(June 30th, 2011)               David Hornsby, Kevin Dillon, Dave Foley, Nancy Lenehan, Mary Lynn Rajskub and Rhys Darby star in the half hour comedy How To Be A Gentleman, airing on Thursdays at 8:30pm, on CBS this fall.

Inspired by the book of the same name, this comedy is about the unlikely friendship between a traditional, refined writer and an unrefined personal trainer.  Andrew Carlson (Hornsby) is an etiquette columnist whose devotion to ideals from a more civilized time has lead to a life detached from modern society.  Infectiously optimistic, Bert Lansing (Dillon) is a reformed "bad boy" from Andrew's past who inherited a fitness center, but can still be rude, loud and sloppy.  When Andrew's editor, Jerry (Foley), tells him to put a modern, sexy twist on his column or be fired, he hires Bert as a life coach in the hopes of learning to be less "gentle man" and more "real man."  Andrew's mom, Diane (Lenehan), and his bossy sister, Janet (Rajskub), support the plan, as would Janet's husband, Mike (Darby), if he was allowed to have an opinion.  Though Andrew and Bert's views may be centuries apart, they may find they're each other's missing link.

I like the characters and the premise of this half hour comedy, but I struggle to see how they are going to write 22 scripts a year based on what I see in the pilot episode. The contrast between the lead characters is certainly the stuff of a few jokes, but I don't see that angle buying them the mileage to get this series through season one, and certainly not to a second season. If that is going to happen, starting from episode two, this one had better get busy. Actors David Hornsby and Kevin Dillon have an odd but workable chemistry, but they will need a larger and very talented supporting cast in  future episodes.

My first impression is that this comedy was not properly developed before it was allowed to come to the air. For that reason, it is not likely to be around or long.

 

 - Editor

 

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