SMILF

SMILF finds its resonance--comical and emotional--in a no-frills attitude and unapologetic realism. [3 Nov 2017, p.57]

Three episodes in, I am charmed by Shaw’s way of sketching her character, Bridgette Bird, in brazen strokes of absurdity and delicate gestures of woe. ... Shaw proves herself a fantastically nimble performer, by turns tough and impish.

If you’re predisposed to finding humor and humanity in the depths of desperation, SMILF delivers with crass wit, sharp insight and empathy.

None of SMILF would work beyond the struggling single-mom trope if it weren't for Shaw truly announcing herself here as a creative force. ... Showtime looks to have found something special with SMILF.

Shaw’s performance as Bridgette is superb, and never feels less than deeply authentic. ... SMILF can sometimes be all over the map, narratively, but in ways that feel true to life, a messiness of necessity for a woman who resists the daily indignities with a fierce determination and blunt openness.

SMILF is not quite a great series yet. But in its initial trio of episodes ... it’s obvious it has the potential to get there.

It’s an admirable portrait of a character in a social class that’s underrepresented on TV, but it’s more depressing than entertaining. The struggle is real--but it’s not funny.

Shaw has crafted a fascinating and complicated lead character, even if the series is messy in its tone and plotting.

The series is smart enough to make Ally no less insecure than Bridgette in her own vastly more privileged world. In SMILF, no one has it all. [13-26 Nov 2017, p.17]

The show improved with each one. The premiere is tonally all over the place--it’s hard to know which of Bridgette’s mistakes are meant to be funny, and which speak of tragedy. ... But then, in episode three, Shaw seems to find her footing, and I found myself thinking that SMILF could develop a “Shameless”-like charm.

An intriguing yet contextually challenged new dramedy. ... There’s little about "SMILF" that distinguishes it from a raft of similar shows that have come and gone — and will keep coming and going.

Like some past Showtime comedies (“Happyish,” “Nurse Jackie”), SMILF has an unsteady tone, swerving from emotional realism to quirkiness to slapstick raunch to abrupt fantasy sequences, in roughly descending order of what works best. There’s a riffing, open-mic quality to the first three episodes, as if the show were still trying on personalities.

"SMILF" certainly has no shortage of ideas. ... What the show doesn’t consistently have in its first three episodes, however, is a sense of how to hone those stories, and make them both structurally sound and specific.

Shaw is likable and undoubtedly a selling point for the series, but unless the show finds its focus, it’s not going to be enough.

While there’s much to like about SMILF, its praiseworthy elements are pieces that fail to fall together into a cohesive whole.

Being gross, graphic and disagreeable has not kept Shameless from having a long run on Showtime. SMILF is in that vein, and perhaps also will find enough of an audience to sustain it. It’s hard to know what going to work anymore. But this one just doesn’t work for me.

Unfortunately, it’s not especially funny. It’s one dark, depressing look at a SMILF.

There’s a potentially great show lurking not far beneath the surface ... But every time the stronger version of the series gets its head above water, it gets shoved back down by a puzzling creative choice that left me wondering if it's worth waiting around to see if Shaw and company can achieve SMILF's full potential.