Matt Williams builds family comedy around people who can be funny without being pleasant. For us, Roseanne remains the clearest reason to value his work, with its sharp exchanges and stubborn money problems.
Fi1m perspective
In Roseanne (1988), an unpleasant remark need not be followed by proof that everyone means well. The family’s money problems stay inconvenient, and nobody has to become gracious to earn our affection. We warmed to that household because its financial worries were allowed to matter even when the exchanges were funny. This is where Williams’s writing earns our trust, though the relentless readiness to wound can become tiring.
Williams came to Roseanne after writing and producing on The Cosby Show (1984), and his knack is for finding the comedy in family behaviour before reaching for a joke. Building a programme around Roseanne Barr’s stand-up persona gave that approach a particularly abrasive voice. He left after 13 episodes, so we should not hand him sole credit for everything the series does well. Sara Gilbert’s performance is another reason we would return to the programme.
With Home Improvement (1991), co-created with Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean, the central performer was Tim Allen. Again, Williams helped build an ensemble around a stand-up comedian so that family life could be seen from more than one side. His ear for exchanges between parents and children, and between spouses, suits that arrangement. The risk is that familiar family behaviour becomes too comfortable, with the sharpness of Roseanne softened into genial sitcom routine.
His feature work includes directing Where the Heart Is (2000) and writing and directing Walker Payne (2006). He also produced What Women Want (2000), where Nancy Meyers gets good laughs from the premise. Mel Gibson supplies charm, but the film gives its newly attentive man too much credit for listening. It is decent entertainment, though a producing credit gives us less to judge Williams by than the family comedy he helped shape. Start with Roseanne, and do not expect a quiet evening with the family.
Biography
Matt Williams is an American television writer, producer and creator. He created the sitcom Roseanne (1988) and served as a writer and producer on The Cosby Show (1984) and its spin-off A Different World (1987). He co-created and executive produced Home Improvement (1991) with partners at Wind Dancer Productions.
Williams graduated from the University of Evansville and did postgraduate work in theatre at the University of New Orleans. He began his career as an actor before moving into writing, including the play Between Daylight and Boonville. His film credits include producing What Women Want (2000) and Bernie (2012), and directing and producing Where the Heart Is (2000). He has received a Peabody Award and Emmy nominations for his television writing.
Williams is an adjunct associate professor at Columbia University School of the Arts. He is married to actress Angelina Fiordellisi.
