixed: 1 out of 7
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Negative: 1 out of 7
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Dec 3, 2011
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Dec 3, 2011