PILOT REVIEW: Man Up!

MAN UP!

Starring: Mather Zickel, Dan Fogler, Christopher Moynihan, Teri Polo, Amanda Detmer, Henry Simmons, Jake Johnson
Created by Christopher Moynihan
Written by Christopher Moynihan, Directed by Beth McCarthy Miller

One of the last fall shows to premiere - ABC's Man Up! - is a new sitcom paired with Tim Allen's Last Man Standing in a sort-of "revenge of the man" hour. In this show, three friends - Will, Kenny, and Craig (Mather Zickel, Dan Fogler, and Christopher Moynihan) deal with the "challenges" of being a man in 2011 where they bow down to their wives and girlfriends and can't act like real men. Rounding out the cast is Will's wife Theresa (Teri Polo) and Kenny's ex Bridgette (Amanda Detmer).

THE GOOD: Not that I judge books by their covers, but I went in to this show expecting to hate it. And the truth is, I didn't hate it. I didn't like it either but we'll get to that in a bit. It had a few funny moments - Dan Fogler had some funny moments as Kenny, who is reminiscent in look and behavior of Zach Galifinakis' character in The Hangover. The basketball scene was the best part oft he episode. The whole "fluffin'" in replace of the f-bomb was funny the first time it was used but then overused in the rest of the episode. The three guys do seem like real friends and that's a plus as it didn't play completely fake. So, like I said, I didn't hate it.

THE BAD: But it's not great. There have been way too many shows like this in recent years (Traffic Light, Perfect Couples, Happy Endings, etc) and none of them really work. They all have the same problems too - they overuse flashbacks (which has been overdone in general on sitcoms since shows like How I Met Your Mother made them popular), the lines seem to just be set ups to jokes, and the recurring jokes aren't funny (the Tobey Maguire line). The two worst parts were Bridgette's new boyfriend Grant, a completely unreal character, and the wedding scene (how many times can that be done?) With good writing, this cast could work. But that's not happening.

BOTTOM LINE: Man Up! seems like an odd fit with the traditional (in many ways) Last Man Standing. ABC doesn't seem too committed to this show and it's easy to see why. It's not dreadful but there's nothing about this show that really makes me want to watch this again next week. It's a shame though, because it does have a good cast.