ABC’s midseason comedies are actually better than their regular show pickups. Here’s hoping they stick around. Title issues aside, living with your parents (or family in general) is annoying, frustrating, and will drive you to the point of insanity. If you live with your parents or if you have different lifestyle views from your parents, you will relate to this show.

ABC’s midseason comedies are actually better than their regular show pickups. Here’s hoping they stick around. Title issues aside, living with your parents (or family in general) is annoying, frustrating, and will drive you to the point of insanity. If you live with your parents or if you have different lifestyle views from your parents, you will relate to this show.

The Cast

How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life) stars Sarah Chalke (How I Met Your Mother, Scrubs) as Polly, Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds) as Elaine, Jon Dore (The Jon Dore Show) as Julian, Rachel Eggleston as Natalie, and Brad Garrett (Everybody Loves Raymond) as Max.

The Premise

Polly is a recently divorced, single mom, who’s having a tough time making it in this economy. When she can’t make it on her own, she and her daughter, Natalie, move in with her mother and stepfather, Elaine and Max. They are opposite from her daughter, free-flowing and laid back, products of the 70s. Meanwhile, Polly is the opposite of how she was raised; organized and put together, believing that children need shelter, structure, and guidance. Despite their different outlooks on parenting, Polly and her parents come together to raise Natalie, and through their journey, Polly begins to learn a few things about herself.

Initial Reaction

Title issues aside, living with your parents (or family in general) is annoying, frustrating, and will drive you to the point of insanity. Polly is a cliché, uptight character and her parents are sex hungry with no filters. It often feels like Polly is trying to mother them, which is frustrating. She and her daughter have been living with her parents for an entire year. Do they not know how to take care of her? Is she such a control freak that she’s never allowed them to be alone with her? Because let’s be honest, that is weird. Natalie is a super cute kid, costume clad kid. Polly’s parents aren’t bad people. They want her to have a good life, but the problem is she’s too uptight to let herself have any fun. Honestly, I want to grab her by the shoulders and shake her.

Why You Should Watch

If you live with your parents or if you have different lifestyle views from your parents, you will relate to this show.

Sarah Chalke is, as always, a true comedic actress. If you’ve seen her past work, you’ll like her in this role (even if she drives you a little crazy with her neurotic ways).

Brad Garrett and Elizabeth Perkins mesh well together, making their relationship fun to watch. They’re funny, relaxed hippies, who ways of parenting aren’t as bad as Polly thinks. Eventually, she’ll see the light. It’s kind of like how you always remember your childhood a certain way and your parents have completely different memories than you.

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