Gary Unmarried – The Complete First
Season (2008 – 2009/ABC-Disney
DVD)
Picture: C Sound:
C+ Extras: C- Episodes: C-
Since the 1980s, any stand-up comic who can survive in the
entertainment business long enough becomes respectable enough to suddenly be
the star of a usually bad situation comedy, and they are worse than ever. For Jay Mohr, the series is the amazingly
childish and dull Gary Unmarried,
here in its Complete First Season in
what is Disney’s attempt to do their answer to Two & A Half Men, a bad show in its own right that is
successful for the worst possible reasons.
Gary has a painting job and has just
divorced Allison (Paula Marshall), who is now seeing the obnoxious Walter (Ed
Begley, Jr.), a Doctor who has his own issues and only adds to the adjustment
disorder Gary
is going through. They have two kids to
help, but the way he talks to them is so phony, it is amazing they do not file
for divorce either.
Mohr is funny, but these teleplays are not allowing him to
show off his comic talent, so he (like the rest of the cast) seem like they are
just reading lines to each other and never are convincing for a moments in any
of the 20 half-hours here. This has the
ABC Family label, which is usually the label of boredom and death on most
programs bearing it and whether this will be a hit remains to be seen, but it
is the nadir for just about all involved because the makers are not even
trying. Let’s see what happens next.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is softer than
a new production should be, whether it is a sitcom and shot in High Definition
or not. Detail is an issue, color is not
so good and it is just plain dull and flat all the way. The Dolby Digital 5.1 is really stretching
the audio thin, while the dialogue sounds too confined to the center
channel. Extras include Bloopers and
three behind the scenes featurettes.
- Nicholas Sheffo
