Fresh Off The Boat - Pilot - Review : "The American Dream"

"If you were an outsider, hip hop was your anthem and I was definitely the black sheep in my family".

Review: Click Here for Episode 2

Fresh of the Boat is based on a memoir by Eddie Huang and has been adapted by the brilliant Nahnatchka Khan who previously worked on 'Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23'. I found the pilot to be heartwarming, honest, funny and a excellent addition to ABC's Wednesday Comedies.
The "American Dream" has always been this ideal many immigrant families have fought for amongst poverty, war and hardship in their home countries in the aim to provide a better life for themselves and their children. This dream is very nicely reinforced at the end of the pilot and truly showed incredible heart.

Constance Wu is absolutely superb, she portrays Jessica with such a wit and confidence, her lines are always funny. She truly cares for her children and their wellbeing as any mother would and it's touching to see that she's always doing what's in their best interests (It does make for some great laughs too) regardless of what her children think. I enjoyed watching the neighborhood moms reaction when they found out what Jessica's name was, just because you're not indigenous to the country doesn't mean you name has to be "exotic".

Randall Park portrays the father, Louis Huang, most people might recognise him from The Interview but I remember him from Nickelodeon's Supah Ninja's. His character is a nice change to the typically portrayed asian male, in a suit and tie in the office with incredible math skills. It's also nice to see Louis not play a silly father but someone who is looking for the best for his family as very evident in the final minutes of the pilot.

Emery has the easiest time fitting into their new life in D.C, he already has a girlfriend whilst Evan is the youngest, you learn a bit more about Evan in Episode 3.

Respect is something everyone fights for but it isn't always handed out freely. We see 11 year old Eddie ridiculed due to the smell of his "chinese lunch". This was such a honest reaction as many people who don't share the same customs are quick to judge regardless of whether or not they have actually tried the food, it's human nature to judge that which we aren't used to.

One of my favorite moments during the pilot is when Eddie starts school and his new teacher struggles to pronounce his name. I completely related to this scene, my teachers and class mates never could pronounce my name properly and still struggle with it to this day, I have to come up with a sort of slogan to help with the pronunciation.

I felt so bad for Eddie when the white kids criticised his lunch, laughing at him, calling him "ying ming", saying he's eating "worms". However harsh it was, its the hard truth and its refreshing to see how the show showcases such an honest reaction from people who aren't culturally aware to enlighten children who watch these family comedies that such acts aren't appropriate and hopefully help create more asian awareness and therefore less prejudice.

Shopping at "Food 4 All!!!" was such a fun scene to watch, Jessica reminiscing at her favorite moments at her old Taiwanese markets which contrary to her memory seemed hilariously crazy but she had grown accustomed to its ways. Fighting over the egg plant (I think that was an egg plant) was an added bonus.

I loved when the store clerk offered Jessica a free sample of Tortilla chips, "This is free?" and she took the whole container, I know someone who would do that and it hit straight home, if I were her son I would be so embarrased. Constance Wu's subtle hand gesture in a 'goodbye' type manner to the store clerk was priceless.

Even though Eddie got into a fight at school his parents were undeniably worried for his well being and it was fun to see the threaten to "sure everyone" at school. Regardless of your nationality and ethnicity, we have similar values, family comes first and is really highlighted in the pilot, especially at the end when they all come together. "We are very upset, that you didn't do anything to defend Eddie", "That boy called out son a chink, you think that's ok? Why didn't you do anything about that?" "How come only Eddie is out there, how come that other boy is not out there! Where his parents?" "Or his 40 year old best friend and why aren't we talking about the fact that he has a 40 year old best friend, the schools fine with that?". The writing was very smart in this scene. But I loved when Louis offered the principle a coupon for his restaurant Cattlemans Ranch' where he can get a "free Onion Blossom with a purchase of any entree but you have to buy a drink". I love how such a serious scene is turned to a fun one, it's a real testament to the writing and the actors. On a side note, this scene reminded me of Po's father from Kung Fu Panda 2 where he said "you too can save, buy one dumpling, get one free with purchases!", mainly because no matter where you are people always find a way to advertise their business regardless of it being embarrassing.

The ending was one of the best and probably the strongest in any comedy of this 2014- 2015 TV Season, "this is why we moved here, I'm sorry for what happened to Eddie but it's going to make him stronger, in fact us coming to this new place is going to make us all stronger. I came down here and I opened a Wild West Restaurant because this is the Wild West, a lawless land for only the bravest of families, there is opportunity here to make a better life for our family. I don't want to work for your brother forever, no, me. I got big dreams, I got big plans. Things were ok for us back in D.C. but I want more for us." I loved this pilot, its the best pilot of the season for me along with Galavant which both started out strong. "You don't have to pretend to be someone else in order to belong"

Best Quotes:
"You need to go to school, to go to college, to make lots of money"

"All you care about is money"

"Do me a favour, go find a homeless man, ask him if he thinks money matters"

"Eddie, eggs are life, you came from my eggs"

"I need to hire a white host, instead of people coming in and seeing a Chinese face and saying, huh? I thought this was an all west stakehouse, they see a white face and say oh, hello white friend, I am comfortable."

"A white dude and an Asian dude bonding over a black dude" oh the irony.

"The white people didn't welcome you with open arms, what?"

"What is this store so excited about"

"If we get seperated try and join a white family. You will be save there until I can find you"

"You hair is terrible and so was mine but I fixed it using product"

"I love that you have big dreams but I don't want to lose everything"

"If you try to suspend our son because of this we will sue everyone in this school, hey it's the American way right, you know about that"

"I will never be mad at you for standing up for yourself"

"But this is not the west, this is the south, if we want to go west we should have gone to California. Do you know how expensive California is?

Thank you for taking the time to read my review, be sure to vote on the poll later on what you thought of the Double Premiere Episode and be sure to watch every Tuesday at it's regular time of 8|7 c on ABC. I hope you enjoyed Fresh of the Boat as much as I did and feel free to leave a comment below. I wish this show every bit of success!

About the Author - Nirat Anop

Nirat watches a lot of TV Shows, some of his favorites are The 100, Orphan Black, Once Upon a Time, Outlander, Teen Wolf, Game of Thrones, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., The 100, Arrow, The Flash, Sherlock, Doctor Who and The Legend of Korra He's a University Student. He will be reviewing Fresh of the Boat this season. Feel free to follow him on Twitter, Tumblr or Google+

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