MAN UP! Fall TV 2011 [Worth Watching?

I really did not have high hopes for this ABC sitcom, which follows the rather problematic and popular-this-season theme, of men not being manly enough these days. I’ve already given you my thoughts on LAST MAN STANDING (a bit better than expected) and HOW TO BE A GENTLEMAN (even worse than expected), so let’s break open the third and hopefully final fall installment of what’s been dubbed the “male” sitcom.

Overview: Three buddies, a married guy, a sensitive single guy, and a divorced guy commiserate the lost of their manhood over several remote video game sessions, in between which they live out their lives and manage to get into all sorts of hijinks.

What I Liked: The fat and bearded divorced guy brought the comedy. He’s like a really cynical, not nearly as irritating version of Jack Black. I also loved that his ex-wife’s new boyfriend was a ripped black dude who loves meditation and yoga. Who knew Henry Simmons could do comedy? And the situations were killer. 

What I Didn’t Like: Constant references to the manly men of generations prior and a wife who only appears onscreen while doing domestic tasks. At one point, I wanted to tap the main guy (who is a way less interesting version of Phil from MODERN FAMILY) on the shoulder and say, “Hey, why don’t you help her out with that laundry or with packing those school lunches as opposed to whining on and on about how you’re not manly enough, douchebag?” At one point he left her to run his son’s birthday party alone in order to buy a more manly gift, and my head nearly exploded — but she didn’t seem to mind, because like so many sitcom wive’s she’s weirdly okay with being long-suffering. Nothing fresh to see here, folks.

Diversity Report

People of Color? 1 And this great Henry Simmons character is given a lot of interesting lines and stuff to do (including taking off his shirt), so kudos for that. If they increase his presence (ala’ Sheldon from BIG BANG THEORY or Barney on HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER), then this show might actually be salvageable.

Report Card

Show C Diversity B-

Worth Watching?

The humor is so odd on this show. I think it wants to be tongue-in-cheek, like “look at these boy children trying to be men. Hahaha!” But I wasn’t really laughing. It was all just so tiresome. So no, I won’t be watching this show. But on another hand, I would love to watch a show about three women who refuse to grow up. Now that would be refreshing.