"Wilfred" Review: This One Should've Stayed In the Box
Sometimes I just can’t help myself…
I had seen the constant promotion for the new FX show, “Wilfred,” including appearances by the cast in the audience of “American Idol” and the guy in the dog suit during Major League Baseball games on FOX. So I just had to see what it was all about for myself.
As they say, be careful what you ask for…
“Wilfred” is perhaps the most bizarre show I’ve ever seen. And it’s also one of the filthiest. And that is not a good combination…
When first we meet the main character of the show, Ryan (Elijah Wood), he’s attempting to commit suicide. He’s sick of his sister, Kristen (Dorian Brown), constantly telling him how to live his life and he’s sad that his neighbor and secret crush, Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann), has a jerk of a boyfriend.
But when the suicide doesn’t work, Ryan finds himself helping Jenna out by watching her dog, Wilfred. Only Ryan doesn’t see a dog. He sees a man in a cheap-looking dog suit (Jason Gann, who co-created and starred in the Australian series on which the show is based)—who turns out to be the boyfriend he’s been hearing at Jenna’s house.
Wilfred is a crude, rude Australian who loves to drink beer, smoke pot and get Ryan into as much trouble as he can. In the premiere, Wilfred hatches a scheme which involves bodily functions—both dog and human. In the second episode, we hear way more about Ryan’s former girlfriend than we ever needed to hear. And in the third episode, Ethan Suplee (“My Name Is Earl”) guest stars in a thankless role as Ryan’s obnoxious, porn-addicted neighbor.
If you’re looking for an explanation as to why Ryan sees Wilfred as a man, you won’t get one. In fact, we don’t even see what Wilfred looks like as a dog (at least not in the first three episodes I saw). So when Wilfred licks someone’s face, we see a man lick someone’s face. When Wilfred gets friendly with a woman who stops to pet him, we see a man getting friendly with her and unfortunately some other stuff we really don’t need to see.
The sad thing is that, believe it or not, there is actual potential here. Ryan manages to learn some life lessons in between pot smoking sessions. And it becomes clear that all the trouble Wilfred gets Ryan into is as much about teaching Ryan how to live as it is about having fun with him. There are even some moments that are actually kind of sweet. But those few sweet moments just can’t overcome all the unnecessary filth. It’s hard to believe that Elijah Wood would give up film work to recite dialogue like this…
I know FX likes to think outside the box, but this is one I think they should’ve kept safely in the box and then buried it in someone’s backyard…
“Wilfred” premieres Thursday, June 23rd at 10 p.m. on FX…
Photo Credit: Michael Becker/FX
