A new FX sitcom based on an award-winning Australian sitcom (which ran in the United States on IFC), “Wilfred” tells the tale of a suicidal pothead named Ryan (Elijah Wood) who appears to be the only person in the world who can carry on two-way conversations with his pretty neighbor’s dog.
Jason Gann, who co-created, co-wrote and co-starred in the Australian series, reprises his role as the furry title character.
David Zuckerman, the original showrunner on “Family Guy,” serves as the showrunner of the FX “Wilfred.”
The FX “Wilfred” is easily distinguished from IFC’s “Wildred” because it employs far more recognizable actors as guest stars, among them “Office” vets Ed Helms and Rashida Jones as well as Nestor Carbonell, Mary Steenburgen, Jane Kaczmarek, John Michael Higgens, Peter Stormare, Dwight Yoakum, George Coe, Chris Klein and Ethan Suplee.
Both versions put me in the mind of the big-screen’s (much better) “Fantastic Mister Fox” in that Wilfred isn’t quite fully anthropomorphized – he can switch between very human and very animalistic traits on a dime.
The first three episodes of the FX version made available for review have their moments, usually due to Gann’s performance, but too much of the time it feels like the writers are using TV-MA adult language, violence and drug use to mask the fact that the gags aren’t all that strong. I have to say the cheaper, lower-key and even raunchier Australian version was a lot better at nailing the funny.
… the first three episodes of 'Wilfred' feel relatively slight. The dynamic between Wilfred and Ryan is nicely underplayed by Wood and Gann, but once you get a sense of how the characters' relationship works, the episodes have somewhat similar arcs. That's not to say there aren't some satisfying moments sprinkled throughout the show. … It's not quite fully formed yet, but there are signs that 'Wilfred' may be barking up the right tree.
… willfully scatological, crude sometimes beyond reason, and clumsy at times when a defter touch would be beneficial. But in a sea of summer (and spring, and fall, and winter) sameness, it's refreshing to find a show that is content to go its own way …
… ends up muffled and not very funny. Mr. Gann’s bits of doggie business — turning in circles before sitting on the couch, chasing a laser-pen light — are reliably humorous, but beyond that the show doesn’t offer a lot of bark or bite. …
… It requires some fuzziness to work. And it works very well. … The humor is frequently scatological or sexual, but a mitigating sweetness enfolds it all. (The American "Wilfred" is more aspirational than its Australian forebear, which was originally about the fight between a man and a dog for a woman's attention.) Ryan is a good guy, and Wilfred, despite his bad habits, is a good dog. …
… rarely is an FX show as puzzlingly discordant … In moments where it ought to be subversively sweet, “Wilfred” opts for sour; in what might have been its funniest bits, it suddenly rolls over and plays dead; where it wishes to be ironic and droll, it is often just dumb or mean. …
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says:
… certainly has moments of high (and low) comedy but it's also hard to imagine the premise won't get stale pretty fast.
The San Francisco Chronicle says:
… stuffed with juvenile humor, steaming piles of bad taste and an idiotic premise. Perhaps an acquired taste for some viewers, but if the sheer absurdity of the show doesn't get you, the rather sweet undercurrent just may do the trick. …
… mangy mutt of a show … Wilfred’s dialogue is so dated, he might as well be shedding onscreen. “I will not be ignored, Ryan,” he says at one point, echoing Glenn Close’s “Fatal Attraction” harpy. In another scene, he’s muzzled like Hannibal Lecter. Maybe the Aussie time zone extends to 1990. … play dead. Good doggy.
… filled with the kind of coarse humor you’d find on FX’s “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia’’ or Fox’s “Family Guy.’’ The show has a nice sense of innocence, thanks to Wood’s gentle performance and the theme of personal transformation; but it is also filled with uneven sexual and scatological jokes, delivered with a dog-like lack of modesty, so viewer be warned. …
… What we have here, folks, is more proof that the comedy genre on television is stronger than ever. … the visual jokes alone are worth watching this series, plus it’s almost impossible to get tired of watching a guy in a dog suit say stuff like, “I’ll kill you. I’ll murder you in your sleep.” …
10 p.m. Thursday. FX.
