Is it too brash to say that some things should just stay in the 90s? I'm not talking about the entire show. The 10 year old in me who would stay up past her bedtime to watch "Full House" on Nick at Nite would hate me just a little too much if I said that. I love "Full House." But parts of the new show, "Fuller House," should have come to a close a couple of decades back.
First, just consider the overall style of the show. The live-performance format was all the rage once upon a time. Take just about any of the shows that have been rerun on Nick at Nite over the years as an example — "Full House," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "George Lopez," "The Nanny;" it worked. It still works today with shows such as "The Big Bang Theory." But there is something offsetting about mixing this reunion Netflix show with the live-performance format. Each time an old cast member walks into the room or makes an old joke, they trigger a "Woo!" from the audience that makes the show sound more like a short skit from Jimmy Fallon's late night show rather than a full-season television show of its own.
The old jokes. That's another thing that should have stayed in the 90s. Yes, the sayings such as "You got it dude" and "How rude" are practically infused into the nostalgia of most teenager-turned-adult brains in America. They were cute and funny at the time, and each saying was a part of each character. So it would only make sense that the characters use those sayings now. The only problem is that each joke is so forced and so randomly placed within the script that it leaves me cringing and pressing pause.
This is not to say that I hate the show. It has its high points. There were a few jokes early in the first episode that left me laughing out loud, even if the jokes were something we would be more prone to see on "Saturday Night Live" rather than "Full House," such as when all of the stars stare awkwardly at the camera when they mentioned their fashionable twin co-stars who were absent from the reunion or when DJ's child says that "Donald Trump" is among many of the dirty words that his mom won't allow him to say. Those were pretty funny.
In the end, no matter what, I still enjoyed the first episode of "Fuller House." I almost quit watching multiple times in lieu of all the forced jokes and tired acting, but I persevered. I persevered because I was watching before my eyes as my own childhood entered through the gates of the 21st century. I actually shed a few tears when the screen split in the show and it showed the actors playing out a simple scene that they had done almost 30 years before. It was shocking to see how old the actors had gotten, which styles had gone out of style, even how much camera quality has advanced over the years.
It was a reflection for myself. A realization that I have in fact grown up, just like Michelle, just like Stephanie, just like DJ, just like "Full House" itself. Just like I criticized the first episode for a full 35 minutes today, pointing out everything that should have stayed in the 90s, sometimes I say that to myself as well. Maybe not literally. I hadn't even turned three by the time 2000 rolled around, but I often find myself wanting to go back. And I realized while watching the show that I couldn't go back. Just as "Full House" can't go back. But I can look back and smile and laugh at what was and had been. Then I can look around at what I have now. What has become out of what once was.
So "Fuller House" wasn't as bad as I originally thought it was. After all, it's just grown up a little bit. Just like me.
