Parker Bueller returns!
Note: this is a spoiler-free advance review of the first episode of FOX's Cooper Barrett's Guide To Surviving Life, which will premiere on Sunday, January 3rd at 8:30/7:30c.
The spirit of 1986's Ferris Bueller's Day Off - and the Ferris-inspired 90s series Parker Lewis Can't Lose - limply lives on in FOX's new under-the-radar "meh" comedy Cooper Barrett's Guide To Surviving Life. A series that follows the hectic, whacky exploits of cocky, underachieving recent college grad Cooper (Jack Cutmore-Scott) and the ragtag, zany group of friends and family who orbit him.
Has the premise of "clever, smirking young men who break the fourth wall" already had its day? Perhaps. There's a chance Cooper Barrett could get funnier as it goes along, but the fundamental issue here - based on this first episode - is that the lead is the dreariest, least-formed element of the show. Cooper himself is a bland mess of textbook sitcom tropes and Gen X hair. More interesting are the people in his life - namely the ensemble of James Earl, Charlie Saxton, Meaghan Rath, and The Hangover's Justin Bartha. Bartha, who's probably the funniest part of this pilot despite the introductory story feeling very Hangover-esque (raging party, blackouts, kidnappings, etc).
The set-up story in "How to Survive Your Loveable Jackass" spans five years, with the viewer first meeting Cooper in 2015, tied to a chair, being held hostage. Flashbacks then bring everything into focus as we learn that Cooper and his roommates (Earl's boisterous Barry and Saxton's milquetoast Neal), over the years, got into an on-and-off conflict with some "UFC guys" after a giant Smart TV was stolen from their apartment during a crowded house(warming) party in 2011. It was odd to leap through so many years right at the start of a series, but overall it was a satisfying way to introduce us to all the players.
Bartha plays Cooper's older, married (with kids) brother, Josh, who sees his younger brother as a way to inject some fun into his stale life (almost a spin on Bradley Cooper's character from the Hangover films, no?) while Rath pitches in as Cooper's equally-clever relationship shy "will they?/won't they?" neighbor, Kelly. Again, not every character's a home run (or even a double) but they're all better than Cooper, who sticks out as the least effective/charismatic cog in this particular comedy machine.
The Verdict
In a sea of TV extremes, Cooper Barrett's Guide To Surviving Life is fine. Serviceable. But is that allowed to stand in the era of Peak TV? A placeholder show like this? Featuring a throwback lead whose presence borders on aggravating? At least the people in Cooper's life - the ensemble - provide momentary reprieves.
Editors' Choice
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