It seems so simple … and yet, based on the scarcity of shows playing on this level it must be near impossible. Men of a Certain Age takes a simple premise with no gimmicks, stunts, or overblown drama: three old friends hit middle age and … live life. Take three great actors, surround them with a solid supporting cast, and apply great writing and ideas. On second thought maybe it’s not so simple.
Yet it seems to be for the team on Men of a Certain Age, because week in and week out they succeed in producing the best show to appear on TV in years. It’s awesome, and if you’re still not one of its satisfied customers….
I’m probably the most unsure of Terry’s path in life. I think it’s great that he settled into some semblance of normalcy with a job at the dealership and a nice apartment, but what of the career he spent thirty years of his life on? Wouldn’t it be heartbreaking to walk away from your dreams after all that time?
I’m also not quite convinced that Erin’s (Melinda McGraw) right for him, but then I’m not sure that he’s convinced of that either. Granted he seems intent on making this relationship work — asking her to move in with him declares that pretty boldly — but I think that Erin represents the idea of a relationship more than her actually being the one for him.
Meanwhile, Terry’s over-anxiousness at making things work might just blow up in his face (last night it resulted in Erin peeing in her pants), while he shouldn’t forget that Erin freaked out on him at the sight of their toothbrushes in the same cup. Moving in could just exacerbate her own issues. But I loved how Laura (Mo Collins) was treating the guys at the diner after Terry was stupid enough to bring Erin to lunch. Plus, not cool bringing Erin to what little guy time the show has left!
I’m glad that things seem to be coming together for Owen. Ever since he decided to reject Scarpulla’s offer he’s been making better leadership decisions — the debacle with the softball team notwithstanding — and that should start bearing fruit soon. I always thought something was off with Bruce (Albert Hall); I wonder if he’s been skimming since Owen Senior’s time, or if the kickbacks were his own way of saying that Owen Junior wasn’t worthy.
I wish the computer monitor would have been bigger so that we could have enjoyed the surveillance videos a bit more, but what we were able to see was a lot of fun. I couldn’t always make out which salesman was doing what, but I can’t believe those guys ever made any successful sales. Lawrence (Matt Price) is hilarious, but man! And I loved how both Owen and Melissa got addicted to the “show.”
I think Joe’s been going down a bad road ever since he hooked up with Michelle (Alanna Ubach). She helped him get over himself — and she’s absolutely innocent in the whole bookie thing he stumbled into — but you can tell by how he responds to her ninety percent of the time that even he knows she’s not good for him. The last straw should definitely be the fact that she gets turned on by his “bad” side, something that’s inevitably going to egg a guy like him on to keep going. I hope getting rid of her will go hand-in-hand with his straightening out again.
I wouldn’t have chosen for Joe to win that bet, but I wonder if his conversation with his fellow degenerate gambler in the electronics store won’t do more to keep him clean from now on than a big loss would have. We watched as Joe saw himself in the poor slob who lost his family and his life to gambling, and I hope he realized he was heading down that same path again, just on the opposite side of the envelope stuffed with cash. I hope now he can get back to golf, Terry and Owen, and the interesting relationship he’s developing with Manfro.
What a show!
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Jun 23, 2011 @ 14:00 EST5EDT
