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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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 OPINION 
13

Cougar Town Deserves Scorn, Not Yuks

Courteney Cox's new show has everyone watching—but why? Masochism?

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(Newser) – Cougar Town is our nation’s newest guilty pleasure—“‘guilty’ in this case meaning ‘it makes you want to stick your head in the oven’ and ‘pleasure’ referring to the feeling humans get from having their fingernails ripped off one by one,” writes Heather Havrilesky for Salon. Tina Fey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus have given us female characters "who greet the perils of middle age with self-deprecating humor"; so why do we cheer on a show where 40-year-old women have the brains of 7th-graders?

We’re supposed to be sympathetic as Courteney Cox et al wax on about the ridiculous amounts of maintenance it takes to not look repulsive at 40, but simultaneously “cheer them on when they throw back Jagermeister shots and ogle young studs and screech at each other like coeds at a kegger.” Yeah, this show is addictive, Havrilesky continues. “Addictive the way dropping an anvil on your big toe is addictive.”

In this publicity photo released by ABC, Courteney Cox, left, and Busy Philipps are shown in a scene from,
In this publicity photo released by ABC, Courteney Cox, left, and Busy Philipps are shown in a scene from, "Cougar Town."   (AP Photo/ABC, Michael Desmond)
In this publicity photo released by ABC, Busy Philipps, left, and Courteney Cox are shown in a scene from,
In this publicity photo released by ABC, Busy Philipps, left, and Courteney Cox are shown in a scene from, "Cougar Town."   (AP Photo/ABC, Michael Desmond)
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Sure, this seems funny. But don't laugh. Don't! It's bad, writes Heather Havrilesky for Salon.   (hulu.com)

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Their lives are so addled by substance abuse that they pace and second-guess themselves with their googly-eyed, like-minded friends, then giggle and high-five like schoolgirls at the sight of some well-defined abdominal muscles. - Heather Havrilesky

Next, here's Jules, breathlessly announcing before she takes a bite of bagel, 'This will be my last bite of food today so that my stomach looks super-flat tonight!' Aw, what's cuter than a middle-aged woman with an eating disorder? - Heather Havrilesky

Tuning in for Cougar Town is like watching a sci-fi horror flick about a 40-year-old woman who wakes up one morning with the brain of a 13-year-old. - Heather Havrilesky

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13 comments
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alkaseltzersammich
Oct 14, 09 12:24 PM CDT
Bring her to America so the GOP can claim that she was a Republican like they did with Jackie Robinson. Reply
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alkaseltzersammich
Oct 14, 09 12:25 PM CDT
FAIL. My bad. I am going to thumb myself down on this one. Wrong story. Reply
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Dr.Gonzo
Oct 14, 09 12:31 PM CDT
jealous beotch Reply
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neener4
Oct 14, 09 1:24 PM CDT
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my-name-here
Oct 14, 09 1:46 PM CDT
I wonder how she feels about "Desperate Housewives"? Reply
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