Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998–2001) User Reviews (89)

show got better with new characters

[SnoopyStyle · 8/10 · 8 August 2015]

In Boston, Michael Bergen (Ryan Reynolds) and Pete Dunville (Richard Ruccolo) are best friends with Sharon Carter (Traylor Howard) since meeting her as freshmen. Michael and Pete live as roommates and Sharon lives upstairs. Initially Michael is a directionless slacker until he takes pre-med. He's a fun playboy while Pete is a more uptight architect student. The boys work at a local pizzeria which changed in later seasons. Sharon starts out as a high powered corporate sellout who hates her job.

This show had many changes over the years and even changed its name. In the first season, Jennifer Westfeldt plays Pete's girlfriend Melissa and David Ogden Stiers is the delusional Mr. Bauer who confuses his life with various movies. Westfeldt is a limited comedic actress. Although she supported the comedy, she never really is the center of the comedy. Bauer is an one-joke character and he stops being funny after awhile. Along with pizzeria owner Bill, they are all dumped.

In the second season, the show added Johnny Donnelly (Nathan Fillion) as Sharon's love interest, Ashley Walker (Suzanne Cryer) as Berg's rival/love and Irene (Jillian Bach) as the crazy neighbor. Donnelly is a much needed addition. The first season had the problem that the threesome is rigidly platonic. It's a very odd setup that is solved by tying the boy-crazy Sharon to one guy. Sharon's kiss with Pete is rather awkward. Walker is a good character to battle Berg and pick on Pete. I always love a crazy cute girl on a sitcom and Irene is a fun one. The addition of the fun young characters and jettisoning of the older ones gives the show new life.

It finally reaches its top gear at the start of the third season. 'Sunday in the Apartment' is my favorite as the show becomes non-stop hilarity. The Halloween shows are also some of my favorites and I like that they go off on a tangent. Through it all, there's always the great Ryan Reynolds doing Van Wilder. Richard Ruccolo is a solid sidekick and I love his fights with Suzanne Cryer. Traylor Howard lands a few good punches and I like her chemistry with Nathan Fillion. Although their money fights get a bit tiresome. Jillian Bach is hilarious and I laugh so hard. Tiffani Thiessen is a bit stiff and doesn't quite have the same wacky comedic skills like the others. Also I could do without the Germ character. If only this show had the right cast from the beginning, this could have been another Friends.

Seasons 3-4 ruined an otherwise excellent comedy sitcom

[rf2172511 · 8/10 · 10 September 2015]

***WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS***

The first two seasons of this show were excellent, with good character development and great comedy. However, season 3 started to kill this show, partly because the pizza place was abandoned, but mainly because Pete and Sharon didn't end up being together and because Berg and Ashley broke up. It was so obvious that the writers did this only to prolong the show, because if they had done this, the show would have ended in the third season. It would've been fine with me, since most of season 2 was Berg courting Ashley and numerous hints that Pete and Sharon "meant to be". It would have been great if the third season focused on Pete/Sharon and Berg/Ashley getting together because after all, Johnny and Irene were secondary characters (in terms of time on screen and dialogue) compared to these 4. The show started to lose its appeal (also shown in the ratings at the time) in the third season, and was moved to the Friday night death slot for the fourth season. This is when the show started to get extremely bad - the comedy practically vanished, the plot lines were dull, and the show ended up being "Three Guys and Three Girls" rather than "Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place". Also, the fact that Pete/Ashley and Berg/Irene ended up being together was simply absurd - it just made no sense given their history of mocking and hating each other.

In a nutshell, I would have preferred 3 great seasons instead of 2 great seasons, 1 sub-par season, and 1 horrendous season. It's a shame because the show was great initially, but it ended up getting ruined.

Good show

[pl4293 · 7/10 · 3 September 2006]

I found this sitcom to be pretty funny. Thats mostly because of Berg who is just funny as hell. The rest of the cast was OK and Sharon was hot. What I really didn't like was Pete. I found the character really annoying and I noticed a serious contrast between his behaviour in some episodes than in the rest of them. Also I thought that the actor Richard Ruccolo was clearly overacting, thus making his role less realistic. I enjoyed watching the show especially the 2nd season which filled my boring hours during summer. Its not as good as friends but its a good choice and should be watched by anyone who likes standard funny sitcoms

it only got better with time..

[maggagie1 · 9/10 · 14 October 2003]

Upon reading the last post put on here totally trashing this very funny show, I had to make a post. Well I'm 23 and my boyfriend is 33 and we both find the show entertaining and funny, so let's not automatically assume that only teenagers like this show, plus that's insulting to teenagers in implying that they are stupid, and anyone over the age of 15 is stupid if they like this show. Ok, may be it's not quite "move over Seinfeld classic", but the cast is talented, and they had some extremely funny episodes. At first, to be perfectly honest I didn't really like this show, but I gave it another chance and ended up totally loving it. And it only got better, as the series went on and more charcters were brought in (ie. Germ, Irene, Johnny), it became funnier. Funnier stories and interesting little episodes, such as the "silent-no dialogue episode", and the episode that was narrated entirely in song, and all of the Halloween ones. I never saw Friends take the risks that this very funny show took.

One of the funniest sit-coms ever

[la-31 · 25 September 2005]

This was one of the funniest sit-coms ever, and it's a shame that it had low ratings. Both the writing and acting were top rate. I usually hate TV sit coms. The actors tend to over do it, and most stories are trite, ie, been there, done that. But Two Guys, A Girl and a Pizza Place was always innovatively funny, and, I think, very genuine for the age group it was portraying. This show is much better than 'Friends' because TGAGPP was so over the top, but it still had this sweetness to it. It's difficult to explain unless you've seen it. The key to its success are the three main characters, especially Berg and Pete, who were so wacky, but not overdone. But even Johnny, Sharon's boyfriend was a great element in the whole mix. And all the actors were perfect. I truly miss this show. I highly recommend it.

One of the best!

[havoc-27 · 10/10 · 19 May 2007]

This was one of the best shows I have seen on TV. The actors were really good and the writers were brilliant.I can't count the number of times I almost fell of my chair while watching Two Guys And A Girl.It's very sad that they canceled it :'( .By the way the last episode was kind a silly.They could have made another were everybody chooses a different path like in Friends. I think in some ways Two Guys And A Girl is better than Friends and I can't understand why Friends got 10 seasons and Two Guys And A Girl only 4.It's just not fair.I want to thanks every single one who worked in that show and it will not be the same without you!

I was rewatching this

[jimwt66 · 6/10 · 6 October 2021]

And even back when it was live on the air I thought Reynolds was quite the funny guy. I was bummed when the show ended and he moved on. I liked the show because it was just pure goofy fun. No point to make, no agenda to push, no sad back story...Just funny.

Then it seemed like Reynolds disappeared for a while or was in movies that didn't catch my taste. I did catch im in a chick flick or two and he was funny then also. It seemed he was grooming to be Deadpool. Everything he did could be seen as a lead up to Deadpool.

Anyway, the show was funny. And a bummer it went off the air.

Much Better Than Friends

[richard.fuller1 · 10/10 · 2 March 2014]

This show was miles ahead of Friends, which was sold on Ross & Rachel and clung to that idea til the end of the show, ending on R & R as well.

2G1G was about the three characters, but wasn't about which guy would she choose. Instead it involved into their relationships, with Nathan Fillion becoming the girl's boyfriend, and Ryan Reynolds getting two of the funniest girlfriends around, first the independent feminist who was later revealed to have Cheryl Ladd and Steve Landesburg as her parents (very funny) then he was stuck with the little girl who had the equally short boyfriend.

I'm surprised to see it ran for such a short time, as it seemed to expand much further than Friends ever did, with its meaningless episode about a guy whose genitalia slipped out of his shorts and the 'Friends' danced around like they were Catholic teachers trying to tell him about it.

I mean, Phoebe, who was this single woman and very outspoken, would get all bewildered when she saw his junk hanging out.

2G1G was much more grown up in its subject matter and humor and how it handled both.

David Ogden Stiers and Julius Carry

[safenoe · 6/10 · 7 February 2023]

I remember Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place when it was first released, and one key character was David Odgen Stiers, still hot property after M*A*S*H, as Mr. Bauer who would regale the customers and anyone else who cared to listen stories of his life that were based on movies. Also you had Julius Carry, the African-American owner of the pizza joint. It's a shame David Odgen Stiers and Julius Carry weren't invited back for series 2 because really they were an essential part of series 1. After they left, I stopped watching Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place (yes I've put in the Oxford comma).

Watching this after 15 years and the comedy still holds up today

[tk-23795 · 10/10 · 27 April 2015]

I was a huge fan of the show when it aired and missed a few episodes here and there, but going back through the show from the beginning, watching the guest stars, the comedic talents of the main cast, the supporting cast from Julian Carry, David Ogden Stiers, Suzanne Cryer, Nathan Fillion and Jillian Bach and the shows writing has all held up to make me laugh again and not cringe at a single thing. It is great to watch the quirky moments that were introduced throughout the shows run. Ryan, Traylor and Richard's chemistry on set is truly something to watch and make you laugh at them, with them and also emphasize with their characters. They not only nailed the comedy, they nailed the emotional side too. Would love to see a reunion and a proper ending for such a great show.

Underrated

[Son_of_Jack_Bauer · 9/10 · 21 April 2008]

This is one of the most underrated sitcoms ever. Ryan Reynolds is a comedy genius. It has Nathan "Cpt Mal Reynolds" Fillion in it. The story lines are interesting, like the characters, and the comedy is intelligent.

The way Pete and Berg play off one another, and the relationship that they have is brilliant. My room mate and I have taped the series' off Trouble, and not a week goes by when we don't watch it.

Every episode makes me laugh. Deserved at least a 5th season, but i guess thats how the idiot networks do things these days.

I don't really need to plug it anymore, as it does that itself. Watch it, and you'll see what I mean.

One of the worst TV shows I've seen in years

[kurisu-4 · 2/10 · 25 May 2007]

I only saw one episode of this train wreck, and never seeing it again will not be enough to erase it from my memory.

I could not believe how poorly written this show was. Some shows have a feel that they were produced on the first draft of a script; this one felt like the scripts were taken from rejected ideas.

The plot of the episode I saw involved one of the guys and his nervousness of getting committed to his girlfriend. As tired and worn out as this cliché is, the climax of this plot was the girlfriend surprising him by moving into his apartment building in order to strengthen their commitment. Not his apartment, mind you -- his apartment BUILDING. Has this actually happened to anybody you know? I was aghast at how stupidly the dialog played out. I could write better stuff half asleep under the influence of pain medication.

Aside from this lame story, nothing in the show made any real sense. Why a pizza place? It added no comedy to the show and was a pretty mundane idea. With Seinfeld they always met in an ordinary coffee shop. But the background there was irrelevant; the acting and dialog were superb. Here the pizza place was a distraction from the horrible lines being said, only, there was nothing noteworthy about the pizza place.

Notice the years this show ran, from 1998 - 2001. This is when reality shows started to take off. Shows like this made viewers switch.

The most underappreciated sitcom ever!!!!

[starrysky · 27 February 2003]

If you ask people, they probably have NEVER heard of this show, but that's a shame because this show was awesome!! It was the same caliber or "Friends" or "Seinfeld" and for whatever reason it never caught on. ABC should have done some hard core marketing to promote this show instead of cancelling it! Good thing there are repeats on cable and they should make this available to buy on DVD/VHS. It's not just because Ryan Reynolds is a total hottie, this show has good scripts, a good cast, and is just plain FUNNY!!! Watch it, you'll be glad you did !

Great show

[sharipamperedchef · 10/10 · 9 May 2019]

I remember watching this when it was on TV and had to get the DVDs once they came out. The cast got better when Nathan Fillion (Johnny Donnelly) joined the show. This is where I first fell for Nathan <3.

Ryan Reynolds is funny, I can see a bit of his Deadpool persona shine through.

I loved Traylor Howard and Richard Ruccolo.

The entire cast had such a great chemistry. I definitely recommend it.

I LOVE THIS SHOW!!

[christinamackin · 10/10 · 7 January 2020]

I had to come on and write a review after seeing some of the reviews written because gosh this show is just awesome. You have to remember this show aired late 90s early 00s so some people won't always get the humour but I think it's the perfect show to just watch when you want a good laugh. I started rewatching this show recently and I laughed so much at times parts my face hurt. I would definitely give it a go for anyone wanting a good giggle. Happy Watching!!

I love this show almost ten years later!

[Krys78 · 9/10 · 10 November 2010]

I was trying to think of the perfect way to describe this show and after reading all the reviews on here, (which blows my mind at how much positive reviews there are! What were tptb thinking by canceling this show?!) you pretty much said it all, one or the other or all! But I will say that I enjoyed this show mainly because of the strong chemistry between Ryan, Richard, and Traylor. It was additions of Susan, Nathan and Jillian that really completed the bond. Everyone was great on the show. Though I hated the character Ashley, Susan Cryer was genius on that one! That was the point of the character. Hate to love. She did it beautifully. Nathan was fabulous as Johnny in seasons 3 and 4. He was a little shy at the start but when he became full time he really fell into place. Irene kind of bugged me at the end. I liked her when she was after Pete but I never felt she was a good match for Berg. Richard and Traylor were just wonderful (as was Sharon and Pete)! But my all time love of the show was indubitably Ryan Reynolds! Michael Bergen was just a brilliant character! I loved his mix of humor, drama and heart. Ryan played his character to the max and put so much heart into it. My acting coach says to find yourself in the character and RR does that impeccably. I mean look at his career now. That tells you all you need to know.

I will say as much as I love the show I did have a few issues with the partner swapping for one. The devilish attitude that Pete somehow developed in the latter of the series. The whole hookup with Ashley and Pete at the end. (I always thought that Pete and Ashley made a better couple to begin with.) Too rushed at the end of the last season and the network owed this show more time to prepare for its demise. Overall I recommend the show to anyone who cares for the great chemistry and tasteful humor. It deserved much more than it got and its severely missed.

It's a brilliant Sitcom!

[abadox12 · 9/10 · 18 June 2003]

after watching a couple of episodes... i was totaly hooked! man this is one of these shows that no matter how much you watch, you just can't have enaugh. the characters are simple, but every single character has a certain something that makes them interesting, plus you don't just have one type of comedy in the characters, physical comedy and jokes are writen all over the place, from wannabe snobbish to down right hilarious. Overall i advise anybody to watch it.

10/10 amazing show

[bzxkvjvw · 10/10 · 13 July 2023]

Man this show is great! I'd give it 15/10 if I could!! All the episodes where entertaining and funny! I really loved the cast on this show a lot from Ryan Reynolds to Traylor Howard to Suzanne Cryer to Richard Ruccolo to Nathan Fillion. Man this cast was very good and I liked them all and that's only some of the people. I mean even Carmen Electra was on an episode what's not to love about this show! But all and all I really enjoyed this show I bout it on dvd because i couldn't find it anywhere to watch and I'm glad I did buy it! I can't believe they canceled it. They seem to do that to all the good shows I like.. watch this show if you have not yet done so!!!

Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place

[studioAT · 3/10 · 24 August 2022]

This is a fairly standard 90's sitcom, which started out ok and then probably went down hill.

It is interesting to see overtime how Ryan Reynolds goes from sort of being equal to the other cast members and then becoming not only the breakout star, but acting circles around everyone else involved.

Decent enough stuff.

WoW

[shefchenko · 10/10 · 20 October 2019]

If this is not the most underrated show, I don't know which one would be. Nobody is talking about that, and it is brilliant. Slim to none lame stuff, funny jokes (even for nowadays), interesting characters, great acting and chemistry. The only things that is missing is a new season :( . A perfectly deserved 10

Chedder Dunville...and the baby...little cheesewhiz.

[kclambeth · 8/10 · 21 May 2007]

When i first saw this i thought it would be a bit samey, like any other sitcom or teen show but it wasn't, it's very funny.

It's not nauseating like Friends but a likable scenario of three ex-college pals embarking on their careers and love lives. The friendship between these three is the best part, it isn't a contrived friendship, it's very real. Sharon is tough, bossy and one of the guys but she does have a girlie side too, Berg is witty but a bit childish, Pete is on the quest for true love, never really finding it and then later we get Johnny, lovable but tight. Ashley, sarcastic and strong and Irene, crazy cat lover who has a crush on Pete.

Pete is my favourite, everyone loves Berg, but Pete had the depth and his extremeness to find the perfect mate was funny, charming and cute. he also has a great singing voice! He and Ashley were better suited than Berg and Ashley.

I think it was a shame it got cancelled and left us on a cliffhanger, normally i'm all for endings that make you think but this was just unfair! Love the episodes later on, the one with no dialogue (Silent movie) the one which shows us the characters lives linking together throughout one day, the writers were original with material, the halloween episodes were fun and love Mr. Bower's tall tales (the ones from movies) Overall a decent four series which deserved more time on the air.

What Was The Network's Logic For Canceling Such A Funny Show?

[c-keenan2001 · 10/10 · 17 September 2021]

IDK which network exec decided that Two Guys A Girl And A Pizza Place should be canceled but it was a big mistake on their part?

Who the hell cancels a show when it was so funny? Yes it's the kind of humor that appeals to a 12 year old but come on. Reynolds hasn't been funny since then.

Class apart from all the other Sitcoms

[sridhar-e · 10/10 · 29 August 2011]

I had no knowledge of such a series even existing. It doesn't feature in any top lists and I found it really hard to find. But fortunately I managed to get a hold of all the 4 seasons and I was very impressed to say the least. First of all it stars Ryan Reynolds who is one my favorite actors, so naturally at first I thought that this would be a one-man show with the others playing second fiddle, but i was grossly mistaken. Each and everyone of the cast members are endearing. They have played their parts to perfection and thus this show cannot be called two guys... it should be more like 3 guys and 2 girls. Now for the content part. I have seen countless number of sitcoms in my short life and one thing that I have found common in everyone of them is that there are always a lot of jokes about sex, innuendos and other vulgar stuff. Don't get me wrong, all that stuff is hilarious but this doesn't have any of the vile stuff. This is purely humor at its best, the proper situational comedy. I loved each episode of it purely because I could relate to almost all situations. This is a story about real people and not the ones to whom fantabulous things happen to. Ryan Reynolds, as Berg, is awesome. He has brilliant comic timing and can pull of almost anything with a charming smile. Richard Ruccolo, as Pete, was surprisingly great. In fact he has outdone Ryan in many scenes. He is obsessive, panicky, crazy and funny. Traylor Howard, as Sharon, is brilliant too. She is bubbly, charismatic and really cool. She plays the girl-next-door to perfection. Nathan Fillion, as Johnny, better known as Castle by some, is actually really great. Its like he knows that he is not the lead, yet he manages to hold on. He has this sheer presence in some scenes. He is adorable, honest, smart and really talented. This is a great and intelligent series and everyone must watch it for pure fun.

An absolute ABC classic!

[Catherine_Grace_Zeh · 9/10 · 12 August 2008]

"TWO GUYS, A GIRL AND A PIZZA PLACE," in my opinion, is an absolute ABC classic! I'm not sure if I've seen every episode, but I still enjoyed it. It's hard to say which episode was my favorite. However, I think it was always funny when a mishap occurred. I always laughed at that. Despite the fact that it was a short-lived series, it was nice that all of the main characters had stayed with the show throughout its entire run. It seems that no one stays with a show throughout its entire run. Everyone always gave a good performance, the production design was spectacular, the costumes were well-designed, and the writing was always very strong. In conclusion, I hope someone brings it back on the air for fans of the show to see.