Ashton Kutcher is no Charlie Sheen

Sheen was the life of the show and even though Kutcher is talented, he isn't even half as brilliant as Sheen.

Two and a half men, a situation comedy (sitcom) ranking amongst the top 20 shows since the time it was aired, is about to die. The rating is waning and the viewer ship has gone down. And it is all due to Sheen being replaced. Ashton Kutcher is a good actor but he is no Charlie Sheen. 

[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0caB01vM6Y]]

The original show was based around the life of this hedonistic bachelor jingle writer, Charlie Harper - a constant drunk and a compulsive womanizer. The other two important characters are Alan, the divorced brother who is homeless and penniless and his son, Jake. The show revolved around their lives and their problems.

Charlie’s character is free spirited and a party-holic. Without a care in the world and money to spend like crazy, he drinks till he passes out, usually starting his day with vodka and ending it the same way. He is someone who is unwilling to deal with his age (he is over 40) and still thinks and behaves like a teenager. Thus, his escapades with women much younger than him are entertaining to watch. He has a hate-hate relationship with his mother whom he blames for the way he turned out. To be fair to Charlie, she is an awful woman.

Rose, Charlie’s neighbour with whom he had a one night stand, is his female stalker in the show and plays an entertaining part.

Replacing Charlie meant that these sub-plots had to be killed as well. There is no longer Rose or Charlie’s mother to entertain. There are no longer the hangovers and humiliating scenes that the viewers came to expect on the show kept up for eight seasons.

Ashton’s character (Walden) is showed as a millionaire, who made it big in the internet market but is a teenager when it comes to life. He buys Charlie’s Malibu beach house. He has a wife who wants a divorce for he refuses to grow up even after 15 years of marriage. So far, the show has revolved around this and Alan trying to get back into the house to mooch off Walden.

Charlie Sheen was the life of the show. His charisma, acting and jokes carried the show so far. Ashton Kutcher is a talented actor and starred in the hit comedy ‘That 70s Show’. However, he doesn’t fit in here perfectly.

It is understandable that when you are trying to make fans forget a character, you would cast someone who is nothing like that character. But, the show was about the life of Charlie and to not have his frivolities and witty performance there just kills it. The fact that Sheen is and was irreplaceable and the producers  didn't even try replicating his role is recognition enough of his performance.

"He's doing the best he can. I don't think the role is cursed, but I'm extremely disappointed with how they're handling what I left behind," is what Charlie Sheen had to say about Ashton.

CBS took a big gamble to replace an iconic performance and the gamble has failed miserably. Now, they need to hope for a miracle to get the rankings up again.