21 replies to this topic

[NovacScott]

From Comedy Central:

Each week, our "Flab Four" comics makeover a new gay friend and give him a crash course on the secrets of straight male life -- like hitting on chicks, playing basketball or working a blue-collar job. Can they do it?
Mondays 10PM | 9C, Starts Feb 23

[no sic sherlock]

Wasn't planning on watching this, but damn it got a fantastic review in the New York Times:

Sticking closely to the "Queer Eye" formula, "Straight Plan" is as engaging as the show it mercilessly mocks. It is also funnier, which which is not always the case with satire....  Like "Queer Eye," it is possible to watch more than one episode of "Straight Plan" and still be amused.

[queasy]

Well, EW gave it an F (or maybe a D), for whatever that's worth.

I thought it was...I dunno. Odd. They were so closely ripping off/parodying the QE formula, and I guess I just didn't see the point. Other than comedy, I suppose, which I personally didn't find much of.

[jerseydevil]

I began watching this and was not especially impressed. I misssed the middle (left the room) and saw the end. It had improved by the end, but still, it wasn't nearly as entertaining as the show it was attempting to parody. I won't go out of my way to watch this again.

[BeachyKeen]

I had a few laugh out loud moments, but mostly at the poking fun of straight males. The show started pretty badly but did seem to pick up momentum. As satire it was fine, but once is enough. I can't see myself watching more than one episode.

[Rinaldo]

It was interesting, in a sociological way, how they assumed from the beginning that gay men have it together more than straight ones, and the straight men were going to have to teach him how to be clueless and stupid. The inversion of the QE structure had its mild amusements, but the entertainment value was awfully minimal even for a one-off. Are they really trying to spin this into a series? The original QEFTSG is infinitely funnier than the purported spoof.

[Renee in CA]

well, I watched for like, 5 whole minutes. It was incredibly s l o w as if the straight guys were mentally impaired. No shock and awe, a lack of one-liners and I was outta there.

Why go to NYC? The funny thing would have been a gay guy moving to the country and having to deal with hunting and cutting down firewood, and things like that.

Nice idea for a skit, but you'd need John Belushi to really pull it off. . .

[jennifuh]

That was annoying. The pee left in the toilet was so disgusting! The only part I liked was the woman who taught Johnny how to walk and speak. She was great!

[miimaa]

I thought this was funnier than Queer Eye for the Straight Guy (that's supposed to be funny, right?), but I was laughing at the straight guys. They are so like the red-necks where I live it's a riot. And Johnny was great! He went along with all their idiot stuff though you could see on his face he thought they were morons. Loved when he comes into his apartment and throws his jacket on the floor, has a beer, spread his legs apart, ALL the plaid. Ha ha ha! I will definitely watch again (sounds like I'm easily amused doesn't it? well, sometimes that's exactly what I need).

Edited by miimaa, Feb 24, 2004 @ 1:40 PM.

[greybear]

I thought this utterly predictable show would be in the comedy forum, but that wouldn't be appropriate since IT WASN'T FUNNY.

[Bungalow Joy]

Like Tough Crowd the show doesn't really live up to the pitch. The working class slob bit, or whatever it is, just ain't funny when it's pointless. Like, what were they trying to prove? What're they trying to tell me? Nothing? Well, why the hell do you want an hour of my time then? Did I miss something? They were just goofin'? OK...then...

...?

[pianodan]

Like, what were they trying to prove? What're they trying to tell me? Nothing? Well, why the hell do you want an hour of my time then? Did I miss something? They were just goofin'? OK...then...

But this is Comedy Central! That's their entire reason for existing!

I kind of enjoyed it, but like with the real Queer Eye, it'll get old pretty quickly. Fortunately, CC has only produced three eps so far. Liked the "experts", especially the "well-dressed" fat guy. And the parody element was spot-on.

[Bungalow Joy]

But this is Comedy Central! That's their entire reason for existing!

Hey, I watch Comedy Central. Comedy Central is my friend. This show? Bad. Parody? Hard to fuck up on the idea board. But the follow through? So not comedy. By "just goofin'" I mean that I goof, my friends goof. Shit, even my pets goof. But we sure don't deserve TV shows. The people who deserve the TV shows like these that they get are the people who watch their own cable access productions and America's Funniest Pets.

Edited by Bungalow Joy, Feb 29, 2004 @ 6:01 PM.

[landismom]

Yeah, I am trying to decide if I want to waste another hour of my life watching episode two. Of course, what else I am I going to do with that hour? Can I really say that I'm going to spend it more productively? Dunno.

But it's nice when satire can stand alone, and I just didn't feel that this show pulled it off.

[Nocona]

This show is wierd. All it does is subtley make fun of straight men, which i have no problem with. The best line of the night was when the gay man(i loved him) walked into his newly "straightened" apartment and said, "I thought it was gay, but then again i think Curtis is gay." Curtis is the environment dude, the bastardized Thom. He had the place decked out in animal prints! He actually thought that was straight, saying that it was primal and cave-manish. Now, if I walked into a guys apartment and saw all the animal prints I would think he was either bi-sexual or trying waaay to hard. And do you think the show is sponsored by Dos Equis, judging by the inexplicable bottles on display and the neon sign over the bed?

Now I know why men put a few candles around their apartments, and why they never have much furniture.

Edited by Nocona, Mar 2, 2004 @ 1:11 AM.

[Larry Tate]

In praise of SPftGM:
I saw this show for the first time last night, and I really enjoyed it. It's funny! (e.g., Criticism of the gay guy when he tried to pick up a woman in a bar, accompanied by much tsk, tsk head-shaking from his would-be mentors: "It's like you were actually listening to what she was saying..." *snerk*)

As a gay man, the winningest component of the show for me is that the "Flab Four" portray themselves as having genuine affection for the gay guy, just like QEftSG's Fab Five actually seem to care about their make-better subjects. And while both gay and straight stereotypes are made fun of (to very humorous effect, if you ask me), the jokes strike me as being of a self-deprecating nature, more often than not, about the straight guys, rather than their being about putting down the gay dude du jour.

Notably, while the premise of this faux how-to show may be to make a gay guy "more straight", the subject's gayness is matter-of-factly accepted as a perfectly normal thang -- which is wonderful to see on a meat-and-potatoes cable outlet like Comedy Central. That this show contributes to the narrowing of the gay/straight divide in viewers' minds, much like the Bravo show that inspired it, is something I never would have expected, but something I'm all for.

So, yeah, I like it.

All that notwithstanding, now that I've seen one episode, I don't know how interested I'll be in watching many others, just because it'd be like watching SNL do variations of the same (hour-long!) spoof over and over and over. (I agree with others of you who think that Comedy Central would probably be wise to stop at their original order of three episodes.) But if you're a big fan of Queer Eye, as I am, I think it'd be totally worth your while to check out at least one episode of this.

[QAF Rocks]

I've just seen the "Steve" episode so far.

Just one thing...

I want Bert I and Bert II!

How adorable can you get???

[Bungalow Joy]

OK, I saw the repeat of the 2nd ep, and it was funnier than the premiere. Still not quite funny enough, so I go back to my standard fix-it suggestion. Cut the show to 30 minutes and it'll be worth my time.

[Caroma]

Well, I saw the last episode, Roger the Basketball Guy, and I enjoyed it a lot. The straights have good chemistry with each other and the locker-room etiquette scenes were priceless.

Cute little show. I could do with a few more eps.

[QAF Rocks]

Are they still airing this show? I just saw the "Jonathan" and "Steve" episodes. Were there more?