Round Two: Last Man Standing

Last Man Standing: Season 1, Episode 3 “Grandparents Day” (C+)

I’ll say right off the bat that I don’t see this as a show that I’d be interested in watching on a weekly basis. It’s a perfectly fine, harmless sitcom, but there isn’t much to distinguish it aside from Mike’s almost stifling efforts to be manly. I’ll allow that Boyd’s preschool is rather over-the-top and that his concerns there are somewhat justified, but it’s still a bit much to take on a regular basis. Boyd getting expelled from Happy Happy Preschool was quite a feat, and Mike’s inability to keep an eye on him was decently amusing. I liked that he managed to overcome his pride and try to get Boyd back into the preschool, only to have Kristin be the one to nearly derail the process. Vanessa’s reaction to the “at our age” comments she received from another woman proved to be very dramatic, and her midlife crisis-like shopping trip was entertaining due mostly to her request for three size 2s in the absence of a size 6. Mike and Vanessa’s other two daughters were considerably underused in this half-hour, and that is one area in which the pilot was much stronger, dividing time up equally between the three Baxter girls. It’s understandable that Kristin might be featured more prominently because she’s the mother of another character on the show, but it would be nice to let the other two shine, particularly Kaitlyn Dever, who deserves a spotlight after her terrific work during season two of FX’s “Justified.”