The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

This is supposed to be a review of Benched but it can't be reviewed without mentioning Eliza Coupe's past character Jane Kerkovich from Happy Endings - a show prematurely cancelled. Benched is watchable. However, it's no Happy Endings NOR Better Off Ted (which Eliza's counterpart Jay Harrington in Benched starred in (2009)) - 2 shows that were edgier and wittier than Benched.Eliza holds this show together in an otherwise blasé cast.But I could be still comparing it to Happy Endings, where every character was a hilarious wacko. Since this is a show about being a public defender-which is a court appointed lawyer for those who can't afford one-I found myself a little depressed by Benched, constantly being reminded of societies disadvantaged and under privileged. Hard to laugh at some of these situations. Reminded me a little of a long gone hit show, Night Court (1984). But mostly made me miss the antics in Happy Endings.Went over and watched another Happy Endings alum's new show, Marry Me, and same thing, missing Casey Wilsons character, Penny Hartz, from H.E.Put Kate Walsh's character from Bad Judge, Rachel Harris, add Judah Friedlander, Kryten Ritter, Kyle Mooney from Saturday Night Live, and Peter Dante from Happy Madison productions into Benched, and now we have a cast!

Corporate lawyer Nina Whitley (Eliza Coupe) loses her boyfriend and then loses her expected promotion. She explodes and quits. Her outburst becomes legendary and she can't find any work other than as a lowly public defender. Her new co-workers include Phil Quinlan (Jay Harrington) and Carlos (Oscar Nuñez). The best worker in the office may be the intern Micah (Jolene Purdy). Nina finds herself facing off against her ex-boyfriend ADA Trent Barber (Carter MacIntyre) in court.I don't know who Damon Jones is but I really like Michaela Watkins in her work. She always seems to be very smart in her comedy and a bit offbeat. This has a nice slice of that. It's not that edgy but Eliza Coupe is terrific as the traditional flustered single gal. Jay Harrington is setting up nicely as the romantic lead. However it's canceled after it's 12 episodes first season.

It's a crowded place on TV and I didn't expect this to supplant so many great shows on my viewing schedule when it's not too much a variation of the stock sitcom. However, I was surprised that adds something a little new to the equation. Eliza Coupe stars as former hotshot lawyer Nina Whitley who is banished from the high-priced world after a public meltdown cost her her job. She takes a job as a public defender where she often doesn't have enough resources or time to do a halfway decent job with her clients. Because of these constraints and this satiric bent, this half-hour comedy gets to the nuts and bolts of the legal system better than many legal dramas. Nina's office is full of people who aren't on the same wavelength as her. Her arch-nemesis (and potential love interest) Phil does not take the job as seriously and as he's the ring leader of sorts, Nina is often the fish out of water. Coupe is the rare actress whose stunningly beautiful yet can convince the audience that her character would have trouble landing a date.The chemistry among the cast is impeccable and Oscar Nunez and Jay Harrington find themselves in roles that are complete reversals from their last TV roles of Oscar on "The Office" and Ted from "Better off Ted" respectively. The brilliant Maria Bamford is underutilized however but hopefully that will change.

The premise of a comedy set in the public defender's office has so much potential. Benched, however, falls flat. The characters are shallow and not at all developed. The lead character comes off as purely neurotic. She dominates every scene, while the other characters are relegated to only setting up the mostly trite jokes for her. The defendants are little more than a crew of stock clichés. The humor is lacking, and most of it is just slapstick. The story line, what of it there is,sorely lacks any substance. The plot has none of the situations that are found in good comedy, and no good sight gags. The entire pilot was nothing more than a weak woman whining that her boyfriend left her. Watching Benched is not a good use of 30 minutes of your time.