This is a well done, quick, witty comedy that seems to improve as the cast begins to meld together. Sara Rue is absolutely wonderful. The writing is clever, and the production values good. Becoming my favorite series.
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dgcrow30 October 2002
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jessica_608916 November 2006An an Australian we always have to wait for shows to come to us way later than they air in the US. The WB's Popular didn't come on until summer of 03 and I loved Sara Rue's portrayal of Carmen. So when Less than Perfect aired, I watched with heightened anticipation and I was not disappointed. Rue is now Claude (Claudia) Casey. A temp at broadcast station GNB that became the PA of anchor Will Butler (Roberts). Her best friends Owen (Dick) and Ramona (Sheperd) are excellent with their wacky characteristics. Roberts did a great job as superficial Butler until he left (end of season three). The cast is also filled with Pretender star Andrea Parker as vain Lydia, and Zachary Levi as Kipp or "Secretary". The addition of Will Sasso as Carl, a likable idiot and Patrick Warburton as power crazy anchor Jeb Denton were excellent choices. Less than Perfect is a happy 1/2 hour show definitely worth watching. But you better hurry if if its getting cancelled!
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hfhfdfse16 August 2007I caught Less Than Perfect during one of its reruns on Russian TV and was amazed how funny it is. The main character Claudia Casey (Sara Rue) arrives in New York and manages to get a position of a personal assistant to TV news anchor Will Butler (Eric Roberts). The show chronicles Claudia's triumphs and failures as she climbs the career ladder. Her two best friends neurotic Owen (Andy Dick) and pleasantly plump Ramona (Sherri Shepherd) will teach her to survive in this "beware of your office mates" world. Zachary Levi and Andrea Parker portray model-looking Kipp and Lydia- two self-centered, ego-driven office villains who can not wait to see Claudia up and go. There is a lot of talking about relationship, dating, shoes and "how to shut up that guy standing near my cubic and speaking so loudly on the phone". Very funny and all actors are very good. All in all very good sitcom.
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blanche-216 April 2005A friend of mine got me started on "Less Than Perfect" and I'm glad they did. This show has one of the best casts on television, and the scripts are consistently funny. The stories seem character-driven, and the characters are great.
As with News Radio (which Andy Dick and Patrick Warburton both appeared in), if you're not a fan of Andy Dick's, you may as well just turn off the set. He can either annoy the hell out of you or you love him. I happen to think he's a riot and always have.
One thing I love about the show is its presentation of overweight women as sexy and attractive. I wouldn't call Sara Larue seriously overweight, but let's face it, she's not Hollywood thin. Yet she's adorable. Sherri Shepherd is cute as anything, as she always is, and can deliver a line like no one else. One of my favorite episodes was when they all took pole dancing class. A scream.
Andrea Parker of "The Pretender" is as gorgeous as ever and very funny.
I hope this show continues on the air. -
Sylviastel7 December 2003I am a very difficult viewer with television comedies today. I do enjoy this show because the writing and acting are worth watching. MadTV's alum, Will Sasso, brought refreshing energy to this show. Where is Eric Roberts and when will his famous sister, Julia, make a cameo? Of course, the casting is brilliant with veteran Sherri Shepard and Andy Dick. I wasn't pleased about Joanna Kerns and Valerie Harper playing his lesbian mothers. I would have preferred Estelle Parsons instead. Anyway, Less Than Perfect is a great show and works well. Bring back Caroline Aaron, she's a scene stealer. Sadly, they changed the schedule so many times and this show ended up lost somewhere in the prime time mess and ended up being canceled when the ratings weren't that high.
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nickapopolis874 November 2006Less Than Perfect has been on in Austrlian since almost the same time as America. It was on the Seven Network over the summer non-ratings period but did not find the ratings it deserved so it was shelved till same time next year. 7 is now currently showing the final season at 11am on weekday mornings, after the 10.30 National News and before Scrubs season 5 repeats. It is also screened on the pay-TV channel FOX8. This final season in particular is great. Andrea Parker is a delightfull actress in both serious rolls (the Pretender and several JAG episodes including Harm's original partner in the pilot) and in comedic rolls. Lydia is one of the best characters on the show.
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drwordsmith20 January 2007I started watching this when it first appeared on ABC1 a few years ago, and took an instant liking to it. The mix of characters included Claude Casey a bubbly temp (Sara Rue, outstanding), her anchorman boss Will Butler (Eric Roberts, unsure of his role but a strong character and much funnier than he believes), bitchy researcher Lydia Weston (Andrea Parker - who's performance throughout this series has been exceptional) and her best friend Kipp (Zachary Levi, who plays the character perfectly), plus Claude's friends Ramona (Sherri Shepherd, a strongly acted character) and Owen Kronsky (Andy Dick, too annoying for me). The first series, though slow to get started, featured some truly stunning episodes that are more worthy than anything 'Friends' or 'Will and Grace' (two of my favourite TV shows) could write. Episodes such as 'Ice cream with Lydia' where Claude thinks she is on a date with Will only to find out its a business lunch, 'One office party too many' which features great turns from Lydia and Kipp, and 'A Little Love for Lydia', where Lydia goes on a date with Claude's brother, made the series a great hit. By the time the first series had finished I could not wait for more episodes, and series 2 did not disappoint me, with classics such as 'New York evening', which I must admit rips off an old friends episode 'The one with Monica's thunder', 'What about that!', where Will forces Lydia and Claude to work together, and 'The Pimp hat', where all the 22nd floor staff set each other up on dates. However, by series 2 there were already problems appearing in the series, a decreased role for Eric Roberts meant that a lot of the magic of the first series was gone, as his character Will Butler been one of the highlights of the first series, and new characters such as Carl (Will Sasso) and Jebb (Patrick Warburton) were annoying and un-likable. Add in the idea off Jebb and Lydia's relationship, which was funny on occasion such as in 'The Pimp hat', but generally took away a lot of Lydia's humour, and you're left with a less than perfect second season, but still far better than many of the things out there. The Third season carried on where the second season left off, with the series now having found its feet. Again there are some stand-out episodes, such as 'Claude's 15 minutes of Christmas', a perfect Christmas episode in which Claude encounters some problems organising the GNB on air holiday greeting, 'Get away', where Claude, Charlie, Lydia and Jebb must share a holiday lodge, and 'Pre-Wedded Bliss' where Jebb and Lydia fall out over pre-nuptial agreements. The series did however feel like a re-hash of the second series and lacked the magic that made the first series so special. The fourth series of 'Less than perfect' has yet to be aired in the UK, which will be the final series of the show. Only 13 episodes were made, of which 5 episodes were aired in the USA, the rest have been aired internationally but not yet in the UK. Although the program was one of the strongest on TV, it had done all it could do and it was time to put it to rest, meaning I will look forward to the fourth season when and if it comes out over here (despite the fact that Claude has now become 'slim', defeating the premise of the show, and Will is no longer in it), but I don't hold any grudges for it finishing. 'Less than Perfect' maintained a high standard of television throughout its run and I will always remember it for being witty, likable and touching. There are moments in this program where it is far more than just another sit-com. Some of the transition scenes showing New York, some of the music and some of the camera shots in the program are just amazing. I only hope now that the fourth season is shown here in the UK soon, and that all the series are released on DVD in the near future, as I have no doubt I will be watching this program 20 years into the future.
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dgcrow9 April 2005Back in October of 2002, when this show was new, I wrote that it was a "well done, quick, witty comedy" and that it was "becoming my favorite series". After almost three seasons, it IS my favorite series. It has wit, is fast paced (unlike so many other slow moving comedies), and dares to be different: the show is not afraid to try new approaches. Sometimes it fails, but not for lack of effort. It has an extremely talented cast, led by the wonderful Sara Rue, that obviously enjoys working together. The actors clearly care for each other, and it shows. LTP is rather "blue collar", and is certainly not for snobs. It does have messages about workplace politics, values, the hurtfulness of snobbish attitudes, and the importance of honest, caring relationships. Unfortunately, its ratings have been marginal, although better among 18-49 year olds. I sincerely hope that ABC has the courage to renew this under-rated show and move it to a better time slot. It deserves a fourth season and syndication.
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b-a-h TNT-630 October 2004If you like this show, you are probably not going to like what I'm going to say. Then again if you like this show, I can't say I have really any sympathy for you.
Frankly, this has got to be the most painful TV show I have seen in ages. No wit, no purpose, no talent whatsoever. I scrolled down the "memorable quotes" to see if I was just unlucky with the bits and pieces I could stand to watch. No. I have not found one quote that brought a smile on my face, let alone one that actually made me laugh.
And another thing, I find it depressing that in this day and age they still try to use the laugh track as a cue to where the "funny stuff" is supposed to be. I have never met anybody who did not find the laugh track completely annoying, and this show has one of the LOUDEST laugh tracks I have ever heard! But of course when all you have is this kind of drivel, that's the only thing you can resort to to pretend what you're showing is actually funny.
Where I live they show this after the excellent "Scrubs". The difference in quality is amazing. Where "Scrubs" is always fresh, witty and honest, "Less than Perfect" is stale, moronic and, well... unwatchable. -
waterbug-737601 September 2021Just finished a slow binge watch of most of the series. All the actors were good, but someone else cast in the Eric Roberts role might have been better. What I enjoyed about the show was Claude's unabashed optimism, making her a very likable character. What else I liked is the negative characters, Lydia and. Kipp, stay mostly self centered through out the show and do not do the often predictable change into nice people, so the characters kept their edge. I did not like in season 4. Carl and Claude developed into a relationship, it seemed implausible even for a sitcom. Andy Dick was also very good in his role. This review is years after the shows run and I wanted to let people know this a bit overlooked and stands up over time. Also the writing seemed to improve during the shows run and it got funnier over time. I am cheap and watched it on Daily Motion for free, but the last 7 episodes are not there or anywhere for free. Watch it, funny ands will lift your spirits.
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kclambeth1 May 2007It's not the most terrible show ever, it's just not very good and one of those American sitcoms you're likely to forget in years to come. If you're bored, it might be worth watching but try and find something else first.
The characters are annoying, it's hard to care about any of them as they're all so over the top and shouting all the time. Claude is too nice in an annoying way and why do the people with better jobs have to be the ones who are full of themselves? I actually prefer the horrible ones because occasionally they do actually make you laugh unlike Claude and her pals, complete misfits who's characters have been done before (the white geeky guy and the black strong mama type) it's all very safe, unoriginal and boring.
Most of the episodes are about the same thing, the bitchy ones are horrible to the nice ones, the nice ones retaliate and they all learn a lesson..all without getting any work done. There are a few OK episodes and i tried to give this show a chance but there's so many other better things to watch out there, this is just an average sitcom with no x factor. -
This cute little TV show is about an office and the crazy antics that go on there. The characters are charming from Sara Rue to Andy Dick. The premise is that the protagonist is "less than perfect" at a pantsize of 10.
(Didn't you guys know? A size 10 woman is MORBIDLY OBESE in today's Hollywood????) Well anyway. I think the show is great. It is a breath of fresher air since we lost the fabulous Seinfeld. I love how the writers manage to keep nearly all the story lines in the office. I think we all could use an office atmosphere like this with such nice coworkers and a full service cafeteria on-site. I hope this lasts for many more seasons. -
Zen41626 June 2009As sitcoms go, this one is truly funny. I never had the chance to watch it when it was running on prime-time (unfortunately) but Lifetime is running it now and that's been awesome. Comedies about the workplace (in this case, a "CNN-like" news corporation) are usually funny because the writers don't have to stretch that far to get humorous story lines and bizarre characters. In the case of "Less Than Perfect", all of the characters are funny as hell, whether they're the "good guys" like Claude, the "villains" like Kipp, Lydia or Jeb, or the hilarious nut-jobs like Owen, Ramona and Carl. Good or villainous, you end up both liking and laughing at/with all of them. The casting is superb, particularly the comedically gifted Sara Rue,the wonderfully acerbic Zachary Levi, and the just plain funny Patrick Warburton. Andrea Parker is another surprise comedic talent as the viper-ish Lydia because she usually does serious drama roles so this shows her great range. The rest of the actors in this are so well cast in their roles it's hard to imagine anyone else playing those parts. I wish I'd seen this show when it was on in it's original time slot but I'll just have to settle for watching the re-runs of this excellent little comedy on cable. Too bad it only lasted 4 seasons.
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Catherine_Grace_Zeh18 August 2008"LESS THAN PERFECT," in my opinion, is an absolute ABC classic! I haven't 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 would have been nice if 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.
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budoinst@aol.com24 October 2004Interesting show---it reminds me of the way things truly were at times in office life. Interesting to see Andrea Parker (of The Pretender) in such an opposite role and pull it off. Very nice to look at at the same time.
The rest of the cast seem to work well together and after a bit of a rough go the first season, it seems to be much more stable and interesting.
Walker, Texas Ranger went to Friday nights and seemed to run forever. Hopefully, this show will do so at the same time. If "Hope and Faith" can make it, this certainly should also.
I was surprised how much I liked it. -
gluba20001 October 2004I've seen two episodes of this so far (one from last season and one from this season) and it's actually funny!
I was expecting it to be another one of the air headed, stupid sitcoms that are run of the mill nowadays but it's a funny show!
I'm sure most people just skip over this thinking that "oh it's just another crappy new sitcom...it'll probably get canceled soon..." well it hasn't been canceled yet and it surely isn't crappy!
If you're like me and hate the new unintelligent sitcoms that are oh so common today and think that this show is one of them, you're wrong...watch it and find out like I did--that it's a funny show! -
Roxburyfunny116 October 2002This show is great good cast and great story line. The humor is none stop and actors bring the show to life. With Sara Rue being the happy go lucky secretary and upcomer Zachary Levi being the biggest yet cutest jerk this show is made to succeed this show only lacks one thing. It's time needs to be 8:00 instead of 9:30 that way i can see Zach an hour and a half earlier. This show was made for abc and i hope this show will continue for a long while.
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jewelp2414 October 2002As soon as I found out Andy Dick was on this show I knew I had to watch it. I loved him on Newsradio and it's great to see him playing a character that's a little less than smart. I also think Sara Rue is great. Her character is human and easy to relate to. I hope this show has a long run.
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liquidcelluloid-13 June 2004Network: ABC; Genre: sitcom/office comedy; Content Rating: TV-PG (adult content); Classification: contemporary (star range: 1 4);
Season Reviewed: series (2+ seasons)
From it's great ensemble to it's sparkling witty dialogue to a lush look and office comedy set that actually looks like it plans to be around for awhile, 'Less Than Perfect' was the best and most promising new sitcom of the limp 2002 TV season. A season that could go down as one of the worst on record without exaggeration. As it moves into it's 2nd and now 3rd seasons it starts to cheat it's original concept and the laughs come fewer and far between, but even so this is still one show that knows how to be a good sitcom.
From the outset 'Perfect' had something different. Not quite a cookie-cutter series, it has some effort and a real vision put into it. In the beginning we follow Claude Casey (introducing Sara Rue, practically perfect in the role) an average girl who is given the opportunity to advance from her friends on the 4th floor (Andy Dick, in usual vogue mode, and Sherri Shepard) and take a fulltime secretarial position for anchorman Will Butler (perennial lifetime movie villain Eric Roberts) on the prestigious 22nd floor. Claude must contend with the 22nd floor snobs and it's there where we find the best part of this ensemble. Introducing Zachary Levi (who sounds like he graduated from the Ryan Reynolds school of acting) in what should be the show's breakout character, Kipp and Andrea Parker as Lydia. Both are hysterically funny with Levi giving Kipp a complex and intriguing undercurrent and Parker (aside from being about as hot as the surface of the sun) getting to show off an amazing comic talent you'd never know she had from 'The Pretender'. It's in the moments where Kipp and Lydia are dispensing some great 1-liners (the show can really write them) and riffing on each other and everyone around them, that 'Less than Perfect' succeeds at being the kind of bombastic ensemble comedy that hasn't been prevalent since 'Newsradio'.
But the show doesn't have the focus or confidence to keep it up and later starts overcompensating by throwing new characters on top of the already sizeable ensemble. Carl (Will Sasso, 'Mad TV') sticks out like an obnoxious hangnail you just wish would go away. Patrick Warburton, the hardest working guy on TV (Dave's World, Seinfeld, Newsradio, Family Guy, The Tick), is always funny, but his presence only reminds me of how many times he was brought on board to liven up a show in it's dying years. With the additions, 'Perfect' strains to juggle all the characters and real talents like Levi, Parker and Dick get jutted to the side of the stage. Now they either only show up to make a wise-crack or the episode will give everybody a little story made up of a scene or two and none of it comes to any sort of head at the end.
In the shuffle, the edges of the best characters have all been ground down. Zipp and Lydia in particular are now reduced to miserable, pathetic beggars, while Claude and her friends are elevated to enviable status, often needed to help them out their snobby brethren. The show has concocted a phony backward world in this regard trumpeting the lives of it's leads and make fun of Lydia's materialism as if it wasn't already trampled ground. Its previous sharp class warfare comedy has gone out the door for more familiar sitcom fair.
But worst has been what the show has done to Claude. I just don't believe the character anymore. When the show began creator Terri Minsky was quoted saying that 'Less than Perfect' would be like the anti-'Friends'. That it would be (paraphrasing here) about regular, working class people, where Claude is like a female 'Drew Carey' (my description) because, as she asked: Does anyone actually believe the situations that Jennifer Aniston gets into each week. Well, it's high time somebody said it. Problem is, a Rachael Green character is exactly what Claude has become. Now, everybody loves Claude (and not in the ironic vein of 'Everybody Loves Raymond') and her character has lost all touch with the ground. Then again, what can you expect from the creator of 'Lizzie McGuire', another show so star-enamored it tries desperately to make it's attractive lead seem "average" to the viewers, all the while putting her in one unbelievable situation after another.
Sara Rue is probably too cute for the role, but the show could just as easily ignore that or play up Claude's funny-loser qualities. But instead Claude now wears high-class designer outfits and ends up juggling men mid-way through the first season one of them being that year's 'Bachelor' who gives Claude a rose to win her over in a bit of shameless ABC cross-promotion. I am Jack's raging bile duct. 'Perfect' is as close to proof as it comes that we are never going to have a "funny female loser" character on TV. No matter how average or put-upon the show sets her up, everyone will fall in love with her in the end. It must be tough.
But even with these reservations, the acting and writing on this show is better than good. And it's funny. That along with my hope that it can even itself out, makes it worth a recommendation. If only the show had the guts to stick with its original concept it could have really been something to write home about.
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Ddey656 January 2004She doesn't play a normal adult, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. As long as I've seen her on screen, Sara Rue has always played teenagers. Even on the short-lived Pamela Reed sitcom "Grand" I assumed her character had to be around 13. Now we don't have to regard her as the female Ralph Macchio and wait for her to say "I'm not a teenager, but I play one on TV," because she's playing as someone more or less her own age in this Terri Minsky sitcom.
There's this misconception that "Less Than Perfect" is about a fat girl who makes it working behind the scenes of the cut-throat world of the television news business. In reality it's the fact that her character is such a sweetheart within such a world that makes the show what it is...oh, and the surprising fact that Sara Rue can play such a charming character. Camryn Manheim is fat too, but she doesn't play as the same type of woman on "The Practice," and Roseanne(Barr) could never have pulled off an adorable character like Claude Casey. Ricki Lake? Maybe in the late-1980's, but not now.
Allow me to discuss some of the supporting cast as well:
Eric Roberts finally gets into an interesting show. I don't think too many interesting things have happened since he was in his relationship with the late Sandy Dennis. Some may compare Andy Dick's Owen Kronsky with his role as Matthew Brock on "NewsRadio," but not me. Kronsky is a lot smarter, he just has a peculiar upbringing. I disagree with one IMDb commenter, Andrea Parker looks better on this show than she does in "The Pretender."
Talent and Charm is what give Sara Rue sex appeal, not looks. Two outstanding episodes early in the first season serve as evidence of Rue's no-longer hidden talent. In "Queen of England," we find a subplot involving Owen(Andy Dick) talking Claude into joining him and Ramona (Sherrie Shepherd) at a Karaoke bar, where she does an excellent impersonation of Kate Pierson. Another episode ("The Pole") involves Ramona convincing Claude to join a "Stripper-cize" club to give her some attitude, and the moment she joins in you'd swear she's done this kind of thing before. Hopefully this show will last a few more seasons, because it deserves them. -
I really think 8 Simple Rules is one of the best series ever, next to Will & Grace and 8 Simple Rules.
The show has his power from the bitchy characters who are all biting off at each other. Sare Rue as Claude is hilarious as the sweet, cute lady who always wants to be nice but sometimes can be REALLY bitchy. Sherri Shepherd plays the part of Ramona Platt absolutely gorgeous, they couldn't have find someone better for the role(maybe Queen Latifah but Sherri comes VERY close). I love her ... ah, and Kipp, played by Zachari Levi. Zachary is a newcomer to me, but I love him already. He .. he's .. he's just so mean to everybody(except for Mr. Bulter en Mrs. Weston) and with the sneery one liners he's just one of the best characters in the series. Ah, and the Owen aka Andy Dick. I find Andy an annoying Dick in other shows but as Owen, he's funny. Only thing I have to say about Will Butler is that he being so cocky annoys me.
That we'll come to the greatest woman of all sit-com since she started playing in it(Well, the greatest is Karen @ Will & Grace, but everyone knows that). Andrea Parker. What a GREAT character she has. Lydia Weston is mean, cocky, arrogant .. everything that you can put under Negative. Only good thing is that she actually is very beautiful. In The Pretender I found her boring, but in Less that Perfect she is AWESOME, OUTRAGEOUS, COOl, OUTSTANDING. I laugh my butt off even before I see her. She is nearly as good Megan Mullally, who is also mean and stuff like that.
Overall Less than Perfect is GREAT ... very funny, you should give it a try .. -
jmatrixrenegade16 March 2004To quote Emily from "Gilmore Girls," I don't like forensics as much as other people; nor do I like reality programming, cop/prosecutor shows (or are tired of them), or newsmagazines. This suggests I find little good to watch, including comedies ... especially if you don't like "Raymond" or "Frasier" (tired of it, will be gone soon anyhow). Thus, the true humor, often hilarious, of "Less Than Perfect" is a find. It has a great and often charming ensemble cast, and Will Sasso and Patrick W. are great additions to it. Surely, it is not a total gem and has some less than perfect episodes, but it is still pretty darn good. Tuesdays, therefore, are one night that I can watch television and truly enjoy it.
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whpratt17 May 2003Andrea Parker (Lydia Weston) out does herself as far as being funny, very sexy, and her eyes and figure out shine the rest of the cast. Sara Rue (Claude Casey) and Sherri Shepherd (Ramona Platt). Andrea Parker and Michael T. Weiss use to battle it out in "The Pretender" TV series and her role is completely the opposite. She is a great and up and coming super star! I have my doubts about the success of this TV show, time will tell!
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underboss_34 June 2004I'm completely surprised that this show has ANY good reviews let alone so many. Apparently, it seems that ABC has decided that they just don't want to even try to compete anymore with the other networks. Less Than Perfect is, without a doubt, THE worst show on t.v. today. This show is a sitcom stereotype: The fat girl who's not going to let being "less than perfect" get her down, the well meaning boss, the snobby pretty girl, the sassy black chick, and the office spaz. I've actually watched the show, or tried to, because it comes on after one of my favorite sitcoms, but Less Than Perfect couldn't keep my attention. It's just not funny. Sara Rue is not funny. I'm astounded as to how this garbage remains on the air. We have horrid shows like this to blame for reality T.V.
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broadfoot12 August 2003Most of the IMDB user reviews for this show seem to be positive, but I have to disagree. I find many of the characters on this show very snobby and unlikeable. The only characters who seem that interesting are the ones played by Eric Roberts and Andy Dick.
Sadly, these people just seem to portray what a lot of people are like today.
Wake me up when you put on a show with people I can sympathize with.
Rating: *1/2