Adorable or Apathetic, Consistency of Characters Keeps Us Coming Back

Adorable or Apathetic, Consistency of Characters Keeps Us Coming Back by Roxanne McDonald

There was no need to fear the loss of Amanda, for she has made herself an every episode feature character, great comic relief amidst the other adorable brides and grooms.

I had commented in my first discussion of “The Wedding Bells” that it would be a shame to have such a multidimensional character (a.k.a. round character) as Amanda Pontell (played by Missi Pyle) appear for her pre-wedding and wedding scenes, then disappear into the margins of the script, never to be enjoyed again.

But Amanda is baa-ack. First, she returned to of course litigate against the Bells for the gown on fire fiasco (which was really thanks to her coo-coo mother, played by the fabulous Delta Burke, who insists on having a flaming

cherries jubilee as a centerpiece at the reception). That covered episode two. Next, however, she returned to hang out and chit chat, which drove the women bonkers and impelled Jane to confront Amanda and tell her she needed to get a life.
So, next, what does Amanda do? She buys The Wedding Palace…or takes 51% of the shares.

So we will see more of the intrusive, obnoxious bridezilla of yore for many delightful episodes to come. [Yet records at IMDB, for example, show Amanda is in only 4 episodes… so I guess we can’t get too cozy with her being a regular?]

Also returned are Dede Stoller, their first featured runaway bride; Dede returns to apologize, explain her anxiety disorder, and try again with the going through of what we know will turn out to be another intercepted interlocking of loves.

Also making “The Wedding Bells” utterly endearing are the additions of characters to be married, like Ross DeMichael, the animated tuxedo-wearing groom who also dons a brightly colored feather boa, also swishes and lisps, and also drives the father-in-law-to-be nuts with the implied gay affects. This character has become one of my

favorites, thus far, not because he is not gay but acts it but because he is so innocently adoring of his bride and he ad-libs during his vows in a jokey, Jewish way…making him, for me, a character you want to hug, grab by the hand, and introduce to all your friends.
So, maybe Kelley will write Dede Stoller into every episode, as a kind of rock for Sisyphus moment that just keeps happening over and again for the Bells. Maybe the brilliant writer will have Ross return as a consultant of sorts. Maybe he will have cameo characters we fall in love with who never return but are replaced by equally delightful difficult dilettantes and disturbed dads (such as Bridget’s father, played by the iconic dad from “The Wonder Years,” Dan Lauria). Or maybe we will be surprised, every week, as all of the characters thus far (from the Debbie who threatens to break heads to the Barbie twin balloons with wigs who persist in planning their own far-off weddings by crashing the Palace weekly) continue to keep us cracking up and therefore coming back for more of one of the greatest, funniest, most entertaining new shows to come along in a while.

No Comments »

No comments yet.

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.