I love how the show employs a voiceover to narrate every episode. The main protagonist is a young Adam Goldberg (Sean Giambrone), so hearing these stories told from the rose-tinted point of view he’s got as an adult really reinforces the idea that this was the most definitive and memorable time in Adam’s life. The voiceover itself is reminiscent of Fred Savage’s narration in The Wonder Years, a show that started airing in 1988 (the year I was born, coincidentally). Family shows have always been a hot commodity in the world of primetime television, but there’s something about a comedic period piece that really seems to resonate with viewers. Just look at Fresh off the Boat and That ‘70s Show.
The best part to me is the endless well of reality Goldberg has to draw from when developing the on-screen interpretations of his family members. He didn’t create them from scratch, he molded them from the clay of his real-life experiences. Adam’s parents, Murray (Jeff Garlin) and Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey), are as hilarious as they are in love with their family, but without the bevy of actual human experiences that was used to round them out their characters and the strong personalities they came with ran the risk of coming off as two-dimensional. Fortunately, that’s not the case.
Beverly G is your classic over-bearing mother. She will love you, and take care of you, and remind you that you’re her baby for much longer than you’d probably like, and God help you if you try to stop her. Like every member of her family, however, at the end of the day she’s coming from a place of love, even if the way she shows it can be flat-out crazy. (Like the time she faked a poltergeist in the TV so she could scare some cuddles out of little Adam. You know, that old chestnut.)