Review: ABC’s 'Cristela' Is What You’d Expect – Until It’s Not

Olive Light ‘16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Cristela, one of ABC’s new family comedies, is pretty much what you’d expect from a sitcom, until the show starts tackling some real life issues.
Cristela Alonzo brings the wit and playfulness of her stand-up comedy to a show that’s loosely based on her own life. It’s about a broke Latina pursuing her passions and independence while trying to appease her very conventional Mexican-American family and stay connected to her cultural background. Alonzo is a co-creator and executive producer of the show and stars in it as Cristela, a woman who just graduated from law school after six years of having to work and pay her own way through it.
Being in massive debt and about to interview for an unpaid internship at a law firm, Cristela has to live in her sister Daniela’s (Maria Canals-Barrera) house in Texas with her mother Natalia (Terri Hoyos), her brother-in-law Felix (Carlos Ponce), and her niece and nephew. While her sister and brother-in-law pressure her to pay up or move out, her mother dishes out some good old fashioned guilt. Everyone she encounters out of the house seem to have no idea where that line marking racism is – or they do see it and waltz over it anyway.

In the pilot episode, we meet Cristela’s family as they’re sending the kids off to elementary school. This is where the audience learns that Daniela and her husband have a worldview from the 1950s. Daniela lets her daughter sign up for cheerleading and Felix throws out casually sexist comments like, “Women should cheer for men.” As Cristela heads out for her internship interview that could lead her to the career of her dreams, her stern and proud mother gives some unsolicited advice: “That is your problem, mija, you think life is to be enjoyed.” Of course, to deal with such, Cristela is much more progressive, accepting, and patient – but that’s all put to the test as she faces her boss in the interview.
Up to that point, the pilot proved to be a lot like the George Lopez show; the character types, the setting, the joke delivery, and perspective on assimilation are incredibly similar to George’s. In the interview scene, however, this show differentiates itself with a string of quips that are both very witty and wildly racist. The audience ‘ooohhh’s for a good five minutes, and it comes again throughout the rest of the pilot as the show’s biting humor continues to test the tact of its viewers. As Cristela returns home and is scattered moments throughout the episode, the audience gets to see that despite the differences she has with her family, they are all “in it together.” They are very close, even with Felix’s handsy brother, Alberto, played by fellow comedian Gabriel Iglesias.
The appreciation of Cristela’s humor requires rudimentary knowledge of Mexican-American stereotypes and a broad sense of humor. While some people are bound to feel awkward watching a few parts, the pilot indicates that it’s altogether a pretty average sitcom – even the assimilation theme isn’t anything new. What is unique is the show’s vibrant, clever, and light-hearted star who uses hard-hitting humor to guide her audience through her world of unfortunate social realities. Time will tell if they’re ready to follow her through it.