PILOT REVIEW: Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life

COOPER BARRETT'S GUIDE TO SURVIVING LIFE

Starring: Jack Cutmore-Scott, Meaghan Rath, James Earl, Charlie Saxton, Liza Lapira, and Justin Bartha

Created by Jay Lacopo
Written by Jay Lacopo, Directed by James Griffiths

THE PREMISE
Cooper Barrett (Jack Cutmore-Scott) is putting together a guide to surviving life in your 20s. He starts by saying he's doing what he wished someone had done for him after high school. The pilot flashes back a couple years earlier but. Cooper's best friends are the "lovable jackass" Barry (James Earl) and the more sensitive Neal (Charlie Saxton). His older, more conservative brother, Josh (Justin Bartha) and his wife, Leslie (Liza Lapira) are also part of the picture. Rounding out the main cast is Cooper's love interest and friend, Kelly (Meaghan Rath).

THE REVIEW
Cooper Barrett is a bit all over the map in its pilot, but it seems to be a blend of several other shows or movies. Tonally, it feels a lot like New Girl but it also has elements of How I Met Your Mother, with the advice giving and time jumps. Also, the pilot's premise felt a bit like The Hangover. There's a lot of potentially good comedy here and there were moments that made me chuckle, but this is very clearly a work in progress.

The cast seems likable enough. While channeling a little bit of Titus Burgess from Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, James Earl had some funny moments as the outrageous Barry. Unfortunately, all the characters are stereotypes, including Barry. The unlucky in love friend, the stuffy older brother. So far, they don't break out of their stereotypes enough to become real characters. Justin Bartha was perhaps the most disappointing as I didn't buy him at all. It started with the overacting on the phone with his wife (which, by the way, why does his cell phone leave a dial tone when he hangs up? That's lazy comedy writing because as far as I know, that doesn't happen with cell phones). Then there was more overacting with his "hangover."

The whole pilot just felt disjointed. I felt like they were trying to say "look how much fun we have all the time," but a scene like the first party one only works (and is funny) when you already know the characters. I'm pretty sure this show wants to be your average "hang out" comedy like New Girl, but it also boxed itself a little weirdly into this "tips to surviving life" framework. It's not that this show can't be funny or won't be good, I just don't feel like it is constructed very well. Or maybe it knows what it wants to be by episode 10 or 20, but didn't know how to get there.

WILL I WATCH IT AGAIN?
Probably. I think this could become a funny comedy but it has a long way to go. I'll give it another week or two to see if there's improvement.