“Two and a Half Men:” a decent portrayal of alcoholism
“Two and a Half Men”
There are only a handful of sitcoms over the past few decades that have held my attention for more than a few episodes. “Cheers” (at least the seasons that included Diane) and “Taxi” come to mind while surprisingly (given their popularity) “Seinfeld” and “Friends” do not. I only discovered “Everybody Loves Raymond” in syndication and was at first disappointed to see it had been replaced on the CW network with “Two and a Half Men.” Since I like to wind down from the drama and seriousness of my work with good comedy for which the 7 p.m. time slot is perfect, I figured I had nothing to lose by giving it a chance.
I quickly discovered that the show, starring Charlie Sheen playing Charlie, a carefree bachelor with a home on the beach in Malibu, Jon Cryer as his conservative brother Alan and Angus T. Jones as Alan’s son Jake, is one of the most tightly written and clever comedies ever. It also has the widest range of actors with near-perfect comedic timing since “Cheers,” with support from Holland Taylor (who plays Charlie and Alan’s mother Evelyn Harper), Conchata Ferrel (Charlie’s housekeeper Berta) and Melanie Lynskey (neighbor Rose, who stalks Charlie after having apparently spent one exciting night with the playboy). I thought what great, meaningless and, at times, hysterically fun comedy.
But then I got to thinking. Within a few weeks I realized I was viewing an alcoholic star playing an alcoholic in what may be one of the classic shows that half glorifies alcoholism, but also tells the truth about the disease. For Charlie’s life is meaningless. The serial Don Juanism in which he engages takes him nowhere; one classic episode clearly shows he has no savings and is on the verge of bankruptcy; he is the center of his universe and of everyone else’s; in a show for children, he goes on stage drunk–and, consistent with the experience of many early stage alcoholics, performs flawlessly; and he cares only about using people, punctuated by moments in which he pretends to care–as we know a sober Charlie would. The first episode portrays Charlie trying to prevent newly separated brother Alan from moving in with his son Jake, until he realizes that Jake serves as a babe-magnet. The uninitiated might think that Charlie is reacting to the upbringing he no doubt suffered at the hands of his controlling, promiscuous and many-times-married mother Evelyn, but that doesn’t explain Alan’s dramatically different personality and behaviors. A far better explanation is that Evelyn is a long-time alcoholic, from whom Charlie inherited the disease (with consequential behaviors) and whose behaviors Alan reacted to in one of many ways a non-addict might–in his case, neurotic, uptight, overly self-conscious and obsessive.
If it weren’t for the fact that this Report is for the addiction-aware, I wouldn’t mention the few concerns I have with the show. One is that Charlie is never portrayed as verbally abusive, which goes hand-in-hand with alcoholism (but, as I always say, alcoholism is full of exceptions). Another is that while Charlie must have alcoholic charm and charisma to bed all the babes, it’s not obvious–but, then, the understated aspect to the character may be the reason he is endearing to the viewer, without which the show might lose some of its magic. The final is in the titling. Neither Charlie nor Alan have grown up–Charlie’s emotional growth stunted by his alcoholism and Alan’s by their mother’s. Three children, two in adult bodies, star–so “one and a half men” is more apt. This might also explain one of the great ironies of the show–that Charlie writes children’s ad jingles for a living, in a show that is definitely (despite its syndicated timeslot) not for children.
Trivia corner: Charlie Sheen starred in the 1991 movie “Hot Shots!” in which Jon Cryer was one of the co-stars. “Hot Shots!” was a parody of “Top Gun” and was written and produced by Jim Abrahams (“Airplane!” and the “Naked Gun” series).