After a while too the cartoon like language between cousins Marissa Tomei and Natasha Lyonne (said to be pig Latin which is ironic because they sound like Porky Pig on speed) gets to be truly annoying. I initially liked the antics of the nomad like Alan Arkin taking his three kids to new apartments every three months, a time I guess where they don't do credit checks. Tomei and Lyonne aren't just in their underwear constantly. They bare their breasts constantly, starting with Tomei in the first scene to stop a semi. Lyonne's brothers (David Krumholtz and Eli Marienthal) also get to show off their gingerbread in their briefs. Thankfully Arkin keeps his trousers on.
When the actors are clothed (and speaking in English), there's a lot to enjoy, as their delightful neuroses are the stuff of comic legend. Jessica Walter is delightfully stoic as Arkin's socialite girlfriend, with Carl Reiner and Rita Moreno adding spice in cameos as Tomei's parents. Kevin Corrigan rounds out the cast as the neighbor who ends up dating Lyonne. There's no real plot to speak of, just the family's efforts to survive thanks to Arkin's inability to be responsible. References to a lot of 60's and 70's culture is amusing but doesn't serve any purpose other than to remind the viewer that it's 1976. So you're getting a different perspective of a Jewish family outside of Woody Allen's, and it is like watching a west coast version of "The Nanny" without the laugh track.
When the actors are clothed (and speaking in English), there's a lot to enjoy, as their delightful neuroses are the stuff of comic legend. Jessica Walter is delightfully stoic as Arkin's socialite girlfriend, with Carl Reiner and Rita Moreno adding spice in cameos as Tomei's parents. Kevin Corrigan rounds out the cast as the neighbor who ends up dating Lyonne. There's no real plot to speak of, just the family's efforts to survive thanks to Arkin's inability to be responsible. References to a lot of 60's and 70's culture is amusing but doesn't serve any purpose other than to remind the viewer that it's 1976. So you're getting a different perspective of a Jewish family outside of Woody Allen's, and it is like watching a west coast version of "The Nanny" without the laugh track.