GARY UNMARRIED (TV SERIES) - DVD review
"Gary Unmarried" is perhaps the most adult show with kids in it since "Married . . . with Children." And that probably suits star Jay Mohr just fine. It's not as outrageous and he's not as foul-mouthed and unlikable as the acerbic character he played in "Action"--the 1999 Hollywood exposé sitcom--but there's still an edge to housepainter Gary Brooks that you usually don't see in family sitcom dads. Although, let me rephrase that. This is a comedy about family, but I wouldn't call it a family comedy. It's rated TV-14, and even that's a stretch, given some of the content. I know our kids won't be watching it any time soon. There's a ton of innuendo and frank topics--more than the average parent wants to sit and watch with their young teens, I suspect.
Mohr plays a recently divorced man who has to see his ex-wife frequently because of shared custody. But things get a little complicated when he decides to start dating and tells her, only to find out that she's been dating their considerably older marriage counselor all along and is now engaged. From there things fall into familiar sitcom patterns, with Gary and ex-wife Allison (Paula Marshall) carrying on the typical love-hate and hate-hate relationship that confuses the lives of the newly divorced. They share custody of their two children, 14-year-old Tom (Ryan Malgarini) and his younger sister Louise (Kathryn Newton, who was an Episode 2 replacement). Jaime King plays Gary's new romantic interest, while veteran Ed Begley Jr. plays Dr. Walter Krandall, Alison's fiancé. Another woman enters into the mix in mid-season, with Brooke D'Orsay (who previously appeared with Mohr in "King's Ransom") playing Sasha. But mostly this is a sitcom about what makes two people who used to love each other now do some rather spiteful things to each other, but in surprisingly funny ways. The plots themselves aren't what make this series worth watching. It's the writing. The dialogue is sharp and often full of laugh-out-loud lines.
In fact, what limits this series is the sense of sameness in the competitions that Gary and Allison wage with each other. Check out the summary of the 20 episodes included in Season 1 and you'll see what I mean:
"Pilot"--Having an ex-wife is much less ex-citing a prospect when Gary learns she's been secretly seeing and is now engaged to their marriage counselor, of all people.
"Gary Gets Boundaries"--When Gary undresses in front of his ex-wife, Alison, she (and soon he) realizes that some new rules have to be set if they're going to have an ongoing amicable relationship while also fostering their own new relationships.
"Gary Marries Off His Ex"--When Gary wises up regarding spousal support he suddenly finds it okay for Dr. Krandall to be marrying his ex.
"Gary Gets His Stuff Back"--It's tit for tat when Gary wants the pool table and the only real bargaining chip he has are some risqué photos of Allison.
"Gary Breaks Up His Ex-wife and Girlfriend"--Gary fears that with Allison and Vanessa becoming too chummy that Vanessa might start to see him in the same unfavorable light as his ex.
"Gary Meets the Gang"--It's a tale of two parties as Allison tries to make a good impression with Dr. Krandall's friends and Gary tries to do the same with Vanessa's.
"Gary and Allison's Restaurant"--Subliminally Gary is a mess, as even when he tries to focus totally on Vanessa he still ends up taking her to Allison's favorite restaurant.
"Gary and Allison Brooks"--Allison cons Gary into going to a party at which their pretentious friends are planning to renew their vows. The catch? He has to pretend that they're still married, because Allison didn't want to lose face by telling this crowd.
"Gary Gives Thanks"--Gary and Allison battle over who'll host Thanksgiving, with Allison luring Gary's father (Max Gail) to her house and Gary retaliating by tempting her dad (Martin Mull) with beer and "guy stuff." All to the befuddlement of Allison's mom (Jane Curtin).
"Gary Goes First"--Another competition episode has Gary and Allison fighting to share "firsts" with their two children.
"Gary Toughens Up Tom"--Gary's parental instincts (and competitive spirit) are re-aroused when Dr. Krandall seems to be bonding with Tom.
"Gary Dates Louise's Teacher"--Always a bad idea, but in this case what makes it worse is that Gary isn't even attracted to her. He's just trying to prove that he doesn't date women based on their looks.
"Gary Moves Back In"--When Allison is responsible for flooding Gary's house, she lets him move back with her . . . just until things get aired out.
"Gary and Dennis' Sister--When Gary ends up kissing the sister of his co-worker (Al Madrigal), she gets the wrong idea and hones in on him big-time.
"Gary's Ex-Brother-in-Law"--Gary goes to his ex-brother-in-law for help after he finds out that the IRS is planning to audit him.
"Gary Uses His Veto"--They only get one a year, according to the new rules they agreed upon, but after Gary incurs Allison's wrath by putting the kibosh on the Chinese lessons she wants Louise to take, Allison gets back at him by using her veto to nix golf lessons.
"Gary Hooks Up Allison"--After Allison and Dr. Krandall break up, she starts cramping Gary's style by spending too much time at the house. Gary's solution? Find her another man. Quick.
"Gary and the Trophy"--Gary needs to find a replacement for his bowling team after a player drops out right before the championship game.
"Gary and His Half Brother"--When half-brother Mitch (Rob Riggle) moves in with his eccentric commando mentality, it forces Gary to become the adult for a change.
"Gary Fixes Allison's Garbage Disposal"--Gary and Allison wrestle with old attractions in this Mr. Fixit episode.
The kids are clichés-both are precocious, with Tom the deadpan artist for whom puberty is an all-consuming focus, and Louise the little activist spouting Al Gorisms and other save-the-planet platitudes. Of the two, Tom comes across as being more natural in his delivery, and so I would hope that either young Kathryn Newton would feel more comfortable with her character or that the lines would be rewritten in the future to sound more like something she herself would say. As it is, we never forget that they're lines spoken by a character. But the adults in this ensemble are solid enough to sell the snappy writing. The plots may sag a big, but when you get right down to it, its those lines that make this show enjoyable.
James Burrows directs, and "Gary Unmarried" has his trademark blend of believable humanity and sharp comedy. There's good chemistry here, and that makes for good comedy.
Video:
More solid production values from Disney/ABC-TV. Colors are vivid, with no bleed on the reds, and there's only the slightest amount of grain. "Gary Unmarried" is presented in 1.78:1 widescreen, "enhanced" for 16x9 televisions.
Audio:
The audio is a really robust (for TV series) Dolby Digital 5.1 surround that you really notice when the segue music kicks in. But the dialogue is also rendered with clarity and there's no distortion. It's a solid, standard audio but without as much rear-speaker involvement as some tracks. Spanish and French subtitles are provided.
Extras:
Not much here, really: a blooper reel and three featurettes. But what's here isn't bad. "The Chemistry of Comedy," for example, is just a 15-minute making-of feature, but you get the best sense of what it's like to be part of a sitcom filmed in front of a live audience. And there are some quotable killer insights, too, as when James Burrows says, "95 percent of comedy is surprise," or Jay Mohr says "Comedy today is like math. It's either right or wrong." And to see the way they film with a live audience, then have Burrows reveal, "To me, I do a play, and then film the play," it feels like a much more substantial 15 minutes than we usually get in featurettes.
Not quite as brilliant but still worth watching is a Mohr-narrated tour of the prop area and people behind the scenes--though it's only a little over five minutes long and is more of a stand-up comedy routine done as a walk-and-talk. "Planet Begley" features the actor talking about the eco-friendly advocacy campaign he's been waging since 1970, and it feels like a PSA. And the blooper real is pretty standard.
Bottom Line:
It's refreshing, actually, to see a sitcom with kids in it where the kids aren't the dripping-with-cuteness focal point. Mohr seems like a good fit in the title role, and he's surrounded by people whose comic timing and delivery is just as strong. Plots could be more original, though, but "Gary Unmarried" is the kind of sitcom where if you watch one episode you'll find yourself wanting to watch another.
