Some of My Best Friends

Some of My Best Friends stars Jason Bateman as Warren, a mild-mannered gay writer living in Greenwich Village, and Danny Nucci as Frankie, his straight (and at first homophobic) roommate. Alec Mapa played Vern, Warren's flamboyant best friend, who lived upstairs from Warren and usually entered Warren's apartment by coming down the fire escape and through a window. Michael DeLuise portrayed Pino, Frankie's dimwitted best friend. Jessica Lundy appeared as Meryl, Warren's sister and the manager of the apartment building. Also seen on a recurring basis were Frankie's parents, Italian restaurateurs Connie (Camille Saviola) and Joe (Joe Grifasi).

• Jason Bateman as Warren Fairbanks
• Danny Nucci as Frankie Zito
• Alec Mapa as Vern Limoso
• Joe Grifasi as Joseph "Joe" Zito
• Camille Saviola as Connie Zito
• Michael DeLuise as Pino Palumbo
• Jessica Lundy as Meryl Doogan

Creator Tony Vitale grew up in The Bronx and came to the realization that there were two very different worlds which didn't co-mingle. "In the club scene, both communities, gay and straight, co-existed but never really talked to one another. I had friends from both communities and I thought, if both these guys could talk to each other, that could be some exciting, interesting stuff."[1] Vitale took a job at Club Med in the mid-1980s, and befriended his gay boss. "He had the most dynamic personality of anybody I ever met, and I wanted to be like him, but I wanted to be straight and be like him," Vitale said.[2] The two quickly became best friends, and because of their conflicting backgrounds, people described them as "The Odd Couple."[2] One day, someone commented, "It would be great if somebody made a sitcom out of you two,"[2] which sparked an idea in Vitale's head for a television show.

After sticking his foot in the door of the film world in the early 1990s, Vitale first pitched the concept of the series to executives as a vehicle for John Travolta and Harvey Fierstein, but he was told that a lead gay character on a television series would never fly.[3] Several weeks later, Vitale happened to watching The Arsenio Hall Show when Fierstein came out and announced the show as his upcoming project, with Fierstein playing opposite Andrew Dice Clay.[3] Furious that his idea had been stolen, Vitale threatened legal action and quickly scrambled to get a copyright on the story. The result was 96 Greenwich Street,[3] a one-act play which was first staged at The Village Gate in New York City as part of a festival of short plays.[4] Vitale received a positive response, expanded it to a 2-act play in 1993 and turned it into a screenplay for a film in 1994.[1] The same year, Kevin Smith's Clerks had been a highly successful film made on a micro-budget, and Vitale set out to make his film the same way.

By 1996, the story was filmed under the title Kiss Me, Guido, picked up for distribution by Paramount Pictures and widely released in 1997. Reviews were generally positive, but several critics picked up on its intended television origins. Roger Ebert wrote, "Like a 30-minute sitcom, it acts like you already know all the characters and are just happy to have fresh dialogue. It's as if the deeper issues have been settled in previous episodes. And yet, also like a sitcom, it's kind of fun as it slides past. Here is a movie that was born to play on television."[5] Vitale again tried to get it turned into a TV series, but it wasn't until after Will & Grace had become a hit that television executives would finally take him seriously.[6]

The show wound up at the Axelrod/Widdoes production company, which had previously produced another Odd Couple variation titled Brother's Keeper in the 1998–99 season. It was there that Vitale was paired with gay sitcom veteran Marc Cherry, with whom he began developing the show.

Critical reaction was mixed, and the majority of TV critics rampantly drew comparisons to the only hit show on the air at the time that featured gay characters, Will & Grace. The Los Angeles Times' Harry Rosenbaum opened his review with the lines, "First Will & Grace, now Will & Guido. Just about, anyway."[17] Critic James Enderst similarly stated, "They're The Odd Couple of the 21st century. Or Will & Grace lite. You decide."[18] New York Daily News critic David Bianculli stated, "[Alec] Mapa plays Vern as a cross between Sean Hayes' Jack on Will & Grace and Suzanne Somers' Chrissy on Three's Company."[19]

On the negative end of the spectrum, many critics denounced the show for being too formulaic. Hal Boedeker of The Orlando Sentinel called the show "hopelessly tired and old hat."[20] Rosenbaum similarly stated, "Familiar stereotypes have always earned easy howls, from minstrel shows and old-time burlesque to political cartoons that deploy exaggeration as parody. The especially obnoxious ones ultimately fail when the multitudes realize their humor is not only hollow but at times twisted and even dangerous."[17] Mapa later lashed back at that review in The Advocate saying, "I was totally slammed in the straight press... The L.A. Times called my portrayal 'dangerous.' But everyone in the gay community totally got it, because it takes one to know one."[21]

On the flipside, many reviews were favorable, as were the critiques of the leads. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Rob Owen stated, "Some of My Best Friends trades on every Italian and gay stereotype possible, but it manages to make these zingers seem fresh thanks to strong performances from Bateman and Nucci."[22] The New York Times' Neil Genzlinger opened saying the show was "shameless in its use of hoary stereotypes. It brazenly reduces gay people, Italian people, Asian people and aging married people to caricatures in the interests of good ratings and corporate profits," but he then concluded, "It's often pretty darned funny."[23]

S00E01 - Kiss Me Guido (Original Unaired Pilot)

• Some of My Best Friends at IMDb
• Some of My Best Friends at TV.com