In Defence of Fuller House

I have to admit... I LOVE Full House. Always have, always will. It is one of those shows which, regardless of where I am, my face lights up when I see that a Full House rerun is on the tv schedule.

So you can imagine how 

I really don't care that there have been negative reviews about Fuller House. To be honest, as big as a Full House fan I am, I know it is FLUFF. And therefore, it's only fair to expect Fuller House to be a bundle of feel-good, bubble gummy, 80s style family-friendly sitcom. I think TV audiences are smart enough to know to expect a nostalgia and lame dad jokes from this reboot.

To expect Fuller House to be a breakout hit is preposterous. Yes, Full House is a comedy but within that genre, there are subclasses. You wouldn't put Full House in the same boat as Friends or the Big Bang Theory. Heck, I struggle to find a recent sitcom that would fit the family sitcom genre so that we can truly compare apples with apples. 

This lack of understanding of the essence of Full House is the main reason why I am not taking the negative reviews seriously.   

However, this opinion piece on Decider takes the cake. While I agree with some of the points made, I cannot help but think that the writer was simply grasping at straws and jumping to negative conclusions about Full AND Fuller House. 

Let's investigate each point that this genius brings up.

Gripe #1: Stephanie and Kimmy kiss

And? 

While Full House is an 80s style family comedy, it has updated its jokes to fit contemporary society. The whole kissing a girl thing is not a shocker. 

It was a shocker in 2003 when Madonna kissed Britney and Christina at the MTV VMAs. It was a slight shocker when Katy Perry sang about it in 2008. We are now in 2016 - it should not be disturbing that two close girl friends might kiss each other while intoxicated, high on a moment or well... just because. 

Regardless of your views on LGBT, we are evolving into a society where your sexuality is accepted. It is not as taboo as before. While Kimmy and Stephanie are not lesbians, that one kiss should not disturb you. Yes, it probably wasn't appropriate but it is not the mind scarring moment that the writer makes it out to be.

Also, anyone who's watched Full House knows that Kimmy Gibbler is inappropriate and socially awkward. If Kimmy didn't kiss Stephanie, that would not be true to her character at all. 

Gripe #2: Steve really wants to sleep with DJ

This is the one gripe that I fully agree with. I'm pretty sure Full House fans would call me sacrilegious but I really do not want DJ to end up with Steve. I wouldn't even say his obsessiveness is borderline scary, it IS stalker scary. 

In most of the episodes I've watched, Steve has shown an unhealthy interest in getting back together with DJ... even doing some private eye level investigating to find out about his high school sweetheart.

And this is the one gripe that disappoints me too. I wish DJ would have been more firm with Steve. I wish she made it clear in the show that while what Steve is doing does not present as your classic case of domestic violence, it is not okay to accept such behaviour. Such behaviour can easily snowball to a controlling relationship - and such a relationship, regardless of whether Steve actually lays a hand on her or not, is emotionally abusive. 

I get that the producers want Steve to still be the lovelorn puppy dog - but they've overdone it. Shame on you, Fuller House. 

Gripe #3: Stephanie may have a drug problem

This writer might have a jumping to conclusions problem - to equate a flippant comment about magic brownies with a drug addiction is stupid. I am strictly anti-narcotics myself but a casual user of weed is not the same as a meth head. 

Additionally, I may be from Singapore, which has the toughest drug laws, but even I know that the rave/party scene is synonymous with drugs, particularly ecstasy. To deny this would be sticking your head in the sand. 

Let's face it, if  DJ Tanner, if she is as popular and entrenched in the scene as the show suggests, would have access to a whole bevy of drugs. She wouldn't be wasting her time baking brownies to feed a drug habit.

Gripe #4: The cast won't stop mentioning the Olsen twins

Why should they? It's a very well publicised fact that they did skip out on the reunion and that fans were really looking forward to having them back. If anything, the Olsen twins MADE Full House. And likewise, if not for Full House, they wouldn't be the gajillionaires they are now. Shame on you, Olsen twins.

Also, it's called breaking the fourth wall. A very popular device, nowadays. Why is it okay for Deadpool to constantly break the fourth wall but not Fuller House? 

Gripe #5: There's a weird sexual chemistry between Uncle Jesse and Stephanie

I certainly didn't get that. Yes, they are sitting awfully close together but let's not forget that they are family, not random strangers. On top of that, the entire Full House cast (save for the Olsens) have always remained close - so the fact that they're so natural in each other's space is... well... natural!

Gripe #6: Kimmy Gibbler is a beast in the bedroom 

I'm starting to wonder if the writer has an issue with female sexuality. Kimmy Gibbler likes to have sex. Big deal. Your parents had sex at least once in their life - how do you think you were born? If your baby brother/sister has a kid, they've had sex too. It's a fact of life. People grow up, people have sex. Don't need to dwell on it.

Tell me that Kimmy Gibbler is an incestuous necrophiliac and then I'd be disturbed. 

Also, again, Kimmy Gibbler is inappropriate. She's the queen of the overshare. End of story. 

Gripe #7: Joey's comedy act hasn't changed in years

Again, I really don't get why this is unsettling. If something ain't broken, don't fix it. Clearly in the Fuller House universe, people love Joey's act. Also how do we know that his act is 100% the same - it's not like we have watched Joey's stand up routines. 

Are we basing this on the fact that he still uses the same puppet? How is that different from Jeff Dunham and Achmed?

Alternatively, could it be that he has the same prop because it has sentimental value? We keep mementos of breakthrough moments of our lives, maybe that's the same with Joey. 

Or alternatively again, maybe Joey brings out the same prop because it's not one he uses in his show any more. Maybe it's one he keeps in the Tanner house like an old stuffed teddy bear which the kids love having around for sentimental value. Again, possibilities! 

Gripe #8: Joey has a secret family in Vegas. 

This one, I'm unsure about. I'll have to watch the episodes again but I don't recall the character mentioning his family in the series. Put this down as the other gripe that I could agree with, out of the 11. 

Gripe #9: Uncle Jesse and Becky's love life is dead

Okay, scratch my earlier comment. The writer seems to have severe issues (or perhaps misconceptions?) about sexuality... and relationships. 

This is the gripe I have the biggest issue with. 

"... Becky casually mentions that she and Jesse don't have this kind of excitement anymore after 28 years of marriage" 

HOW DOES THAT EQUATE TO A BAD LOVE LIFE?! 

Can you honestly compare the first flushes of romance to a marriage? 

Personally, Anthony and I have a loving marriage, full of cheekiness and affection - but it still isn't the same as the first few months we were together when every text message would have me break out into a cheesy grin. Relationships evolve but that doesn't mean they are worse than what they are in the beginning. 

To assume that Jesse and Becky aren't having sex based on the fact that (based on what Becky said) he hasn't sent her flowers just shows, again, how eager this writer is to twist any little thing into something "disturbing". 

Gripe #10: Stephanie is infertile 

Yes, it is sad. But so what? And what exactly are you disturbed about? That they didn't explain Stephanie's lack of kids about personal conviction?

So first, you criticise Full House for being progressive by having the Kimmy-Stephanie kiss and suggesting Stephanie may be a druggie. Now you criticise them for not making the progressive choice of having Stephanie not wanting kids? Make up your damn mind.  

Gripe #11: The show itself doesn't know if it should exist

One, it's called poking fun at yourself. Two, seriously, go watch Deadpool.