I am – Hercules!!
The third Fox sitcom from the “Arrested Development”-“Sit Down Shut Up” team of writer-producer Mitch Hurwitz and writer-actor Will Arnett, “Running Wilde” examines a wealthy and callow heir’s efforts to woo a childhood crush who has grown into a beautiful and selfless single-mom eco-activist. Arnett’s co-stars include fellow “Arrested” vet David Cross as a romantic rival and a hair-straightened Keri Russell (“Felicity”) as the object of both men’s affections.
Arnett’s character, Steve Wilde, is very similar to Gob Bluth, the fellow he played in “Arrested.”
As is Hurwitz’ wont, the humor is very silly. Wilde inexplicably believes the voice of his manservant is a voice in his head. There’s no banana stand, but a family does move into a treehouse on the rich man’s estate.
Hurwitz is justly credited as “Arrested’s” mastermind, but perhaps another (now departed) component of his writing staff deserves credit for what made “Development” so funny?
In any case, the laughs-per-minute ratio is way too low to make me stick with this one.
HitFix says:
… I'm starting to wonder if I even want to see an "Arrested" film. "Running Wilde" is, simply, not very funny. … the second episode, with all-new material and the casting tweaks, was even more lifeless. …
TV Squad says:
… the pilot and the second episode that Fox sent out this fall display a comedy covered in flop sweat, trying very hard to be funny. Good comedies take a lot of work, but that strain shouldn't show up on the screen. It pains me to say that, despite all the obvious effort, I can't see how 'Running Wilde' could get significantly better.…
USA Today says:
… for the romance to take hold, we have to see some acceptable-partner quality in Steve, some innate charm, untapped good or sexual magnetism that makes you root for a happily-ever-after ending. Instead, Arnett imbues him with the same amusingly creepy patina that works well for him on Arrested and 30 Rock but works against him here. Unfortunately, Russell fares little better. She's never looked lovelier, but the writers made the character too self-righteous to be attractive. Nor does it help that they've undermined any chance we might have of taking Emmy's relationship issues seriously by teaming her with Cross, another talented Arrested alumnus who is badly miscast here. …
The New York Times says:
… Mitch Hurwitz, who teamed with Mr. Arnett on the incomparable “Arrested Development,” created “Running Wilde” and brings to it madcap social commentary, but this sitcom is not as inventive. It’s the “Sabrina” story mixed with “Arthur,” and it strains to make the tycoon’s son endearingly weak and childish. …
The Los Angeles Times says:
… just regrettable … Although admittedly handed Halloween costumes rather than characters, the cast does little more than walk them across the set. …
The Washington Post says:
… "Arrested Development" alum Will Arnett, who is indeed a gifted funnyman, is stuck trying to lift "Running Wilde" up out of the jungle muck. … Whatever hopes "Arrested Development" fans may have held for a new Will Arnett series begin to dissipate by Episode 2 -- even with another "Development" funnyman, David Cross, on board …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… frantic, bizarre and sometimes quite funny, but it's difficult to see how the thin plot can carry a series. …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… While the reworked pilot is a marked improvement over the original, the parts are still not working together, but you'd like to believe they will be in a few episodes. …
The Boston Herald says:
… Arnett isn’t stretching himself here, but he’s still funny as a man who can’t comprehend why he can’t buy the love of his life. Russell brings a fervor to the role of a woman who has yet to come across a tree she wouldn’t want to hug. …
The Boston Globe says:
… a rusty lug nut. It’s stupid, but not in the brilliantly stupid and farcical manner of “Arrested Development.’’ It’s just a fast-paced, empty, odd-couple comedy that is irritating before the end of the first episode. … “Running Wilde’’ is weak on its own terms. It’s another example of how even the most impressive resumes don’t always add up to good TV. …
The Hollywood Reporter says:
… The pilot is full of one-line delights -- material possession-deprived Puddle learns she's staying out of the rainforest for good and shouts, "I'll go get my thing!" -- but there also are John Hughes-esque clunkers like Wilde's comment to Emmy: "You have lorded having nothing over me since the day you found out I had everything." …
Variety says:
… all the "Arrested" parallels -- including an appearance by David Cross -- can't make "Wilde" run. … Keri Russell co-stars as the aforementioned Emmy, which should be about as close as this show comes to her namesake. She is to become the angel on Wilde's shoulder, and the two are supposed to be still hot for each other -- their lack of chemistry being only one of the disappointing areas in the pilot written by Mitch Hurwitz, Jim Vallely and Arnett …
9:30 p.m. Tuesday. Fox.
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