Take Three: How to Be a Gentleman

How to Be a Gentleman: Season 1, Episode 3 “How to Attend Your Ex-Fiancée’s Wedding” (B)

This show has now been marooned on Saturday nights, but I’m prepared to stick it out and watch whichever produced episodes end up airing. I like how aggressively and unapologetically Bert is trying to get Andrew to confront his fears head-on by consistently putting him into situations in which he’ll find himself hopelessly uncomfortable and unprepared. Changing his RSVP to his ex-girlfriend’s wedding to “Hell Yeah!” is a great way to start that, and I enjoyed the fact that the entire Carlson family was at the wedding. Bert’s efforts with the wedding planner were surprisingly successful, and it was actually rather sweet to see him cast her aside for the sake of helping out Andrew. Our gentleman deserves enormous credit for figuring out that she cheated on him and still managing to deliver a moving, memorable toast with no hint of spite in it, unable to even allow himself to take his gift back. He’s getting the hang of turning his often less-than-exciting life into fluffed-up prose for the magazine, and it’s fun to hear Andrew regale Jerry with his made-up adventures before they go to print. Andrew did manage to get his revenge in his own way by going home with Tabitha, who had famously hit on him years earlier, and there’s something to be said for small, subtle victories. I’m very much enjoying the group dynamic here, with Mary Lynn Rajskub and Rhys Darby continuing to be the supporting standouts in their roles as couple Janet and Mike.