PARTNERS Should Break Up

Article originally published as PARTNERS Review on Seat42F.

Partners | Kelsey Grammer and Martin Lawrence | FX

FX has a near-perfect record when it comes to sitcoms. After all, this is the network that gives us It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Archer, and The League. They’ve also pushed boundaries with artistic experiments like Louie, Wilfred, and Legit. Even its Charlie Sheen-fronted Anger Management, which I was highly skeptical about, turned out to be pretty amusing. However, the latest effort making it to air, PARTNERS, which premieres this week, finally blemishes that run.

PARTNERS stars Kelsey Grammer (Fraiser, Boss) as Allen Braddock, a jerk of an attorney who is fired by his father for having a loose grasp on truth and legality. Allen falls in with Marcus Jackson (Martin Lawrence, Martin, Bad Boys), a well-liked lawyer allowing his wife to take advantage on him in a divorce. After Allen helps Marcus keep some of his money, they form a partnership, deciding to work together so that Allen can help Marcus earn a decent living, saving Marcus from his overly-kind soul.

This premise is very stale. How many buddy comedies do we need about an odd couple paired together by circumstance? What’s more, PARTNERS makes no attempt to even follow the tried-and-true formula when lying out its structure. Very little reason is given in the pilot for why Marcus would want Allen by his side, and there is no depth to the characters that justify their motivations. Instead, this is the duo we get, and they are put together with no solid reasons for why this should happen.

This is regrettable because the two performers are good actors. They both have resumes that prove their gravitas, and they could do better than this. Toss in other capable players such as Telma Hopkins (Family Matters, Half & Half) as Marcus’ live-in mother, McKaley Miller (Hart of Dixie) as a stepdaughter Allen is, for some inexplicable reason, supporting, Edi Patterson (A Thousand Words) as a zany assistant, and Rory O’Malley (Dreamgirls) as a one-note paralegal, and all around, the cast is being wasted unnecessarily.

PARTNERS goes for the easy, crass joke. After an insipid pilot, episode two, which airs just after the first, finds Allen and Marcus helping a gay couple who has been cheated by their wedding planner (Missi Pyle, Big Fish, The Artist). But rather than get into the real case and look for evidence, the leads go through the farce of a sham wedding, tossing in every cheap homosexual and racial gag they can think of. The situation is designed to be funny, and at its base, it is, but it certainly isn’t well-thought out or authentic, delivering a highly disappointing effort.

Given the first two episodes, the future of PARTNERS doesn’t look bright. It’s one thing to do broad humor and to do it well, but to go weak and lazy with the jokes doesn’t fly in the modern age. PARTNERS has the sensibility of a mediocre 90s series during a time when there are some real comedy gems dotting the landscape, and even the run-of-the-mill stuff usually clocks in several notches better than this. It’s pure drivel, not worth anyone’s time.

So why did FX choose to go this route? One assumes it has to do with the big names at the center of the project, and yet, while both of these actors have made some crap, they’ve also given us memorable, special roles that delighted audiences for long periods of time. One would think that with these guys attaching themselves to a project heading to a well-respected network, someone along the way would have made sure PARTNERS lives up to what it could and should be. Sadly, that does not appear to be the case.

PARTNERS premieres Monday, August 4^th at 9 p.m. ET on FX.

Partners should split up

Grade: 80%

CBS has a new sitcom from the creators of Will & Grace. Called PARTNERS, the show is about two male best friends, one gay, one straight, who have been together through it all. They started out as childhood friends, and now design buildings together. Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) plays Louis, the gay one, who thinks far too frequently about himself. David Krumholtz (Numb3rs) is Joe, the straight one, who may finally be ready to settle down and get married.

In the “Pilot,” Joe is ready to break up with his girlfriend, Ali (Sophia Bush, One Tree Hill), when she gives him an ultimatum: put a ring on it or else. Joe doesn’t like being pressured. Louis tells him to listen to his gut, and Joe agrees. But when Joe goes to Ali to end things, she preempts his prepared speech by apologizing for her words the other day, assuring him that she isn’t trying to pressure him into anything that he’s not ready for, and affirming that she loves him. This attitude totally changes Joe’s mind, and he spontaneously proposes.

Unfortunately, Louis isn’t aware of this when he runs into Ali the next day at yoga, and accidentally lets it slip that Joe had been planning on breaking up with her. This not only ruins Ali and Joe’s relationship, but also causes Joe to freeze Louise out… permanently.

I have a big problem with this entire scenario. Is Ali and Joe’s relationship really so rocky that both consider calling things off? If so, how does that possibly make them ready to tie the knot? These totally opposite attitudes are not the makings of a healthy marriage, even if they are a staple of mediocre sitcoms. Solving emotional problems this severe between a couple neatly in half an hour can take viewers out of the fantasy, hurting the overall impression of the series.

Even worse is Joe’s decision to cut Louis off completely. This is his best friend whom he has known since they were little kids. First of all, why didn’t Joe call Louis to tell him the good news the night he proposed, considering how close they are? That’s what a normal person would do. Second, anger is fine, but to sever both professional and personal ties with him for a mistake that was understandable given the circumstances? It’s not an auspicious start.

PARTNERS has a very good cast. Krumholtz and Urie do a fantastic job as Joe and Louis, even if their chemistry is not one hundred percent solid yet, selling the parts as much as can be expected, given the material. Bush is also good, and I love Brandon Routh (Chuck, Superman Returns) as Louis’s ditzy boyfriend. Magic can happen with this excellent cast, all of whom have developed interesting personalities for their roles. Just give them something worthy of their performances.

The set, music, and tone are similar to Will & Grace. A couple of the performers get a bit cartoonish, in a fun way. There is a light heartedness that doesn’t take itself too seriously. In fact, when the series tries to dig too deep into drama is where it falls short. Making this a more recognizable comedy, not trying to push too much seriousness on it, would play to the strengths of those involved.

The fault with the “Pilot” seems to lie mainly in the writing. Reducing such characters to predictable, unrealistic situations will kill the series. Given that PARTNERS is by the Will & Grace people, it can probably recover, and maybe even turn into something great. The “Pilot” just does not live up to what any of the team on this show can do. Many good shows have sprung from bad first installments. Hopefully, PARTNERS will be one of them.

PARTNERS premieres September 24^th on CBS.