Are You There, Chelsea? is a sitcom based on a book with a better title, namely, “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea.”
Created by “Dharma & Greg” writers Dottie Zicklin and Julie Ann Larson, the series stars Laura Prepon (“That ‘70s Show”) as a twentysomething, pre-fame bartender Chelsea Handler and Chelsea Handler (“Chelsea Lately”) as Chelsea’s older, brunette sister Sloane.
... terrible. ...
... what would really help "Chelsea" is a lead character who seemed like an actual person, not just a sex drive accessorized with a vodka bottle. ...
... Next to the real thing, Ms. Prepon’s Chelsea seems too conventionally pretty and eager to please. ..
... settles for shooting off rounds of bad and better jokes at the Gatling-gun pace of three-camera comedy. ...
... sad, half-baked … built from an astonishing number of clichés … exactly the sort of stink pile that Handler would make insulting remarks about if such a show’s star came on her talk show. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
... stinker …
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
... There are some funny lines and some workable characters, but ... Yeah, there's a "but": The show's just not as funny as Chelsea Handler is when she's playing Chelsea Handler. Maybe if Prepon's character weren't named Chelsea and maybe if Handler herself weren't in the frame to remind you of what real comic delivery can be, we'd accept Prepon more than we do, her acting limitations notwithstanding.
... You may laugh, but you’ll hate yourself afterward. ...
… Prepon manages to give Chelsea’s raunchy lines and irritating actions - including the brush-off of that opening DUI - more zing and charm than the material merits. …
… will test even her most ardent fans — and won't win her any new ones. …
… punishingly awful …
... merely reinforces that if Handler's an acquired taste, she's also a pretty sour one. The protagonist prays to vodka, and only her loyal fans will likely survive the first two episodes without it. … Even the title -- as revised from Handler's book "Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea" -- becomes about as nonsensical as the rest of the show. …
8:30 p.m. Wednesday. NBC.
