Men: Not Quite a New Breed

For his return to television, Ray Romano, along with his former Everybody Loves Raymond writing cohort Mike Royce, has created a dramedy that attempts to tap into male emotions that go largely unexplored elsewhere. While Men of a Certain Age (TNT, Mondays, 10pm) means well, it doesn’t quite deliver on its intentions.

Romano stars as Joe, divorced father of two and owner of a party supply store. Joe is not too far removed in tone from Ray Barone (neither one would seem likely to actually want to attend a party, let alone proffer the necessary accoutrements), though since Joe is a few years older than Ray was he spends a lot of time complaining about his worsening eyesight, how he looks naked, his distaste for rap music, and how many ointments he has to apply each day. Along the way he makes attempts to connect with his kids, some of which work, some don’t.

As good a sell as Romano is—and it’s great to see him in a role that doesn’t always require him to crack a joke, though he does plenty of that, too—he’s not even the best reason to watch. That honor goes to the great Andre Braugher, here playing Owen, a car salesman struggling to make ends meet at home while he battles his father, the dealership’s owner, for more respect. We’re used to seeing Braugher in roles that allow him to chew the scenery (think Frank Pembleton on Homicide: Life on the Street). In Men, though, he takes it easy, displaying a likable, Everyman quality he doesn’t get to show often enough.

And let’s not forget about Scott Bakula, no slouch himself as Terry, an out-of-work actor who has managed to avoid growing up but now finds himself wondering what he might be missing out on, though not enough to keep him from pursuing the young barista who’s nearly half his age. Bakula’s character might be the least developed of the three leads; still, he brings his all to the role, committing in a way that might suggest a bit of "been there, lived through that" for Bakula himself.

There’s nothing too big going on in Men of a Certain Age. These three guys, friends since college, don’t have their worlds shaken each week. Terry auditions for a Lifetime movie, Owen gets his dealer car downsized, Joe deals with his son’s anxiety, and they all make time to meet for lunch at Norm’s on a regular basis. All told, it’s a decent effort, so why can’t I shake this feeling that something’s missing?

It’s as if the writers think they’re going deeper into the male mind that anyone ever has, exposing great truths that have never been revealed. If only the result were as lofty as its purpose. Last week’s episode, the show’s third, did work out some of its cutesy, “look at me” mannerisms—it would do well to stop trying to see how many times TNT lets them get away with saying “dick” and “shit” in an hour—and started to move toward its goal: showing that there’s more to midlife than planning for retirement. Like Cougar Town, another age-centric new show that has gotten progressively better since its admirable start, this one may just need a little time to mature.