‘Rita Rocks’ 1.02 Review: Lies Mean I Love You
Episode: Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah-Ah
Original Air Date: October 21, 2008
I like Rita Rocks. True, I’ll like it even more when Lifetime stops airing it every single weeknight (once per week is more than enough). But, even with the overexposure, the one episode I’ve caught thus far is entertaining, engaging, and funny, and it seems a good fit for the family-sitcom crowd.
“Lies, Lies, Lies, Yeah-Ah” has two subplots: Rita’s (Nicole Sullivan) lie to her youngest daughter Shannon (Kelly Gould) when she misses an important moment during the child’s karate class, and Rita and her fellow band members finally allowing her oldest daughter Hallie’s (Natalie Dreyfuss) always-present boyfriend Kip (Raviv Ullman) to join their “old folks” band.
In the last case, Hallie doesn’t want her boyfriend to join her mom’s newly formed band because it would be embarrassing on the social front. However, Kip doesn’t care about the age thing; he likes to play drums and he knows they’re a good band.
When he shows up during a practice session in Rita’s garage one day and impresses the members — postal carrier Patty (Tisha Campbell-Martin) on keyboard and unemployed neighbor Owen (Ian Gomez) on upright bass, in addition to Rita on guitar — with his skills, their reluctance immediately vanishes and he’s in.
The main plot swings into motion when band practice runs overtime, causing Rita to show up at Shannon’s karate presentation just after her daughter breaks a board for the first time. Since her husband Jay (Richard Ruccolo) missed the moment on videotape, thanks to a non-charged battery, Rita lies that she saw her daughter’s achievement in order to prevent Shannon’s disappointment.
The truth comes out when Hallie lets it slip, and Rita overcompensates by purchasing a family dog that Shannon names Yoda. Yet, when Yoda goes missing, Hallie gets the opportunity to understand why lying to their children is sometimes unavoidable for parents. Shannon looks so upset when she realizes Yoda isn’t home, Hallie tells her the dog is at the groomer. Thankfully, Owen returns Yoda later when he finds the dog wandering around outside.
Although I missed the pilot episode on Monday that I assume sets the series up (there’s no encore until next Monday, so I’ll catch it then), the second episode makes it very clear who’s who and what the theme of the show is: working suburban mom Rita juggles her roles as a happily married wife and competent mother by forming a garage band as a creative outlet and stress buster.
That’s an excellent premise for Lifetime’s target audience, and it helps that the show seems well-written and capably acted by the effective and likable cast. It’s even funny, too, in that inoffensive, mild manner that characterizes many family-oriented sitcoms.
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POSTED IN: Recaps, Rita Rocks
2 opinions for ‘Rita Rocks’ 1.02 Review: Lies Mean I Love You
Judy
Oct 30, 2008 at 5:06 pm
It is with great interest that I watched Rita Rocks. As the guitarist of the all-mom rock band–the Mydols–Rita has conflicts that I definately can relate to. I don’t know which is worse, feeling guilty for doing something you want or resenting it when you can’t.
This show hits all the right notes for those of us who refuse to throw away our teenage dreams, even when we have teenagers of our own.
And I love the casting of Nicole Sullivan. She proves you don’t have to be ultra thin, or in your 20s, to be sexy and hip!
kaye
Dec 23, 2008 at 4:15 pm
that show is not funny… at all
LAME
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