Joey Lawrence makes dim sitcom characters agreeable company, with the timing to keep them useful to a scene. We rate that skill, while his appealing voice in Oliver & Company also shows how little an actor can do with a passive lead.
Fi1m perspective
Oliver is left behind while the other kittens find homes in Oliver & Company (1988). We felt sorry for him because his need for company was so plain. Joey Lawrence gives him an appealing voice, and for a while that is enough to keep us interested. George Scribner's film then leaves its young lead waiting for other characters to decide what happens next. It is a useful place to begin with Lawrence: we like his company, but the writing needs to give him something to do once he has won us over.
His sitcom work found a more durable use for that friendliness. As Joey Russo in Blossom (1990–95), he played the affable, dim-witted character who became his best-known type. There is a useful comic skill here: making someone slow on the uptake worth spending time with, without making the audience impatient to get away from him. Lawrence's appeal suits a programme that asks us to return to the same people repeatedly. He went on to Brotherly Love (1995–97), alongside Matthew and Andrew Lawrence, staying within family sitcoms.
The later return to a regular comic lead followed My Fake Fiancé (2009), the television film that led to Melissa & Joey (2010–15). As Joe Longo, opposite Melissa Joan Hart, Lawrence moved into the adult comic-foil role. His timing and chemistry with Hart give that partnership a reason to continue beyond the initial casting. The comedy is conventional, and an agreeable pairing does not make the programme adventurous. It is nevertheless a sensible use of his strengths, giving him another performer to work against rather than asking his likeability to carry everything.
The weakness in Oliver & Company is worth separating from Lawrence's contribution. He makes Oliver easy to care about at the start; the film struggles to make him interesting afterwards. Its warmth and enjoyable supporting turns earn a modest recommendation, but we spend too much time waiting for someone other than its hero to act. We would not blame the voice actor for that, or pretend his performance solves it. Give Lawrence a part with decisions to make, even foolish ones.
Biography
Joey Lawrence is an American actor. Born Joseph Lawrence Mignogna III on 20 April 1976 in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, he began his career as a child actor in the early 1980s. He attended Abington Friends School and later the University of Southern California.
His early television roles include Joey Donovan in Gimme a Break! (1983–1987). He voiced the title character in the Disney film Oliver & Company (1988) and appeared in Summer Rental (1985). Lawrence is best known for playing Joey Russo in Blossom (1991–1995) and Joe Longo in Melissa & Joey (2010–2015). He also starred in Brotherly Love (1995–1997) alongside his brothers Matthew and Andrew Lawrence.
