Here she plays an amnesiac that discovers the woman she was turns out to have been a cheating, alcoholic bitch.
In an age when sitcom success and comic acting ability don't always go together (Charlie Sheen?) Applegate is a breath of fresh air: Someone who actually is what most women sitcom stars want to be but are not.
She's beautiful, yes, but with great comedy timing, both in what she says and what she does.
Ok, so you've gotten the impression that I like Applegate...but that didn't make me a fan of Jessie. And I know she won an Emmy for one of her Friends appearances as Rachel's sister, but I don't think any of them touched her work as a Bundy.
Yes, Applegate is good, but the writing (show creators are Donald Todd and Cecelia Ahern) on Samantha Who? gives her a place to be good.
The first episode used her qualities to better effect than I have seen since the great days of Married...with Children. And although this is definitely a star vehicle, the other actors aren't left standing around.
In fact, one of the best jokes in the pilot goes to Jean Smart and Kevin Dunn as Samantha's parents. Cluelessly trying to bond with them (though we learn they hadn't spoken in years prior to the accident that caused her coma and subsequent memory loss), Samantha says, "You made me who I am."
And her mother, insulted, replies, "That is a terrible thing to say!"
"Apologize to your mother," her father adds.
The bottom line is Samantha Who? is funny. As in, I actually laughed. Out loud. And more than I have at any two other comedies I've seen this season.
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