Allen Gregory has got to be my 10th least favorite show next to Small Potatoes and Thomas And Friends: All Engines Go, this is the worst show from 2011 along with Jake And The Neverland Pirates, Secret Mountain Fort Awesome and The Problem Solverz. I would rather watch The Amazing World Of Gumball better than this show.
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arielsiere30 May 2022
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cartoonnewsCP22 February 2020This show had potential, but was wasted.
I disliked Richard. He's mean, unlikeable and not funny at all. He forced a straight guy to be gay and marry him. How sad is that.
I did like Jeremy and Julie. Jeremy tries to be nice to Allen which is kinda sweet. It's too bad Allen doesn't return the favor. Julie is just a normal teenager and it's sad how Richard treats her at home.
Allen is okay. He's written to be unlikeable, which is alright, not a bad thing at all. Everyone on family guy is meant to be jerks, which is not a bad thing because if they're well written that's all that matters. Brian in family guy is written to be a jerk, but he has funny things to say. Allen Gregory doesn't have anything funny to say, so basically this show comes off as being boring.
I did like how they tried to do something a little different though, the voice acting is good, and the art style is a nice change. I don't intend to finish the show anymore. It's just really boring. -
dhochoy16 January 2012I'll probably be the first to say that I liked the pilot, it introduced the main character Allen Gregory, who is a pretentious super genius, forced to go onto Elementary School instead of being home schooled for him to experience a life beyond corporate business, Allen thinks it would be a walk through the park but is faced with the reality that regardless of his talents, and intellect, he is really not above everyone else. It's not new, or groundbreaking material but with all the clever jokes, and settings that could been used, it would have made for a great show however the writers failed to really see the potential of the show, and in turns we were left with a bunch of dull, stagnant filler just to fill in the 8:30 - 9:00 time slot for a Sunday night block. The main problem with the show is the characters themselves, Allen Gregory in particular, he's a smug, pretentious little twerp who acts as though he's on top of the world, and is a total suck up yet he's able to walk all over everyone, and continue his nasty attitude, no real conflicts, no development, nothing. His dad Richard is pretty unlikable too, he's a homosexual stereotype; a male prima donna. He has that same problem of acting like he's on top of the world, and getting through life rather easy despite being a bad person. One thing about him is that he made a straight man (no really he is straight by will) into his love partner against his will. Everyone else are easily forgettable. The humor revolves almost entirely around the antics of Allen Gregory, and his father but considering the unlikability of their characters the delivery is really lackluster. Allen Gregory does have good points, the voice acting is rather well done for what it tries to work for, it gives you a sense that the characters (of lack thereof) are there. The animation is decent as the characters do look realistically designed, and the art gives a classy feel to it but the character movements are really stiff.
All in all, Allen Gregory would have been something great if the writers actually knew what they were working with but what came out was just a depressing waste of a good concept. -
Narce31 October 2011Always a fan of good animated comedy, I tuned in Allen Gregory to see what it held for me. Before the show even started, there was a "not suitable for children under 14" blurb, which gave me hope that this might be the new South Park - raunchy and scatological, but also inventive and funny.
The reality is much, much less. The humour (such as there is) is of the cruel, taunting variety, and the title character lacks any characteristics that make him sympathetic or likable. Set up as an intelligent overachiever by the show's promoters, he comes off more like an arrogant, impolite poseur with no compassion whatsoever for his fellow human beings.
Perhaps he gets this from his home situation, or perhaps he has managed to become this out of touch with reality all on his own. At any rate, the result is not worth watching. -
booklvr10111 November 2011The previews for Allen Gregory seemed to offer some promise of a cartoon series ripe with witty sarcasm and humorous cynicism. It seemed like it might be comparable to Southpark or Family Guy (before the show started declining, that is).
Unfortunately, the actual show itself is crude, crass, possibly controversial (I say "possibly" because I'm sure some people will be put off by the open-armed acceptance of gay couples...but I am not one of them), and even outright disgusting (some people will be VERY put off by the sex fantasy Allen Gregory has about his 60+, overweight principal...and I AM one of those people).
The premise is simple: a spoiled rich kid, used to being home schooled by his "gay" stepfather (who we find out later, actually isn't gay at all, which only serves to add a new level of disturbing to this already messed up show) is sent to a regular school where he openly insults everyone he comes across and lives in a fantasy world where he believes he's the center of attention for all.
Some of the lines in here were good for a chuckle or two...but about half-way through the show everything seems to just go rapidly down hill. I admit I watched the first episode out of curiosity. Curiosity having been satisfied, this is NOT a show I will be watching future episodes of.
All in all, what could have been a decent cartoon in the hands of someone OTHER than Jonah Hill turns out to be a major waste of time for those of us unfortunate enough to have sat through the first episode's half hour run time. -
ChrisMichael816 November 2011Awful. There is no word in any language that could describe this show more appropriately. After various hits such as Family Guy and American Dad, both of which are funny, they give us Allen Gregory. The main character is basically Stewie Griffin, just trite and obnoxiously unfunny. I had no opinion of Jonah Hill going into this show and I tried to like it, being as it is crammed in the middle of Animation Domination. I struggled finding the angle that this show was using to sell itself. I read that this show is smart and witty. Nope. My best guess and opinion that the angle the creator took was too annoy the audience. I don't see how this would work but then again if I saw this pilot I would laugh the creator out of my office. After watching South Park for half my life maybe I am hard to impress. I can say with absolute sureness that this show will go no longer that one season, if even that. Rule one. When you are making a character, make them likable. I think that Handiquack's was a much better idea then this trash.
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rsre4-18 November 2011Not even remotely funny. Wasted 15 minutes (I couldn't even sit through the whole thing) of my life.
I kept waiting for the funny parts to come. Alas, they never did.
The preview seemed like it might be interesting, at least. Wrong.
Neither I, nor my 13-year old son, so much as smiled at this dull, humorless, waste of TV time.
Really? Someone actually green-lit this project? I love humor - even Fox's animated humor (Simpson, Futurama, Family Guy) but this show was just flat out bad!
Next! -
northey-213-75544515 November 2011just watched the first two episodes of Allen Gregory... good try Jonas, but not many people find a pretentious protagonist funny or likable when they absolutely learn no lesson or face no consequences (whether that consequence is funny or not). Stewie Griffin at least shows some signs of being human instead of being the love child of a man who forcibly made a straight man his bitch. The point of pilot is to get audiences intrigue...not to alienate and offend gays, straights, teachers, kids, parents, basically everyone except for...I can't even think of who would like this. It's pretty obvious that you were aiming to please the "1%" or trying to be "smart" funny by not having a "lesson learned", but all you accomplished was making me cheer for the douche-bag class president kid when Allen put himself into a situation where he deserved to be mocked and made fun of. Good luck getting a renewal for Season 2....
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simonneville-226-90736530 November 2011This show is fantastic! It really annoys me that people who hated it took the time to write about it on here as obviously they just didn't get it! The show is a commentary on the way the "Rich and Famous" behave. The show clearly tries very hard to make this point obvious with the parents adopting a child from a country they don't even remember ("add Julie to cart") Allen Gregory boasting about a sex tape. Richard Delongpre living off the money his father created yet is completely incompetent. Allen Gregory himself is attending a public school exposing this new pop-culture of pretentious narcissistic greed and discrimination to school aged kids (do you think they are trying to say that your kids are exposed to this daily?) Episode 5 they even tried to spell this out at the end of the show with the comment "Maybe you didn't grasp the concept Gina! it was a commentary on being Racist" were they having a dig at their critics with this? It's just fantastic I eagerly await each episode.
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gillianlms-213-74667314 November 2011This show is so awful that I actually registered on IMDb just so I could express my disdain.
A previous reviewer hit the nail on the head -- none of these characters are at all sympathetic or likable. Even Eric Cartman, evil as he may be, has something about him that makes you care about him. Allen Gregory just makes me want to punt him across a football field.
If anything about this show was actually funny, that lack of likability might be excusable. But it's really just not funny at all. I gave it two attempts, and couldn't get through more than 15 minutes either time, never once cracking a smile.
Another reviewer said this show reminded them of Home Movies. For me, not even a little bit. Home Movies is subtle humor, for sure -- but it's hilarious. Polar opposite of Allen Gregory.
Please just get rid of this abysmal entry and put Bob's Burgers back on already. PLEASE! -
sanders-doom14 October 2012I just wanted to post a review (since I've seen all the episodes 3 or so times) that wasn't negative, or written by older folks who don't like it cause they still think south park is outrageous and family guy should be watched religiously. Just because the kids made such a fuss about Family Guy after it was canceled by fox and put on adult swim where it found its fan base. Everyone else just decided to like it after it came back to fox with all its buzz. I felt Allen Gregory was a great show, and all the characters are enjoyable with great voice acting. I read a negative review where they said "the only likable character is Julie." which made me laugh, it's like saying the only likable character is meg hahaha. I hope this show will get a cult fan base and eventually return with new episodes. But either way I think you should watch all seven episodes and then decide for your self.
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I have a decent vocabulary, one developed through years of reading and scrabble, and I don't have anything other than profanity to describe this show. It's not funny, it's not clever, it's not nice to look at, it literally has no redeeming features of any sort.
The characters are infuriating and unlikable. The plots are vapid and come off as though the writers were trying (and failing) to make some sort of commentary about intellectuals/the political left/homosexuals.
It's terrible, pure and simple. Compared to it's competition, it's distinctly lacking. Even against programming like the Cleveland Show, which is still finding its legs, it's terrible.
It's junk. Pure and simple. -
sillylittlemonkey-206-7921586 November 2011It is actually the worst show I've ever seen in my life. I can't stand any of the characters. Allen and his father are pretentious and not in any sort of entertaining way. Also what's the deal with Jeremy being with that guy when he's not even gay. That made no sense at all. The part when Jeremy has a talk with Allen, I was hoping he would actually have something meaningful to say. He didn't. He just said "I'm not gay. I'm only with your father because he's a creeper who wouldn't stop until he got what he wanted, and if you behave the same way, you'll get want you want." Well, pretty much.
I hope this show gets cancel very soon. It probably will. I don't understand how anyone could ever like it. -
tommystans30 July 2013I've watched two episodes of this show and there is just one scene that crack me a smile. But throughout the entire episode, it was just poor. The characters are complete idiots, unmemorable and boring to deal with and the plots are just bland, dull and unmemorable. When I see kids acting like an adult I see them being cute but when they are a 'serious' adult I see them as complete jerks who think they are better then them. Plus Alan Gregory seeing his mum for the first time at a diner and looking all serious like a romance movie wasn't funny at all. Some critics say that the adopted sister, Julie, is likable. I just see her as some cold hearted grouch who hates being around everyone. The only likable character in my opinion is Richard de longpre I think he was funny in some bits. But overall this rarely funny and boring and it deserves to be cancelled.
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"Allen Gregory" was just as bad as I heard it was. No wonder why it only have seven episodes (And personally, I think that this series should not have been made in first place)
The biggest flaw from Allen Gregory are the characters: All of them are extremely annoying and unlikeable, being either jerks or too whiny. The worst of all of them is Allen Gregory himself, who is a detestable prick from the very beginning of the series. Also, the fact that he has a crush on his principal (who is in her 70s) is not only not funny at all but also wrong in so many levels. Additionally, the jokes from this cartoon were terribly unfunny, and the animation was bad, with dull and uninspired designs.
Honestly, in what were Jonah Hill and FOX thinking? I am glad that this awful series is finally over, since it was even worse than the Napoleon Dynamite animated adaptation. -
Fitzmartel9 November 2011And I thought that "Bob's Burgers" was bad.
There's nothing here to like. The main characters are not likable. The humor isn't "edgy," it's just mean and pointless. The animation itself looks cheesy.
Worse yet, it's just not funny. The pilot and Episode 1 were thoroughly "cringeworthy." This series seems pointless.
Not having any expectations of Jonah Hill prior to this series, I will come to expect nothing of quality from him in future endeavors.
"South Park" was edgy and funny. This dreck? 0-2. Perhaps the only saving grace for this waste of a programming slot is that it might last the remainder of the season tucked into Fox's animation block. I'd pull the plug on it now. -
ryanwjphelps27 November 2011This is terrible. I have watched a few episodes now thinking maybe it would get better, but it hasn't.
None of the characters are in any way likable. They are rude, pretentious and totally unbelievable. They have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
The show attempts to be witty, but comes across as rude and offensive. Satire is an art, and the makers of it do not have the ability to write it.
Do not waste your time with this show. With any luck, it will be canceled soon. But knowing TV networks, this will keep going and other shows worth watching will be kicked off the air. -
wyattterry4 November 2012The first episode of this show I watched was #4 ("Interracial McAdams"), and I was immediately intrigued. I'm a fan of South Park, particularly older episodes, and found the humor in Allen Gregory to be similar but more subtle. I also loved Allen's artistic direction and style, which is more aesthetically pleasing than that of many new cartoons.
After watching 2 episodes of the show I Googled Allen Gregory, expecting to find praise and good reviews, and was surprised with the opposite. Maybe the screaming haters are just a very vocal minority and any cancellation of the show is ultimately due to low viewership, not necessarily hate, but it's too bad; I was looking forward to seeing more of this.
From skimming a few of the message board posts and reviews, I can see that one of the most common complaints was not being able to connect with any of the characters. Personally I never like or dislike a show solely on the basis of connecting with any of the characters. If what they say or do is something I'm keen to observe, and it's done in a manner that I am drawn to, then it's watchable in my book. And despite many viewers' aversions to Allen Gregory's character, I found him to be cute, in an Eric Cartman-esque "extremely politically incorrect kid" sort of way, but with a very different yet equally unique personality. I generally find the ruder and more outlandish characters to be the more interesting.
Another common complaint seems to be regarding the political incorrectness around themes such as pedophilia, homosexuality, racism, etc. Some people find humor revolving around these themes to be funny, whereas others would be offended. It looks like this show may have picked up the wrong viewers. I think Allen Gregory would have hit a beat with a significant portion of South Park fans, as the humor is similar, as stated previously.
However, for a comedy, the humor IS, admittedly, pretty subtle. And on that subject, yet another complaint I've come across is the perception that the show is just not funny, even to some who don't have issues with the rampant political incorrectness. Personally, I don't laugh very much watching this show. I don't find the show outrageously funny, and I might not even find it very funny. However, I rarely laugh at anything on TV. Furthermore, a comedy show doesn't have to be persistently funny to be appealing. I watch comedies ultimately if I find them appealing, not because I want to laugh for hours on end.
Maybe it's the combination of the show's atmosphere, humor that I'm comfortable with, and the artistic direction that is striking a chord with me; if any of these facets were compromised then my opinion could differ. But so far, I'm thinking that this is the sort of show that I would like to see more of, and efforts should be made to attract the right viewers before cancelling it for good. -
In the name of all that is good and holy, please let FOX get this wretched mess off the air and give us the promised second season of the vastly superior "Bob's Burgers" already.
I'll give anything animated a fighting chance, but after watching three episodes of this crap I can safely say that not only is "Allen Gregory" not nearly as sharp or witty as it's creators apparently consider it to be, but it's one of the most aesthetically unappealing animated series ever. Jonah Hill needs to stick to live action films.
Visually unpleasant animation (seriously-this show is ugly to look at)combined with characters who are more often than not creepy (and not in a comedic way)produces a relatively laugh-free result which manages to neither be hip or walk the cutting edge of being subversive. It's simply bad. People praising this are reading a level of sophistication into the humor that isn't there. For all of the flack that "Bob's Burgers" has gotten from certain quarters, at least it possesses an element of genuine wit as well as heart.
Rude, boundary-pushing humor can be done successfully.. "South Park" has been a sterling example of this for well over a decade now. But there's an intrinsic difference between pushing boundaries with a sly grin as a cracked way of making a valid point (or ridiculing some absurd aspect of our culture) and just being flat out mean spirited
"Allen Gregory" ,with it's repulsively cold tone, falls squarely into the latter category. Watching this show is a miserable experience. This series asks us to laugh because characters are uncomfortable..not because there's a sharp, observant thread of underlying humor to their discomfort, mind you, but for the simple reason that they are suffering. Two noteworthy examples of this are the horribly miscalculated scenes in the earliest episodes where Allen's stepfather acknowledges that he's not gay and is in a relationship Allen's dad because the father is "a creeper who wouldn't quit" and an entirely bizarre and humorless moment where the resolutely unlikable father threatens to make life miserable for the school principal when she refuses to engage Allen's romantic aspirations. While there probably are viewers who got some sort of a chuckle out of these moments, my reaction was to stare at the TV,puzzled, wondering when this damned thing was finally going to generate some laughs.
And, hey, congrats to the writers who, with the advent of Allen's father, managed to conceive one of the worst gay television characters in the history of the medium. These people need to take a few days and watch multiple episodes of the (exponentially funnier) series "Soap" so they can get some sort of a clue as to how to write a reasonably plausible gay character, a feat that was successfully navigated with a role which made Billy Crystal a star some thirty years ago.
Better yet, just skip the history lesson and cancel this regrettable misfire. It really astounds me that this ever made it onto television. -
oiler9424 November 2011There has not been a television show like this one; even the animation has a very identifiable quality that lets you know that you have not seen a series quite like it.
I would have to agree with some of the show's critics that say that the characters are pretentious, and quite simply not very likable, but the tone of each episode revolves around an outsider that is simply trying to fit in to a new environment- which is something that even the most jaded critic must admit he can identify with.
Because the series is still in its infant stage, the viewers need time to get used to the dark humour and far-fetched characters; Allen's love for his new principal is a perfect example of this. If people could just accept this as an aspect of the bizarrely funny tone of the show, they would see it as an innovative exaggeration of every strange attraction that they've ever felt.
People will accept and love this series in time, and even if the show is quickly cancelled it will endure with cult following, just like 'Freaks and Geeks' has done after only managing to stay on the air for a single season. -
limitedpump5 December 2011The only reason I've sat through this show is because it's on between other shows I want to see, and because there's nothing else on. I looked last night - this would be a great time slot for some other network to put on anything else that would be worth watching. It's sole redeeming quality is that it gives me half an hour to work on my laptop on other things while waiting for Family Guy. The characters are annoying. The plots are "toss an idea and we'll make a script around one feeble joke". It seems the whole show revolves around bad humor and an effort to take a gay family setting and NOT talk about it. Nothing against gay-themed shows, there have been plenty of those I've greatly enjoyed - we have the box set of Queer As Folk at home.
This show is an answer to a question no viewer was asking. -
ForCenturies3 November 2011I'm the first to say if something "funny" is actually offensive or just plain not funny. This show is funny.
People have complained that the characters aren't likable - that's kind of the point. The whole point is that he's a fish out of water, and Blind Freddy could tell over the course of the series he'll learn to be a good person.
I love Julie! She's hilarious and was underutilised in the pilot. And as far as I can tell, she is actually the audience surrogate for the show - she doesn't like Allen Gregory's snobby behaviour.
This show reminds me of late-nineties comedies like King of the Hill, South Park, Johnny Bravo, to name a few. Maybe that's why I dig it - I miss when these shows were fresh. I guess with Allen Gregory I'm vicariously experiencing late-nineties television all over again.
And I'm really digging it. Unfortunately, I seem to be the only one who does... -
EntertainmentBuff18 December 2011I think Jonah Hill is extremely funny and I have seen and liked majority of his movies.
However, this show is extremely horrible.
I have watched almost every episode to try to give it a chance, but I am officially out.
It is just horrible from every angle.
I am shocked that there are any positive reviews.
Sorry Jonah, I just can't take it anymore.
Cancel it!
Please! -
jeyges18 December 2011I've logged onto IMDb for the first time in years just to write this review.
There is simply no excuse for this monstrosity. I don't care how desperate they were to fill their lineup. It is neither witty nor clever nor poignant. It has absolutely nothing to say on any level. This is a program with no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
The dialogue is both boring and offensive simultaneously, not to mention the fact that the characters jabber more rapidly than the Gilmore Girls.
Whichever network suit is responsible for greenlighting this piece of garbage should be fired. No, wait - s/he should be publicly humiliated. Then fired. -
markartis29 November 2011Just an incredibly unfunny show. Nothing redeeming or amusing about the lead character or any of the supporting cast. Beyond bad. Jonah Hill should hang his head in artistic shame on this. I have literally run out of things to say about how painful this show was to watch. Who green-lighted this mess. Did they even ask to read a script or listen to read-through? Jonah needs to stick to some quality supporting roles like his great performance in Money Ball. Besides that his career is looking like a train wreck. I hope this disaster (among the others like Get Him to the Greek and The Babysitter) really humbles the guy. Pl\ease focus on art and not garbage. Find a mentor.