The Hard Times of RJ Berger (2010–2011) User Reviews

Hard times, R.J. Berger, hard times...

[dee.reid · 8/10 · 18 December 2010]

"The Hard Times of RJ Berger" is a mildly entertaining comedy from the good folks over at MTV. This is a strange and very scandalous show (I suspect that an unrated DVD is in the works) that walks a very fine line between John Hughes-style teen comedy and full-blown adult sex romp (like "American Pie" combined with "The 40-Year-Old Virgin").

"Hard Times" follows the comic misadventures in love and lust of high schooler R.J. Berger (Paul Iacano) as he lusts after the pretty popular girl Jenny Swanson (Amber Lancaster). Of course there's an overweight best friend, and his name is Miles (Jareb Dauplaise). Even though R.J. is unlucky with the ladies, he has no idea that another classmate named Lily (Kara Taitz) is actually lusting AFTER HIM, and she's always trying her best to lure him into her clutches with many scandalous come-ons that are just too scandalous to list here.

This is a mildly funny and entertaining teen comedy with OK acting performances from its cast. R.J. is a likable lead character who is representative of all the high school nerds who were over-looked in those days by all the pretty popular girls. His friend Miles is pretty much the typical best friend and provides many of the show's best comedic moments and mature-rated dialogue.

But being that this is MTV, they have no problem whatsoever giving teenage characters sensationally raunchy dialogue and portraying them as horny, under-sexed outsiders (what else are such characters to be in these types of set-ups?). But this is MTV; what else do you expect? I wouldn't advise teenagers to watch this show because of the adult-sounding dialogue, but my warning has no meaning here. I stated my case, and it's up to today's teens if they want to watch this show.

8/10

Sometimes Hilarious, Sometimes Creepy

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 17 September 2013]

R.J. Berger (Paul Iacono) is a teenage loser who is picked on. When a jock pulls down his pants, a big surprise is revealed. Miles Jenner (Jareb Dauplaise) is RJ's best friend. He's pretty good as the big fat friend. Lily Miran (Kara Taitz) has a longterm crush on RJ. She does a funny creepy aggressive friend. Jenny Swanson (Amber Lancaster) is the cheerleader crush of RJ. She's kinda stiff.

This is an MTV show. While Paul has the geeky look, he looks much older than 15. There are a lot of sexually inappropriate story lines. Some of which are hilarious, while others are cringe worthy.... really really creepy. It lasted 2 seasons or 24 episodes. There was a noticeable drop in the 2nd season, and I really wouldn't want a 3rd season.

Funny

[Zaphod2000 · 7/10 · 17 September 2012]

First of all ,I'm not really into those kind of sex comedy movies or TV shows at all -but Hard Times Of R.J Berger is definitely one worth watching. It's a weird combination between something like 'Superbad' and high school life's akwardness.

The show's plots aren't amazing (some and most of them are unrealistic or just okay) ,but they're always having some good points or just relating to something you can hook up with when it comes to high school life or just some points of everyday life -in a funny way...the jokes are written with a good sense of humor. The cast was pretty good and very convincing ,some the characters were realistic and had a good impact on R.J's life -Miles ,Lily ,Amy ,and Coach Sinclair -R.J's parents weren't really realistic but they were funny in an extra ordinary way.

The show's humor usually use a vulgar kind of humor ,but it's just a shame on MTV that canceled it...I mean ,I've seen movies ,tv shows ,and music clips which are way worse and more vulgar (like American pie etc') -and unlike them ,this show is funny and the sexual references are used as a tool for humor and not taking the main focus of the plot. in my opinion ,it's one of the only shows which season 2 was even better the first one ;it had some good developments and disappointments in R.J's life...season 3 could be pretty good ,but Hard Times Of R.J Berger would be remembered for funny episodes like 'Yes We Can't , 'Cousin Vinny' ,'The Lock-In' and 'Ugly Jenny'.

Very Funny

[ssimon55 · 10/10 · 30 June 2010]

Very funny show, clever writing for the most part. Although the mother is a little over the top. The side-kick/best friend Miles is perfect for the role. I have only seen one episode so far. The episode where he has to earn money to buy a gift for a Jenny Swanson (whom he has a crush on) for her sweet 16 birthday party. How he gets the money is hilarious & original.

Even though the nerd in high school bit has been done to death, this is different and refreshing. Maybe it's because we can all relate to high school and those awkward times. Hopefully since it's on MYV and not one of the major networks it'll stay on for more than one season.

Funny Hilarious!!

[chrisboi2010 · 10/10 · 1 July 2010]

I was not expecting much from this series at first, but I actually liked it after getting into it. It was really hilarious and totally kept me entertained. Over the years I kinda kept away from MTV because most of the programming seemed to be reality based. Now I feel a little bit more interested in MTV now that I found a series that is funny and somewhat interesting.

The guy that played RJ Berger has some talent in teen comedy, I wasn't expecting much from the cast but that guy is funny.

Hopefully we will see more from this hilarious show!!

10/10

Very funny show!

[zovilak · 10/10 · 3 August 2010]

At first I did not expect much of this show, but it surprised me. Paul Lacono is funny and believable as RJ Berger. Amber Lancaster is very beautiful and sweet, even though she plays a 16 year old while she is 30 (Looks young enough though!) But the person who steals the show is Jareb Dauplaise as sidekick Miles Jenner! This guy is hilarious and has a very nice energy on screen. It makes me wanna watch more of his work! I've seen about 8 episodes and it's still funny. I surely hope they will keep up this level of entertainment. I'm very curious where the storyline will take us. Sure, it will probably not win an Emmy, but it's more then worth watching the adventures of this nerd. The only shame is that all the curse words are bleeped out. That's a bit childish, but maybe that's because I'm European and they can swear on TV here. Go and watch this, it will make you laugh or you will enjoy every second Amber Lancaster is on the screen.

Funny show and should continue

[yengsta · 9/10 · 3 March 2012]

This is one of the funniest shows that I have every watched. Everything about it is funny, but the story writer to this TV show kind of sucks. I'm not going to spoil it for you but the show kind of went out of its purpose for viewers in the second season. They should at least make the kid RJ still chase his dream, or if not slowly go back to his dream. Even though he stopped chasing his dream, the show still makes me curious of the next episode.

I am going to definitely miss this show. This is a show that every teen would love because it is straight forward to a high school teens life. I guarantee that if this show was on non cable channel like ABC, Fox, or CBS, it would be one of the most famous shows because every teen will like it.

Not all that funny...

[iso-mail · 4/10 · 12 January 2012]

I feel like i'm swimming against the flow of all other reviews, but I really did not find this all that funny. It does have its funny moments, but it's not a funny show. The main character (RJ) is very boring and sometimes a bit of a drama queen. His sidekick is always in a state of hystheria (which does not equal funny). The screenplays are very idiotic and exaggerated and sometimes make all characters look and act like they are retarded. Since the episodes were short and the 1ºst season had only 12 episodes, I saw it all, but i'm not going to see the 2nd one. By the way, this has to be by far the worst season finale ever!!