FAMILY FUN
Wayans works hard for laughs in new sitcom ‘Marlon’
‘Marlon” is a throwback.
The NBC sitcom starring Marlon Wayans would fit in with ABC's TGIF bloc of comedies from the '90s — you know, the shows in which every crisis ended with a hug and an audience sighing loudly, “Awww.”
It's silly and sweet and depends entirely on the appeal and the comedic chops of its star, which, thankfully, are considerable.
Series creator and executive producer Wayans (“Scary Movie,” “Fifty Shades of Black”) plays Marlon, a social media star who must shill for such products as alcohol-free tequila to his 6 million followers to pay the bills. He is always on his phone filming his family's most embarrassing moments. With this man-child, there are always plenty of those.
The show presents the most fantastical depiction of divorce: Marlon and his ex-wife, Ashley (Essence Atkins, who co-starred with Wayans in “A Haunted House 2”), get along better than most loved-up newlyweds. Ashley has an endless bounty of smiles and grace for Marlon's shenanigans, as in the premiere, when he has a meltdown when she dares to pass up family night and the latest “Slaughter Camp” film to go out on a date.
Marley (Notlim Taylor) is their 14-year-old daughter, bookish and shy. Marlon is horrified to learn she is being bullied by a couple of her schoolmates at her ritzy private school. He advises her to go ghetto on the girls.
“If you black up, they gonna back up,” he says.
Zachery (Amir O'Neil, “Mann and Wife”), their tween son, is more the typical smart-aleck sitcom kid, although on this show, you can make the case he gets everything from his father.
Marlon's buddy Stevie (Diallo Riddle, “Silicon Valley”) crashed one night on Marlon's couch. That was two years ago. He's still there. Stevie, who seems three credits shy of a college degree in just about every major, can't take a hint.
Ashley's best friend Yvette (Bresha Webb, “Ride Along 2”) thinks Marlon is a moron. He thinks even less of her. Tonight, she announces she has found God and she's celibate.
“You sell a bit to somebody else,” Marlon replies.
In the second episode, airing immediately following, Ashley discovers Marlon has been keeping a secret since their divorce: their storage unit, with the George Foreman grill and “The Wiz” — on laserdisc. He's a hoarder.
Wayans reportedly goes off script for extended riffs. You'll know when it happens — he doesn't seem to breathe as the words fly faster and faster — and his cast mates can be seen breaking and laughing.
He shouldn't have to work this hard, but that's the funny thing about comedy. When the material's this light, somebody has to do some heavy lifting.