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29 out of 44 people found the following review useful: Great show!, 29 July 2004 Author: Thomas Jolliffe (supertom-3) from Marlow, England
This is the modern take on the Cosby Show. While this isn't as successful it is funny. The thing with the Cosby show was that it was quite realistic. This show has some realism but is generally exaggerated and overplayed for more overt humour. It has more daring portrayals and deeper situations too, with the Kyle's young son taking drugs and also impregnating his girlfriend throughout the series of the show.The key thing that works here is the cast, much in the same way they did in Cosby. This is predominantly a far more modern family, younger parents and wilder children. Damon Wayon's is the father, Michael and he is hilarious. Damon is all about his delivery and is also a great physical comedian. I love Tisha Campbell as Jay, the mother of the household. She looks way to young to have two adult children but you soon forget that. She is vivacious and infectious. Then there is George O Gore as Junior the idiot son. The part is very over the top but funny, with Gore playing the dullard superbly. Jennifer Freeman is very good as the eldest daughter too, and not to mention sexy. The stars for me though are the child cast. Firstly Parker Mackenna Posey as Kady, the cutest sitcom creation since Rudy and the other little kid in the Cosby show. She's a great little actress and some of the lines she has a classic. I laugh almost every time she's on screen and she says something. Kids in these shows can often not have much charisma or can deliver lines well, but she does it excellently. The one that really makes me laugh though is the young genius and future husband of Kady, Franklin played by Noah Gray-Cabey. Every line he is given is superb, because generally he is given lines to say that you would never hear from someone that young. He's also the maestro pianist who serenades his girl with concerto pieces. The trademark line `Anyhoo!' is a gift for the audience that Franklin must utter at least once an episode. It's all funny stuff and lots of running jokes such as the ever more imaginative deliveries of the words `yes' and `no' with dances and palpitations resulting in an answer to a request from the kids. I have found myself doing the same, on one occasion taking a whole 2 minutes to tell my brother that I wouldn't buy him a takeaway.This is a very good comedy show and something I regularly watch. It's been done before but not like this.
25 out of 38 people found the following review useful: FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY FUNNY!!!!!!!!, 20 May 2002 Author: superboy478 from U.S.A.
Co-Creator, writer, and producer Damon Wayans also stars as the fun, loving, caring, and nightmarish father of 3, Michael Kyle.The show is about a married dad named Michael Kyle who has a sexy wife named Janet (Tisha-Campbell Martin) and three kids. Tow of which are growing into adulthood. Their names are : Junior (George O Gore II) who is a dummy at times but really is a cool bro, Claire (Jennifer Nicole Freeman) who doesn't care about anything but looks and boys, and finally there's Kady (Parker McKenna Posey) who is nothing but adorable and sweet with animals.This show is meant to be hilarious. But at the same time, it will teach you lessons about what life is like. And the right person for the job of being a dad is Damon Wayans. I think that he does a brilliant job with raising, punishing, and loving his kids.This show is my absolute favorite! I have never missed a single episode and don't plan to. I feel sad that the second season is ending this Wednesday at 7:00. I'll miss you Damon and the Kyles!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Coming Soon: My Wife and Kids- SEASON 3! I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!
20 out of 32 people found the following review useful: A very silly show!, 21 January 2006 Author: SonicStuart from Kansas City, MO
"My Wife and Kids" is one of the funniest sitcom shows ever! Damon Wayans is really silly in every episode and it makes me laugh in every single episode. Damon Wayans plays Michael Kyle who is a modern day patriarch and husband who rules his household with a unique and distinct parenting style. As he teaches his three children some of life's lessons, he does so with his own brand of wisdom, discipline and humor. Michael can only hope his parental advice, mixed with witty humor, will steer his children to act responsibly. Through it all, Jr., Claire and Kady know they can turn to their father when they need his guidance. This show has very silly and witty humor that can break your funny bone! This show premiered March 2001 on ABC and was canceled May 2005. But why did ABC cancel this show? I think it should have gone another season or two or at least some other network should have picked it up.User Rating: 10/10 BOTTOM LINE: VERY SILLY!
9 out of 15 people found the following review useful: so good, 3 September 2005 Author: willsgal1 from United Kingdom
This programme has an amazing cast which includes: Damon Wayans as the bald tough head father Michael Kyle Tisha Campbell-Martin as the feisty momma Janet 'Jay' Kyle George O Gore II as the dumb kid Michael Kyle Jr A.K.A Jr. Jennifer Nicole Freeman as the troublemaker teenager Claire Kyle and Parker Mckenna Posey as the cute youngster Kady Kyle. Damon Wayans is the creator/writer/producer (i think) he like Will and Jada has put his life on the screen, he has his family which include his son Damon Wayans Jr and Michael Wayans and many more helping him make this programme right and they have done it this is just basically a dysfunctional family with love between Michae and Jay. Hate between a brother and his sisters. With all the trouble that either Claire, Jr or/and Kady get into Michael thinks he can somehow sort it out with very different ways than normal fathers do Jay and the family sometimes help him out in what he calls Michael Kyle signature moments. Their comedy is funny because Damon has done stand up, a funny line i think is one like this: Michael Kyle: Junior, we provide a roof over your head, food on your plate, and clothes on your back, and yet you wanna sit around complaining. If that's not good enough for you hey so long sucker, see ya, bon voyage, arrived, later loser, goodbye, good riddance, peace out, let the doorknob hit ya where the good Lord split ya, don't come back around here no more, hasta la vista, kick rocks, and get the hell out. Michael Kyle Jr.: Well since you put it that way, I will. It's time for me to leave the nest, spread my wings, and fly. Michael Kyle: Yeah, well, it's going to have to flap real hard to get that big dodo egg head off the ground.
10 out of 17 people found the following review useful: An absolute ABC classic!, 22 January 2006 Author: Grace Zeh (filmgirlgz@gmail.com) from Chantilly, Virginia, USA
"MY WIFE AND KIDS," in my opinion, is an absolute ABC classic! I haven't seen every episode, but I still enjoyed it. There are many episodes that I enjoyed. One of them was where Junior (George O. Gore II) got his driver's license. If you want to know why, you'll have to have seen it for yourself. Before I wrap this up, I'd like to say that everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, even though it can be seen in syndication now, I strongly recommend you catch it just in case it goes off the air for good.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: Annoying Characters, Lame Jokes and Predictable Plots, 25 July 2009 Author: The-Incredible-Hack from United States
My Wife and Kids is about Michael and his wife Jay who have to deal with two teens and a younger daughter. Does this plot sound familiar because it should! My Wife and Kids doesn't bring anything new to the table for the sickcom genre. The show that it reminds me the most of is Bill Cosby and there's several references to The Cosby Show in several episodes. Now while I like Sickcom's a lot of them are at least tolerable but My Wife And Kids is painful to watch because of Jay and Claire who are both annoying beyond belief and Claire is a terrible actress. Every time I hear them talk I usually want to yank my ears off my head, okay they aren't that bad but they get annoying really quickly. The only thing that I like about this show is the heart to heart talks that Michael has with his kids and there good in a cheesy sort of way like Full House.
2 out of 3 people found the following review useful: A really real and funny concept of family, 14 September 2008 Author: Raul Faust from Joinville, Brazil
My wife and kids is a good and funny series that truly shows the worries and problems that happen the most even in the best families.Michael Kyle (daddy) is a man who is always trying to stop his children from doing teen's stuff like partying, drinking, loving or making love. When they do something wrong, he is right there to correct them (by the way he loves to make bad penalties)Janet 'Jay' Kyle (mother) has a strong personality and rarely agrees with her husband. She understands that their children are teenagers and like to do "wrong" things, unlike Michael doesMichael Kyle 'Jr' is a dumb guy who believes in everything other people say. In the beginning of the series, he's such a cool guy and tries to be like his father, but lately, I don't know why, he becomes a very very dumb dude and he starts being a problematic guy. In the end of the series he falls in love with Vanessa and becomes a father, or should I say, a dumb father who does nothing rightKady Kyle is a typical teenagers who loves to party, kiss and drink. She has many problems with her parents because they invade her privacy too much. She has a boyfriend called Tony who is catholic and is scared of everything, so we can't understand what makes she date him. I can remember one episode that they're prepared to have sex, but Michael Kyle scares Tony claiming that sex is very dangerous and deadly, so he decides to guard himself until he's married.I resume this is the best series of my life and I still watch it everyday after 3 years so I recommend to all of you - mostly for teenagers.
3 out of 5 people found the following review useful: A Tale Of Two Shows..., 9 June 2006 Author: poisonousdart75 from Boston, MA
This show was crap when it first came on. The first actress that played the daughter didn't fit the role, the writing was hit or miss, and Damon Wayans CLEARLY wasn't comfortable doing such a cornball family friendly show. The chemistry between himself and Tisha Cambell (they're long time friends, as are all of the Wayans clan with Tisha's husband and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett) DID work so they retooled the show. Once it returned, they recast the daughter, made the son much dumber (a la Eric from "Boy Meets World")and made the youngest daughter into a genius...(later they gave her a little genius boyfriend to do comedic guest appearances). The show, while if often rollercoasters from over the top buffoonery to being corny walks the line enough to keep it as a show that you can see Damon Wayans be comfortable in his own skin on the set (especially since the main writers, directors and consultants were ALL members of the Wayans family) AND in his character. Once everyone had been on the show for a while, they worked to everyone in the casts strengths and were able to make a consistently funny show on the air.However, there is TOO MUCH buffoonery, too many over the top antics, and oftentimes too much chaos happening in the life of the Kyle family. They made Junior TOO STUPID, they also made the eldest daughter an attractive, clumsy idiot from time to time and the youngest daughter wasn't even spared by the writers. I feel they jumped the shark and signed the shows death warrant when Junior got his girlfriend pregnant, she moved in and he married her and her parents were introduced (Junior's wife's father's character makes me WINCE just thinking about him). The show remained funny...but it was a UPN show on ABC if that makes any sense to the reader.The reruns are funny enough, but I'm relieved it's over...there was nowhere left to go with it. When it's bad it's REALLY BAD. It tends to be cornball at times but at least he was a black man who had a sitcom make it to syndication on a major network..Who can say that for themselves now? (Given the CW merger and the "brownout" on TV networks lately, that is). One.
9 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Began as an admirable effort by Wayans and ultimately succumbed to lazy, absurd and out of place sitcom impulses, 7 January 2006 Author: howTVshouldbe from star range: 1 - 4, expanded to 5 for classics
Network: ABC; Genre: Family Sitcom; Content Rating: TV-PG (for scatological humor and implied sexual content); Available: Syndication; Perspective: Contemporary (star range: 1 - 4); Seasons Reviewed: Complete Series (5 seasons) I was a big supporter of "My Wife and Kids" in its first season. An ABC mid-season replacement, "Kids" felt like a refreshing and real family sitcom without the obnoxious strains to be "edgy" or a slavish following of the man-child husband, nagging wife, cute kids formula that runs most CBS comedies. It was an unlikely star-vehicle turn for "In Living Color" alumni Damon Wayans.Wayans constructs the show as a living homage to "The Cosby Show": a happy affluent African-American family with a father who spends most of his time at home, a strict but game wife, a dim-bulb son and adorable little daughter. Tisha Cambell-Martin (Janet) plays Michael (Wayans) Kyle's wife as a partner in his adventures instead of a constant adversary. The new Theo is George O. Gordon as Junior, the butt of constant jokes about the size of his head from dad, the new Rudy is the a quintessentially scene-stealing Parker McKenna Posey. "The Cosby Show" is highly regarded for a positive portrayal of its characters in the 80s when TV was seen as going down the moral tubes. "Kids" benefits from a similar swing of the pendulum and got some deserved praise for its ability to resist being smarmy in a sea of garbage.But as the show wore on, Wayans' scatological impulses begin to overtake him. It starts with season 2's "Table for Too Many", a one-hour juggernaut where Wayans faces off with Larry Miller at a Benihana-type restaurant and the "pee pee" jokes begin to fly. A few seasons later, "Wife" makes a spectacular and unexpected leap off the ramp and over the shark when Junior actually impregnates a girl and we're supposed to believe that a character played to us as nearly mentally retarded is becoming husband and father material.From season 2 forward the show gets lazier and lazier. The show is charming and pleasant enough – and would have been a perfect fit for all the conservative crusaders who want all TV to be about nice, happy people who nothing happens too but the show begins to stock itself more routinely with sex jokes that are less clever and less implicit. As when applied to any family sitcom, it's a little creepy.I like that the show doesn't try to gross us out; it doesn't try to be edgy or contemporary (though there is a memorably clever "A Beautiful Mind" homage re-casting Junior in the John Nash role). Not to mention, the show has the benefit of truly wretched ABC family comedies like "Full House" and "Family Matters" still in our memories to make it look better. Wayans does everything he can with what he has and within the limits of the genre (as well as his own self-imposed constraints) and gets a few good laughs along the way, but he alone can't keep the show afloat. The "Cosby Show" comparisons are a distant memory now as "My Wife and Kids" fell into the network family sitcom rut.* * / 4
5 out of 10 people found the following review useful: The New Cosby for the millennium, 30 September 2002 Author: raysond from Chapel Hill, North Carolina
First,he was one of the members of FOX's "In Living Color";Second,after the success of "In Living Color",he went on to star in his own short-lived sitcom called "Damon",which co-starred his Living Color alumnus David Alan Grier(which was also on FOX),and from there he has quite frankly done it all until he stuck gold with this series in which some critics are calling it "The New Cosby Show" for the next millennium and its one of the best things to come about on television in quite some time now.The Actor:Damon Wayans. The Show:"My Wife and Kids" on the ABC Network. This is a family oriented sitcom that is extremely funny and downright hilarious. Here you have the exact same formula that was applied from 'Cosby'....a highly successful suburban African-American family which consists of a hard working dad(Wayans),his lovely successful lawyer wife(played by Tisha Campbell-Martin-aka 'Gina Payne' from the series Martin),his doofus but sometimes downright cool son(played by George Gore,III-aka 'G' from the series New York Undercover),their boy crazy fashion designer daughter(played by Jennifer Freeman,and was also played during the show's first season by an unknown young actress at the time),and their adorable cute as a button baby daughter(played by Parker Posey,whom some critics are calling it her as quote,'The New Rudy').The show has a lot of good family values and its the one of the shows you don't wanna missed cause you'll never know what to expect and with this family anything goes. During some of the episodes you may see some very special guests pop-up occassionally like for example folks from a variety of shows including rare sequences from Kim Wayans as the aunt or Kim Whitley(of BET's 'Oh Drama!')as one of their next door neighbors. It's about time that they brought back family oriented shows that centers around the everyday activities of black families especially those that focus on positive issues and etc......But overall,the show is hilarious and gut busting funny and lets give Damon Wayans a round of applause for putting a decent show back on top! Let's hope that the executives over at ABC don't give up on this show. Besides,anything is better than that boring Drew Carey which the network took off Wednesday nights and gave this show the time slot.
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