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HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

Jan. 05, 2006

Campus Ladies

By N.F. Mendoza

10 p.m. Sunday, January 8 Oxygen

 

This show's buzz is a result of multitasker Cheryl Hines serving as an executive producer. If this brand of humor

resonates -- think the hilariously underrated "Reno 911" -- it won't need anything else to sell itself.

Groundlings Christen Sussin and sketch partner Carrie Aizley are two fortysomethings who become dorm-

living, party-patron college freshmen after Sussin's Barri walks in on her husband in flagrante. Aizley's Joan is a

widow who decided to get her groove on.

Make no mistake, this is irreverent, certainly raunchy, but very, very laugh-out-loud funny. A drunken Barri

proclaims of a bar rat (Anthony Anderson), "He's a yummy molten brownie. ... I want that black man!" Trust us,

it's damn funny coming from the comely, cozy Sussin. Meanwhile, after a low Joan is pressured to "pop your

coochie!," she takes the stage on open-mike night with poetry that declares, "Take your totem pole to my donut

hole."

The writing is funny, and the acting is convincing and sharp. When snubbed by Paris Hilton-style twins, Barri

declares matter-of-factly, "So cute ... but so mean!" The first two episodes introduce them to dorm living,

mortified roommate Paige (the excellent Miranda Kent), keggers and sorority rush. "Campus' " strongest point

is keeping the ladies earnest, wide-eyed and oh-so-game. As the theme song chimes, "Little misfit, gonna be a

big hit." Let's hope so.