The one element that had been missing from this new parent comedy was grandparents and the incumbent pressures and insanities that come along with them. In Reagan’s case, seeing her hyper-educated therapist parents reduced her to acting like a sullen, resentful teen as her author mother shamelessly exploited Reagan’s awkward years for personal gain.
This meant that their interactions were an amusing incarnation of the relationship between Six Feet Under’s twisted therapist Margaret Chenowith and her daughter Brenda, though Brenda was way more messed up than Reagan who, given the circumstances, seems emotionally healthy.
Reagan’s parents, Angie and Dean, are thoroughly modern grandparents. They Skype … while Reagan dives to the floor to avoid being seen and drawn into a conversation. They psycho-analyze the clothing their granddaughter Amy is wearing (a pink princess shirt which Angie says sends a bad message about female power). They try to persuade Reagan and Chris to create a whimsical name for her genitals, something to which Reagan aggressively objects. However Dean still calls his grown daughter “Sunshine” and Angie kisses Reagan on the lips, which literally makes Reagan cringe.
To see 36-year-old successful TV producer Reagan reduced to acting like the angry adolescent — much like the girl in those god awful poster-sized photos drawn from the pages of her mother’s new book, Raising Daughters – provided apt satirical commentary on how strange it is to make the transition from simply being someone’s daughter, to also being someone’s mother, an authority figure to a new generation.
On the one hand, Reagan’s mother Angie still fusses with Reagan’s hair and treats her like she’s a know-nothing kid whom she can use as fodder for her books. On the other hand, Reagan is trying to be a good mother to her own daughter but fears repeating her mother’s mistakes, like not really developing an authentic relationship or having one where the mother reveals to the world her daughter “losing her innocence” in the back of a car.
At least the Up All Night writers didn’t make Angie a complete, hypocritical narcissist who wrote a book about mother-daughter relationships but is unable to chat at her book party with her own daughter for more than a minute without feeling the urge to flee. We were given a teary make-up scene that ended with a hug, as well as one in which Angie tended to the crying Amy so Reagan could sleep. So Angie wasn’t a total Margaret Chenowith.
Put in context with Chris’ obsession with the date of his demise — because Sports Illustrated and a web site told him he only had about 20 years left to live — and how one should treasure one’s moments, they made a good combination. Plus Richard Schiff’s oddball Dean, who suggested that Chris cope with his fear of death by drinking or just avoiding thinking about it, was good for a few laughs.
Clacked by Meredith O'Brien 
on Nov 03, 2011 @ 13:30 EST5EDT
I got that same Six Feet Under vibe