Set in San Francisco, the short-lived 1994 sitcom All-American Girl, starring stand-up comic Margaret Cho, was notable for being the first primetime series to revolve around an Asian family. Margaret (Cho), who worked in a department store, lived with her very traditional bookseller parents (Clyde Kusatsu and Jodi Long); her TV addict Grandma (Amy Hill); doctor brother Stuart (B.D. Wong, of Oz fame), and younger brother Eric (J.B. Quon). Of the 19 episodes compiled here, the best include "Pulp Sitcom," which serves up a clever homage to Pulp Fiction, and includes a guest-star appearance by Quentin Tarantino as a seller of bootleg videos; "The Apartment," which lampoons MTV's The Real World as Margaret shares an apartment with two co-workers, one of whom (comedian Judy Gold) likes to walk around naked; and "Take My Family, Please," which finds Margaret performing a stand-up routine about her family—and the latter are not amused. In four episode commentaries and a retrospective featurette featuring Cho and Hill, Cho discusses how network interference affected both her health (she went on a crash-diet after being told that "I was too fat to play myself") and the show's creativity. Fans of Cho's edgy stand-up comedy—and they are legion—will enjoy this nostalgic look at a more mellow Margaret, although others are unlikely to even recall that this was ever a series. A strong optional purchase. (K. Lee Benson)
All-American Girl: The Complete Series
Shout! Factory, 4 discs, 450 min., not rated, DVD: $39.98 April 3, 2006
All-American Girl: The Complete Series
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