Network: TBS; Genre: Romantic Comedy; Content Rating: TV-14 (for occasionally strong language and suggested sex); Perspective: Contemporary (season 1 - 4);
Seasons Reviewed: season 1
In a sense, I have to feel for "My Boys". It isn't easy trying to put together an urban romantic comedy with the genre pretty much already perfected by "Sex and the City". Not to mention the frustrating reality that viewers come to these shows with their own relationship baggage and selfishly demands that these shows conform to their own personal experience. Even with this uphill climb TBS's (the sister station of TNT, Ted Turner's station that dreams to be FX) scripted comedy attempt doesn't hold water. Any slack I've given the show gets strained as episode after episode goes by without a single, solitary laugh.
PJ (Jordana Spiro, who despite her inexperience looks and sounds the part quite well) is a sports writer, adamant Chicago baseball fan and the glamorous Hollywood version of a tomboy. Her best friends are 5 guys - her roommate Brenden (Reid Scott), loudmouth Mike (Jamie Kaler), meek Kenny (Michael Bunin), ex-boyfriend and co-worker Bobby (Kyle Howard, "Related") and kept married man brother Andy (Jim Gaffigan). Let's start with these characters. They are oddly likable and that likability keeps the show watchable (which is more than I can say for TBS's other "10 Items or Less" or "The Real Gilligan's Island"). And in a sense they act like real guys. A smoothed over sitcom version of real guys but still a welcome change from the cheating, scheming sex-obsessed pigs of most TV.
But a winning personality aside, the acting is awkward all around. "Boys" is a first time effort for creator Betsy Thomas as well as most of the leads. It shows. The chemistry feels manufactured, nobody feels comfortable, and while that can be chalked up to Freshman season kinks the idiotic amateur-hour characterizations cannot. We know that Kenny is the pathetic one because he's bald. We know that Brendan is the cool one because he is never seen without a T-shirt or jacket with Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath or The Ramones blazed across it. The only name in the cast, Gaffigan, is handcuffed in the corny I'm-funny-because-I'm-not-funny role. Let's not forget the only female influence in PJ's life, Stephanie (Kellee Stewart), as the requisite "strut your stuff" girly girl. This is the type of character you see and just know the phrase "how long has it been?" is about to come out of her mouth.
There is a half-way descent character somewhere in "Trout" and the show almost squeezes a laugh out of him in an episode about an exclusive club called "the Streisand" (said in hushed tones) that works best because it most successfully manages to pilfer from "Seinfeld" and "Sex and the City". Both of which you can catch in reruns on TBS.
The show's creative ace-in-the-hole is PJ, the reality that Spiro brings to the character and the simple potential of a tomboy - something that we just rarely see on TV in a real way. PJ could have an identity crisis, conflicted between her a love of guy things and uncomfortable with the mores of femininity required to date guys - or maybe she can't date at all. The show could strike a blow against the "men and women can't be friends" myth that has been allowed to grow long since "When Harry Met Sally". But all the show can think to do is have PJ's boyfriends get jealous of her time with the guys. As for that "When Harry Met Sally" myth, let's just say the season finale is a big disappointment. "My Boys" may not have a typical sitcom laugh track, but it is so riddled with sitcom beats, tones and clichés that it might as well.
The writing is flat-out awful. If I hear one more baseball metaphor about how PJ and the guys make such a great team I'm going to throw up. Those annoyed by Carrie Bradshaw's ability to turn everything under the sun into a relationship metaphor will go nuts with all of PJ's lame life-through-baseball narration. And it's not that I didn't want to be taken back to that "Sex and the City" magic, because I did. But the show fails to be either wondrously romantic or critically insightful and it sure isn't funny.
"My Boys" is brought to you by match.com "Boys" itself is like a match.com ad perpetuating the idea that everyone finds somebody and there is little more to life than dating and sports. PJ's got it all - brains, looks, IQ - she just needs a little Guy-Q. Good God. Thank you, Dr. Phil, I just threw up again.
* ½ / 4
Seasons Reviewed: season 1
In a sense, I have to feel for "My Boys". It isn't easy trying to put together an urban romantic comedy with the genre pretty much already perfected by "Sex and the City". Not to mention the frustrating reality that viewers come to these shows with their own relationship baggage and selfishly demands that these shows conform to their own personal experience. Even with this uphill climb TBS's (the sister station of TNT, Ted Turner's station that dreams to be FX) scripted comedy attempt doesn't hold water. Any slack I've given the show gets strained as episode after episode goes by without a single, solitary laugh.
PJ (Jordana Spiro, who despite her inexperience looks and sounds the part quite well) is a sports writer, adamant Chicago baseball fan and the glamorous Hollywood version of a tomboy. Her best friends are 5 guys - her roommate Brenden (Reid Scott), loudmouth Mike (Jamie Kaler), meek Kenny (Michael Bunin), ex-boyfriend and co-worker Bobby (Kyle Howard, "Related") and kept married man brother Andy (Jim Gaffigan). Let's start with these characters. They are oddly likable and that likability keeps the show watchable (which is more than I can say for TBS's other "10 Items or Less" or "The Real Gilligan's Island"). And in a sense they act like real guys. A smoothed over sitcom version of real guys but still a welcome change from the cheating, scheming sex-obsessed pigs of most TV.
But a winning personality aside, the acting is awkward all around. "Boys" is a first time effort for creator Betsy Thomas as well as most of the leads. It shows. The chemistry feels manufactured, nobody feels comfortable, and while that can be chalked up to Freshman season kinks the idiotic amateur-hour characterizations cannot. We know that Kenny is the pathetic one because he's bald. We know that Brendan is the cool one because he is never seen without a T-shirt or jacket with Led Zepplin, Black Sabbath or The Ramones blazed across it. The only name in the cast, Gaffigan, is handcuffed in the corny I'm-funny-because-I'm-not-funny role. Let's not forget the only female influence in PJ's life, Stephanie (Kellee Stewart), as the requisite "strut your stuff" girly girl. This is the type of character you see and just know the phrase "how long has it been?" is about to come out of her mouth.
There is a half-way descent character somewhere in "Trout" and the show almost squeezes a laugh out of him in an episode about an exclusive club called "the Streisand" (said in hushed tones) that works best because it most successfully manages to pilfer from "Seinfeld" and "Sex and the City". Both of which you can catch in reruns on TBS.
The show's creative ace-in-the-hole is PJ, the reality that Spiro brings to the character and the simple potential of a tomboy - something that we just rarely see on TV in a real way. PJ could have an identity crisis, conflicted between her a love of guy things and uncomfortable with the mores of femininity required to date guys - or maybe she can't date at all. The show could strike a blow against the "men and women can't be friends" myth that has been allowed to grow long since "When Harry Met Sally". But all the show can think to do is have PJ's boyfriends get jealous of her time with the guys. As for that "When Harry Met Sally" myth, let's just say the season finale is a big disappointment. "My Boys" may not have a typical sitcom laugh track, but it is so riddled with sitcom beats, tones and clichés that it might as well.
The writing is flat-out awful. If I hear one more baseball metaphor about how PJ and the guys make such a great team I'm going to throw up. Those annoyed by Carrie Bradshaw's ability to turn everything under the sun into a relationship metaphor will go nuts with all of PJ's lame life-through-baseball narration. And it's not that I didn't want to be taken back to that "Sex and the City" magic, because I did. But the show fails to be either wondrously romantic or critically insightful and it sure isn't funny.
"My Boys" is brought to you by match.com "Boys" itself is like a match.com ad perpetuating the idea that everyone finds somebody and there is little more to life than dating and sports. PJ's got it all - brains, looks, IQ - she just needs a little Guy-Q. Good God. Thank you, Dr. Phil, I just threw up again.
* ½ / 4