Alice: A Delightful Dive into Diner Life
Alice revolves around Alice Hyatt – a singer who lost her husband and subsequently begins a struggle trying to find herself a way to make a living in a diners of Phoenix, Arizona. The show captures moments of a woman managing the hardships of life with her teenage son, Tommy, and a group of funny and charming coworkers. It portrays the rather mundane experiences and injects laughed, which makes it comfortable and lovable.
Linda Lavin is excellent as Alice as she is both warm and powerful. The actors chosen to be casted in the show as supporting characters are Vic Tayback as the man of few words Mel, Polly Holliday as the sharp-tongued Flo and Beth Howland as the eccentric Vera offer both comedy and pathos whenever called upon.
The directors of the sitcom, Marc Daniels, William Asher and John Pasquin were able to maintain the feel good humor all the while integrating life truths into the show to make the The practicality of the filming angles complements the storyline by depicting close and cheerful interactions of the characters at workplace.
Mel’s Diner is another character in the episode. A tidiness and complex-incidental view of its setting engrosses the elemental significance of the premise and gives it a nostalgic ring that is in harmony with the notion of simplification and unity.
Amusement effects are negligible, which rises more as a rule-of-thumb to a 70s humorous skit. The absence of some minute complex visuals contributes to the show’s slow and real, thus concentrating on performances and writing.
It is well edited and keeps a good pace in terms of comedy and never prolongs scenes nor cuts them too short giving an easy and fun viewable experience.
The pacing of the sitcom is very light and quite free which suits the show’s humor. This also does not make it feel contrived even if there are times when it has multiple story lines to deal with, let’s each character and subplot have enough time to evolve.
The dialogue is very sharp and real, they are witty, and weigh the heavy emotions that are further entrenched in each character. Intentionally or not, the dialogues are funny, the emotions are sincere; the interactions feel real.
However, one might find certain particulars in ‘Alice’ rather cliché. The main emphasis is made on the regular character types and sitcom clichés which may not agree with those keen on non-traditional plots. It remains as the best of the series of American comedies in giving the audience the right mix of laughter, love, and togetherness.
