It's true. I can't take the credit for this snappy slogan. That honor goes to June -- also sometimes known as June Bug (Karen Huie) -- a denizen of Flatch, Ohio, population 1526.
If you've seen the commercials, then you know that I'm talking about FOX's new Thursday night sitcom, Welcome to Flatch. Told in mockumentary style, it's a cross between Parks and Recreation and Beavis and Butt-Head, exploring day-to-day life in rural Ohio through the eyes of a delinquent duo.
Flatch is the picture of pastoral charm. And cousins and best friends Shrub (yes, like the tree) (Sam Straley) and Kelly (Holmes) hatch one harebrained scheme after another in an attempt to get rich quick. Everything they touch takes a cringeworthy turn, whether it be a fall festival, an adult continuing education class, or a church dance-off. They're as opportunistic as they are clueless, the very antithesis of the wholesome Midwestern values that the mockumentary purports to uphold. Not even well-meaning Father Joe (Seann William Scott) (who's, by the way, not a priest, but a pastor) can get through to them. And therein, of course, lies the humor. The harder Father Joe tries, the funnier it is, making for a satisfying homespun satire. Having the guy best known as American Pie's Stiffler play a man of God trying to reform a pair of ne'er-do-wells is a brainstorm of a bonus. As is casting You're the Worst's usually caustic Aya Cash as Cheryl, Father Joe's earnest, journalist-for-all-the-right-reasons ex. Despite being dumped after her move from the city, she sticks around to run the newspaper.
But Welcome to Flatch is about Shrub and Kelly. And they aren't all bad. As is the case with most misunderstoods, their antics are a cry for help. Shrub yearns to win the affections of phlegmatic, plain Jane beauty school student Beth. And Kelly just wants her jerk of an absentee father to notice her. So maybe they're more Parks and Recreation than Beavis and Butt-Head after all. But not Leslie Knope or Ron Swanson. More like part of the angry mob at a town hall meeting -- or fry cooks at Paunch Burger.
That said, Kelly's entry in the town motto contest is "Bask in our Flatulence." "Flatch is a Catch" it isn't, but it tells us everything we need to know about this stupid smart show.
Just like this sold-but-not-forgotten-not-Flatch-but-flask-emblazoned Fabulous Felt Mad Scientist Barrette tells you everything you need to know about The Tote Trove.