Rob on CBS is not Hilarious, but it is Funny

The premiere of Rob on CBS (Thursdays at 8:30 pm) was actually funny.  I was shocked.  (See story previously posted).

Rob Schneider, the title character, is newly married to Maggie (Claudia Bassols) who comes from a Mexican-American family.  They – Cheech Marin, the Dad, Diana Maria Riva, the Mom, and Eugenio Derbez as Uncle Hector - don’t like the idea that Maggie married a “gringo” and that the two eloped.

Actually, Uncle Hector turns out to be Rob’s only friend in this new group, though his character doesn't seem to belong. (Derbez is wildly popular in Mexico, so's he's obviously there to draw viewers.)

In the first episode, Rob is quite shocked to be greeted by at least 30 members of the extended family.  He didn’t know about any of them and he’s even surprised that his bride speaks Spanish.

Things don’t go well for Rob.

Marin to Schneider:  “Would you hold this for a second,” handing him a cigar.

Mom: “You’re smoking in my house?”

The whole thing is politically incorrect.  Marin is Archie Bunker.  He wants a wall erected with armed guards to keep undocumented aliens from crossing the border to compete with his successful business – a chain of car washes where he employs guess who - undocumented aliens.  Schneider, a decent guy, is shocked.

The mother looks down on the fact that Rob is a landscape architect, a “gardener” to her.  Why do “you people” have to use those noisy leaf blowers, she says.  He’s aghast that she would say, “you people.”

There’s another mildly hilarious scene with Rob and Maggie’s “abuelita.”

I don’t know if the writers will be able to keep the humor going and if the network will let them continue to have the characters say the wrong thing all the time.  It would be a shame if they couldn’t, because it’s kind of refreshing.

The cast here is a talented group of people. 

Though the premise is old, it is tried and true.

Rob may me around for at least a little while.