Emily Nussbaum’s New Yorker review of Whitney and 2 Broke Girls is pretty spot-on. She goes beyond the usual Sarah Silverman-Chelsea Handler comparisons and notes that the Whitney of Whitney has a lot in common with Lucille Ball:
Cummings has none of Ball’s shining charisma or her buzz of anarchy. Yet she does share Lucy’s rictus grin, her toddler-like foot-stamping tantrums, and especially her Hobbesian view of heterosexual relationships as a combat zone of pranks, bets, and manipulation from below. “This is war,” Whitney announces, before declaring yet another crazy scheme to undercut her boyfriend, and it might as well be the series’ catchphrase.
The article also considers what 2 Broke Girls’ version of Whitney (i.e., Max) would think of Whitney’s Whitney (hint: she would hate her). I’d really like to see Whitney Cummings the standup, Whitney from Whitney and Max from 2 Broke Girls all in one room hanging out. Podcast idea? Comedians and their characters shootin’ the shit. Yes. This is a billion dollar idea.
