Grow up, Berg. Shut up, Pete! (Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998))

Member Name: pmcds

Product:	Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998)
Date:	10/11/09 (26 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great sitcom

Disadvantages: Didn't completely connect with viewers

This US sitcom was rather overshadowed by a number of highly commercially appealing TV shows in the 90s and the beginning of this decade, such as Friends and Frasier. However, for many students, 2 Guys and a Girl and a Pizza Place was great daytime viewing.

It started out with this title, but by the third season, they dropped the pizza place from the title, hoping to appeal to a wider audience, or at least one that didn't have a mouthful of a title to wrestle with.

So, what's it about? Well, it focused on the lives of two friends, Berg (Ryan Reynolds) and Pete (Richard Ruccolo), flatmates in their late twenties, and their friend Sharron (Traylor Howard). They are all friends from university, with Berg the grad student taking up a job in a pizza place, hence the name.

A lot of the actual plot centred around the general things that a sitcom would contain, such as failed romances, various business schemes, and gossip. The interaction between Reynolds and Ruccolo was brilliant, with the former absolutely hilarious as the carefree Berg, and Ruccolo providing the more mature attitude of the two. The combination works reall well. The addition of Howard as Sharron gives a more balanced approach to the trio.

Often things focus around Sharron's partner, and how Berg and Pete relate to him, or other things, and by the third season, the pizza place was dropped from the title, and things started focusing more on them in their flat, with a more traditional location hopefully prolonging the series. I think it was a good idea to have a change, but perhaps the reverting to the flat and less external comedy kind of shortened its life somewhat.

The acting was quite good. Reynolds took a similar style forward in his portrayal of eternal student Van Wilder, and has enjoyed varying roles with quick one-liners from action roles like Blade Trinity and Wolverine, to the more comedy focused films such as Van Wilder and The Proposal. He is fast making a good name for himself, and is enjoying good solid roles.

The other two haven't hit the mainstream quite as solidly, but this doesn't mean their acting in 2 Guys was any less than Reynolds. It required the balance and we got it. I found myself laughing regularly when it was aired on Bravo in the afternoons at Uni, and whenever it gets repeated these days, I make sure I catch an episode. There is canned laughter, which is a little annoying, but you get the feeling that without it, some of the jokes wouldn't have quite the same impetus.

It's a funny sitcom that was just unfortunate to air at the same time as some bigger sitcoms. Had it appeared at another time, it may have become bigger. As it is, I look at it as more of a cult sitcom, marking my Uni days and containing some good memories. I happily watch any episode I notice, and this shows how long lasting it can be in terms of its comedy. I highly recommend that if you spot an episode on TV, you give it a go.

Summary: US sitcom that ran for 4 seasons