After bursting onto the comedy scene with sketch show “In Living Colour”, Shawn and Marlon Wayans (“White Chicks”, “Scary Movie”) went on to star in “The Wayans Bros.” sitcom series. While not as creative or as wildly amusing as the best of “In Living Colour”, “The Wayans Bros.” is a surprisingly good sitcom series.

Shawn and Marlon Wayans star as Shawn and Marlon Williams (they could have easily just used the Wayans surname), two goofy brothers that share an apartment. The pair of them are always getting themselves into trouble. They also spend a lot of time with their whacky father (John Witherspoon “Friday”), who owns his own restaurant.

Marlon Wayans brings his manic energy to every scene he’s in. Shawn plays the straight man and he’s never as funny as Marlon. Out of the wider family (including Keenen and Damon), I think Shawn is the least funny of all the brothers. However, Shawn and Marlon together do have undeniable chemistry. I guess being real-life brothers helps a lot. If you are a big “In Living Colour” fan then you may be disappointed that there is no Keenen or Damon Wayans and no Jim Carrey (“The Cable Guy”). John Witherspoon is funny as the guys’ aggressive and strict father.

“The Wayans Bros.” works as a fun sitcom because Marlon Wayans brings his enthusiasm and his energy to every situation. I’m reminded a lot of his performance in the movie “Senseless” where he was able to find a good way to channel his talents. Unfortunately, a lot of projects from the various members of the Wayans family have not been particularly entertaining but this is worth watching if you liked “In Living Colour”. I’m not really a fan of the sitcom format so I found this to be a pleasant surprise.