BEN & KATE, THE STORY OF HOW A SINGLE MOTHER GETS HER SECOND CHILD WITHOUT HAVING SEX

There are loads of warm family comedies out there, but this one, Ben & Kate (Fox), is waaay too weird. It gets even creepier if you get to know that the creator of this show, Dana Fox (New Girl), borrowed Ben's personality from her own brother (which naturally means she must associate herself with Kate).

The story is about a single mother and a bar manager Kate Fox (well that's just cheesy, there are millions of other last names), her immature and to great extent idiotic older brother Ben and her 5-year-old daughter Maddie. Dakota Johnson (Social Network) and Nat Faxon (Bad Teacher) got the main part, Echo Kellum and Lucy Punch play Ben and Kate's sidekicks, Tommi and BJ, who are frankly more likeable and fun, than the Fox family. Since we're on that page, I still have hard time understanding why would you call a character in a family show BJ - is it only for the sake of  predictable, unsophisticated jokes, like that one in the pilot about what "BJ" means?

BJ being sexy

So in the pilot Ben gets an email from his ex, Darcy, which says "call me", and naturally, he doesn't call and just comes to his hometown (where his sister lives as well) only to find out (by stocking ex) that she is getting married. Some might think that now would be a good time to call her or maybe go home, but Ben wants to unexpectedly appear during the ceremony and convince Darcy to get back together. Nice plan, huh? But here's where it gets funny: when his sister Kate, who is described as 'down to earth' character in the synopsis, gets to know that somebody's wedding is in jeopardy, she does not send her brother to hell, but actually helps him, especially enthusiastically after Ben reveals the truth about Kate boyfriend's double life and ruins her first in five years chance for sexual intercourse. I can only assume that subconsciously Kate needed to ruin somebody else's steady relationship just to feel better, or otherwise Ben's idiocy is actually genetic, and she suffers from that as well.

In the end Ben decides to stay with his sister and his niece and help them (hard to tell how). And that's how Kate suddenly gets a second child to take care of.

I don't think this show is terrible, there is a couple of laughable moments; but it's definitely not the best. Not only because of the stupid-stupid-stupid main characters, but also, as I said in the beginning, because it's weird, and not in a good way. You don't have this type of relationship with your brother, I'm sorry, Dana Fox, you just don't.

Ben watches Kate in her sleep - supercreepy

Score: 5/10