Mild humor, exaggerated caricatures in ‘Fresh Off the Boat’

FROM LEFT: Ian Chen, Constance Wu, Hudson Yang, Randall Park and Forrest Wheeler

LIGHT humor springs from cultural conflicts in “Fresh Off the Boat” (Wednesdays, Fox, 10:15 p.m.), about an Asian family starting anew in Orlando, Florida. Loosely based on the memoir of Eddie Huang—the author has distanced himself from this TV version—the show is set in 1995, as seen from the perspective of young hip-hop fan Eddie (Hudson Yang).

As someone who has embraced being an Asian-American, the young Eddie figures in funny situations, usually where his parents Louis and Jessica (Randall Park and Constance Wu) try to adapt to American customs, or instill in their kids values learned from the previous generation.

Eddie can be the source of humorous hi-jinks as well, as he’s primarily a misfit who’s figuring out his place in a predominantly white public school. Despite that, he occasionally connects with kids who like basketball, video games and rap.

But the more interesting interactions still involve Louis and Jessica. Previous Chinatown residents of Washington, DC, they initially raised their three kids there until Louis decided to pursue greener pastures by starting his own cowboy-themed restaurant in Florida.

While Louis is more flexible in embracing the American dream, Jessica, a “tiger mom,” isn’t as keen on letting her sons forget older family traditions and discipline. Her receptive “students” are Eddie’s two overachieving younger siblings, Emery (Forrest Wheeler) and Evan (Ian Chen).

Causing controversy early this year for supposedly perpetuating stereotypes, “Fresh Off the Boat” often presents exaggerated caricatures, but there’s still mild, comfortable humor. Throughout the often-contrived scenarios, there’s an examination of cultures being offered, from the pervading theme of assimilation, to the nitty-gritties of both American and Chinese “ways.”

It’s when the show taps into more universal themes that it enhances its inherent cultural wellspring—episodes that deal with superstition, sexuality and pop culture trends are among “Fresh Off the Boat’s” more “natural” stories, sufficiently elaborating on relevant topics from a decidedly “different” point of view.

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