TV Review: Mediocre ‘Best Friends Forever’ Could Be Better, Probably Won’t Last Long

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – NBC’s new sitcom “Best Friends Forever” could have been significantly worse — I had awfully low expectations for another NBC relationship comedy premiering at a time of the year when hits are uncommon — but it’s also in no way memorable enough to feel like required viewing or something that’s going to be around for any significant amount of time. I don’t need every sitcom to have a high-concept hook and actually love it when a showrunner can find a way to inject an old formula with new life. But there’s not enough life here to have it linger by the time that the nightly news plays later that night much less by the time that it rolls around again a week later.

TV Rating: 2.5/5.0

One of the reasons that “Best Friends Forever” is nowhere near as grating as it could have been is solid chemistry between the two important relationships in the show — best friends Lennon (Lennon Parham) and Jessica (Jessica St. Clair) and loving couple Lennon and Joe (Luka Jones). So few of these shows actually take the time to make their core relationships feel genuine. We’ve all seen shows about friends in which it feels like the people we’re watching probably don’t even like each other off-set and we’ve all seen shows with couples that just don’t feel right. Bad sitcom showrunners always underestimate how much this problem can eat away at the foundation of their show. The foundation here works. All three characters are likable, we believe them, and they’re engaging to watch.

Best Friends Forever
Photo credit: NBC

But they’re not given much to do that’s funny. The big problem with the premiere of “Best Friends Forever” is a simple one — a lack of laughs. The story starts when Jessica is overnighted divorce papers while on Skype with her BFF Lennon. As her world is unraveling, her buddy does what any good friend would do — offers her support. So, Jessica comes to Lennon’s home for a visit and decides to stay for an undetermined amount of time, throwing her relationship with Joe into a spin.

Best Friends Forever Photo credit: NBC

Joe’s actually a pretty easygoing guy. The writers smartly don’t turn him into too much of a sitcom man-child, respecting both sides of what would be a complex dynamic. When a guy has plans for “Lazy Sunday” that include college football and Monster Chili, there are going to be problems when a culinary snob like Jessica invades the situation. And Lennon gets stuck in the middle. She wants to support both her growing relationship and her emotionally devastated friend.

When “Best Friends Forever” takes its concept slightly seriously, it works. Most notably, I believed Lennon’s caught-in-the-middle frustration. Parham is quite good as the lady stuck between a man she truly loves (and, like I said, the writers very smartly don’t demonize Joe at all) and a best friend who’s just as important to her. She doesn’t want to pick sides. She wants to make everyone happy. On a character and performance level, she’s the best thing about the show.

The other two characters don’t make out quite as well in the premiere. In particular, Jessica is a bit of a mess, especially in her over-reaction to her belief that Joe is going to propose with a truly gaudy ring. It feels over-written and not believable. I believe St. Clair is talented enough that this character could eventually get less cliched but I don’t imagine many viewers sticking around long enough to see that happen. I wish I could have seen more than one episode of “BFF.” In fact, it’s rare for NBC to send only one. Perhaps they know that most people won’t watch another.

By BRIAN TALLERICO Content Director HollywoodChicago.com brian@hollywoodchicago.com