Largely panned by critics, 2 Broke Girls has won two People’s Choice, and earned enough of a following to warrant a fifth season on CBS. Full of crass hit-or-miss one-liners, certainly isn’t for the easily offended and tends to recycle a lot of the same jokes. The Complete Fourth Season is now available on DVD from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.
For those unfamiliar with the series, Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs) are working as waitresses as in a diner as waitresses while running a fledgling cupcake business. The two girls don’t seem to do much work, but they crack wise incessantly. The cast of characters surrounding them are easy targets for cheap jokes. Han (Matthew Moy), the owner of the diner, is short and sexually inexperienced; the cook, Oleg (Jonathan Kite) has hygiene issues; and the cashier, Earl (Garrett Morris), is an elderly man with failing vision with a taste for marijuana.
Storylines are tangential to the one-liners often simply used as setups. This is truly old school stuff, with the laugh track in full effect when each regular character first appears onscreen. There are moments when the show is mildly entertaining, but for my money, everyone is trying too hard to be funny. In one episode, Caroline wants to go out dancing and says, “The last time I shook my booty was when we ran out of toilet paper.” Groan. I do admit to a few giggles here and there, directed at jokes involving pop culture.
All in all, the fourth season of 2 Broke Girls is a sitcom that is way past its sale. Since CBS has given the series a fifth season, it will be interesting to see if the writers and producers make any changes to things, or maintain the rather stale one-liner sling-fest.
As a side note, the fourth season includes guest appearances by Kim Kardashian West, Lily Aldridge and Sandra Bernard.
Season four’s 22 episodes are presented in the 1.78:1 aspect ratio and look pretty sharp for a standard DVD. Colors pop throughout and contrast is well balanced. The image is crisp and detailed, with no apparent anomalies.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track places the dialogue in the front and center channels and comes across clearly and concisely. Surround activity is minimal.
English, French and Spanish subtitles are included.
The following extras are available:
- Gag Reel: (5:02) Typical hijinks here.
- Unaired Scenes (7:13) These all hit the cutting room floor for a reason.