Review of "Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World"

Rick & Steve the Happiest Gay Couple in All the World has all the markings of a buzz-worthy animated comedy — a distinct look, plenty of shocking "Oh no they didn't!" humor and a sweetness hiding underneath all that cynicism. It's a daring and funny series that gives Logo (AfterElton.com's parent company) a distinct voice the network hasn't quite had until now. Best of all, it's unapologetically gay and is intended for gay audiences, exactly the sort of programming viewers tune in to Logo to watch.

Based on the 1999 short film by Q. Allan Brocka (Eating Out, Boy Culture) that became a cult hit at LGBT film festivals, Rick & Steve is populated with characters that look like simple children's toys with visibly movable joints and cartoonish features that somehow manage to be quite expressive. The solid, vivid colors making up the show's palette give Rick and Steve a whimsical look that's a sharp, amusing contrast to the show's mature dialogue and topics.

That mix of childlike visuals with mature, social awareness recalls irreverent, thought-provoking and hilarious shows such as South Park and Broadway's smash puppet musical Avenue Q, the creators of which contributed R&S 's theme song.

The eponymous Rick (voiced by Will Matthews) and Steve (voiced by Peter Paige) of the title live in "the gayest of gay ghettos," West Lahunga Beach — just one of the show's many double entendres. West Lahunga is the kind of place where lesbian and gay people are so common that they feel completely free to be themselves.

Rick is 30, brainy, Filipino-American, and a self-described insatiable bottom who keeps house for the couple in their modest bungalow. Proving the maxim that opposites attract (and occasionally that oil and water don't mix) Steve proves to be quite different from his significant other.

A 33-year-old gym bunny, Steve's hotness is widely acknowledged by all and, even though he isn't terribly bright, he still manages to make good money as a real estate agent. He's also a versatile top interested in three-ways, a topic of conversation that frequently comes up in a show that is refreshingly and unapologetically upfront about its characters' sexualities and desires.

Indeed, the creators of Rick & Steve operate under the principle of unapologetic frankness most of the time, not worrying what straight viewers might think of the show or that any of their characters will be taken as a representative of the entire gay community. It's a refreshing change that allows the creators to poke fun at elements of gay life without fear of being politically incorrect.

Much of that frankness comes into play with Rick's best friend Kirsten (Emily Brooke Hands), a lesbian partnered with the much more butch Dana (Taylor M. Dooley). Unfortunately for Rick and Kirsten, their respective mates absolutely loathe each other, frequently trading anti-gay slurs with delicious abandon. While Steve tends toward the party boy end of the gay spectrum, Dana falls more on the man-hating militant side of things; naturally, each hates what the other stands for.

Other residents of West Lahunga include Steve's best friend Chuck (voiced by queer actor Alan Cumming), who is HIV-positive, wheelchair-bound, short-tempered and the oldest one in the bunch. Chuck is in an open relationship with Evan (voiced by gay actor Wilson Cruz), a 19-year-old “twink” who isn't exactly a deep thinker. Then there is the lesbian couple Ebony (Liza Del Mundo) and Ivory (Lori Alan) who are every bit the politically correct stereotype their names imply.

In the show's first episode, Kirsten and Dana decide to have a baby with Rick providing the “baby juice.” Unable to afford a fertility clinic and unwilling to actually have sex, they turn to that standard gay insemination device — the turkey baster. This gives rise to one of the show's first hilarious and tasteless sight gags as Kirsten hoists her toy legs in the air as she attempts to impregnate herself.

Of course, complications ensue including Rick and Steve's mixing their sperm together without the women knowing, and Kirsten and Dana's hunt for more sperm when the first dose doesn't take. (I won't tell you where they go to find it so as not to spoil one of the most tasteless jokes in the premiere.)