I guess during the cultural and intellectual wasteland that was 1970's sit-com TV "One Day at a Time" was considered relevant, if not mildly funny, given it stuck to the approved formula of the lead of Ann Romano (played of course by jewess, Bonnie Franklin...hey, can't have Italians playing their own significant parts in Hollywood) constantly sticking it to the patriarchy through one-liners, contrived melodrama and plenty of "boob" jokes to capitalize on the teenage actresses in the entourage. But this new rendition actually has substance, style and HUMOR. The acting coming from 90% of the cast is amazing (you just can't lose when you put Rita Moreno in) which definitely carries the flatter actors (Marcel definitely needs to go back to acting school and stop riding on his parents' contacts...definitely didn't deserve this part). The fact that the family is Cuban and throws in a lot of Spanish makes this all the more relevant (sorry middle-America...it's coming, so deal). The situations, topic and dialogue are sometimes "over the top" but at the same time relatable. The only part I disliked was the constant ultra-liberal Hollywood propaganda machine which has become a visible extension of the Democratic party. Meaning, for Latinos to have representation on TV, they/we always have to appear to be die-hard leftists who think and say everything you'd read in the Huffington post...and for a family of supposedly Cuban immigrants that is sincerely a stretch to say the least (note: Puerto Ricans should not play Cubans unless they actually take the time to do their homework). So yes, plenty of eye-rolls, but also plenty of laughs here...SO MUCH better than the original could ever aspire to.
Review of One Day at a Time
