Derivative and formulaic -- but not in a bad way

You will find nothing in Raising Hope that you couldn't find in Greg Garcia's My Name Is Earl. It's the same Farrelly brothers mix of gross-out gags and sentimentality, acted out by the same type of dim through amiable lowlifes.

And, like Earl, it's inventive, consistently funny, and often genuinely touching.




Martha Plimpton deserves more of a career.