The Hard Times of RJ Berger
2010
Original language: English
- comedy
The story
The Hard Times of RJ Berger was an American television comedy series created by David Katzenberg and Seth Grahame-Smith for MTV. The show's central character is RJ Berger an unpopular sophomore at the fictional Pinkerton High School in Ohio who has an exceptionally large penis. Berger's two best friends are Miles Jenner, whose ambitions for popularity cause him to clash with Berger, and goth girl Lily Miran, who has been lusting after Berger for several years. Berger's love interest is Jenny Swanson, a cheerleader who is involved with Max Owens, a popular jock and bully. The show is presented as a coming of age story and has been described by Katzenberg and Grahame-Smith as a blend of the television series The Wonder Years and the film Superbad. The pilot episode premiered on June 6, 2010, and the first season of 12 episodes concluded August 23, 2010. MTV renewed The Hard Times of RJ Berger for a second season, which premiered on March 24, 2011, and concluded on May 30, 2011, but canceled the show that August.
What it’s like
Bright, flat, daylight-lit suburban interiors with the saturated primary colors of a 2010 cable sitcom: cafeteria trays, hallway lockers, a sunny Ohio high school that looks like it was dressed for a yearbook photo. The camera stays busy and mobile, with quick cuts, handheld jostles and direct-to-camera asides that keep the frame restless and cheeky. The sound is pop-punk and indie-rock needle drops layered over bouncy, gag-driven scoring, with the rhythm of a half-hour comedy built around crude one-liners and awkward set pieces. Its vibe is brash, goofy and nostalgic, the feel of an after-school rerun on a lazy summer afternoon. It sits in the Wonder Years and Superbad lineage: a sophomore's lovesick, humiliating, slowly maturing year, with friendships strained by ambition and loyalty. Expect sex-talk, teen profanity, sexual innuendo and running jokes about a single body part, with no real violence and only mild peril. It suits viewers who want loud, raunchy, low-stakes teen comedy for a Friday night, and it is best for those comfortable with crude, bawdy humor.
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