What I'm Watching: Gary Unmarried

I'm covering this show on a weekly basis for a reviewing course I'm taking. I'll copy my thoughts onto this blog every week as well.

Gary Unmarried: Season 1, Episode 6 "Gary Meets the Gang" (D+)

Given the traditional web of sitcom plotlines, I’m surprised it took Gary this long to meet “the gang.” Why any guy would think it would be a good idea to try to impress all of his girlfriend’s friends without her approval is inexplicable. And yet, Gary goes for it anyway. It seems like he’s trying to be especially obnoxious when he speaks to them, deliberately insulting them and then acting as if he’s too dumb to realize that’s what he was doing. There is one hilarious moment in “Gary Meets the Gang” where Gary’s ex-wife Allison asks him to name some of Vanessa’s friends and he stumbles, blurting out Chandler, Monica, and Joey (an amusing series of references to "Friends" ensues). The joke directly contradicts the previous scene, where Vanessa outlines her friends’ names for Gary, but this is the world of sitcoms where earlier moments are irrelevant if there’s an ample opportunity for comedy. Perhaps tackling "Gary Unmarried" with such severity is a mistake, and a confusion of its genre expectations, but it seems that the show goes for the easiest option and often finds itself luckily coming out on top. As a whole, this episode, like all those before it, is hardly memorable and just another easy-to-categorize typical comedy episode. Most disappointing about "Gary Unmarried" is the waning number of impressive moments per episode, since the premiere’s multiple chuckles have now diminished to an occasional burst of brief hilarity. Gary desperately escaping the discomfort of putting his foot in his mouth in front of Vanessa’s friends leads to his futile attempt to jump out the window, only to be tricked into believing he’s high up when he’s actually only two inches from the ground – that’s slightly funny, but can’t sustain itself long enough to engage a viewer. Shows like "Two and a Half Men" are in fact able to function purely on one-liners and a lack of any attention paid to plot, but that’s a rarity. Charlie Sheen knows that the show he’s on is not "Frasier." It’s hardly quality television, and that’s the beauty of it. Jay Mohr seems blissfully unaware that the show around him isn’t a masterpiece, and both he and the show might benefit from a new perspective. If this comedy wants to go for broke and succeed based off of its dumbness, it should. But it can’t straddle the line between good and bad and expect to do well. "That 70s Show" was never a truly good show, yet it lasted for years because it acknowledged that in the way storylines were crafted and the characters carried themselves. "Gary Unmarried" needs to get with the program and reframe itself under a new lens, or everyone involved needs to step it up and start churning out a better quality show.