Simply put, Bonnie Hunt is brilliant. She is at her best when she is writing as well performing. Her performances in Return to Me, The Building, The Bonnie Hunt Show and now Life Wife Bonnie are amazing
I agree with the previous poster who said that Bonnie's method is to use characters to drive her plot, not a `must see' one-liner after another. Audiences didn't get it on her last outings, and though both were critically hailed, the audience doesn't like to wait for a laugh. The scene in the second episode where little Charlie Stewart and Bonnie had their exchange about the gym shorts was brilliant. When he raised his hand and said `whatever,' I my sides nearly burst. Plus, I swear it was all improv.
Now that Bonnie is in her late 30's, it makes sense for her set herself in a family situation. Bonnie must be one of the most loyal people in show business. First, in 1993, CBS offered to renew The Building with significant cast changes. Bonnie said no, because she didn't want to `dis' her friends. And if you have followed her career, you will see that Holily Wortell, Don Lake, Tom Virtue, David Alan Grier, Mark Derwin and more are in project after project with her.
I wish Bonnie and her crew all of the success in the world - it's high time that the rest of the world recognizes her.
If you haven't seen Return to Me, please do yourself a favor and rent it tonight. I cried during the first ½ hour then laughed at the rest.
I also must say that I was no fan of David Duchovny before Return to Me, thinking that he was just a snobbish personality. Once I saw his performance in RTM, I became a fan. Anyone who can deliver that kind of performance can't be all bad!
One interesting side note is that Life With Bonnie is preceded on ABC by According to Jim - Jim Belushi played Bonnie's husband in Return to Me. And, it's followed by Less Than Perfect, which stars Sara Rue, who 12 years ago played Edda Passetti on Grand as part of the ensemble cast with featured Bonnie as a neurotic heiress.
Finally, Bonnie brought the equally brilliant Carroll O'Connor's final performance to the screen. His work in RTM made me remember what a national treasure he was.
Go get 'em Bonnie!
