We’ve all been there. Show me someone who hasn’t had their heart
broken, I’ll show you someone who’s never been in love. The relatability of the
lovelorn has been a foundation for literature, theatre, and all forms of fiction
for centuries. Jay Baruchel, the talented star of “This is the End” and TV’s “Undeclared,”
returns to the small screen this week with FXX’s “Man Seeking Woman,” an
extreme riff on the relatability of relationship drama that has some very good
ideas and performances but doesn’t quite connect in terms of execution.
Baruchel and show creator Simon Rich take funny concepts and go WELL beyond the
point that most other comedians would say “OK, we get it…that’s enough.”
Consequently, “Man Seeking Woman” too often reminds one of that guy at the bar
who is better at the joke set-up than the punchline because it takes SO long to
get to it. There’s enough fearlessness to what Baruchel and Rich are attempting that it feels mean to dismiss it entirely, but comedy comes down to
pacing, and that’s what just doesn’t quite work here.
Josh Greenberg (Baruchel) has had his heart broken. Based on
a book of short stories by Simon Rich called “The Last Girlfriend on Earth,” “Man
Seeking Woman” takes place in a very purposefully exaggerated fantasy world
that riffs on the common travails of the recently heartbroken. It’s like “The
Secret Life of Walter Mitty” if Walter dreamed of relationship misery instead
of greatness. For example, Josh goes on his first blind date post-breakup, and
he is set up with a literal troll. He has to meet his ex-girlfriend’s new beau,
which we all know is just about the worst way to spend a party, and it’s Adolf
Hitler. The actual, elderly, wheelchair-bound leader of the Third Reich. In the
second episode, a War Room of experts help Josh craft the perfect text to a
potential date partner.
Conceptually, “Man Seeking Woman” has moments of brilliance.
We’ve all been there when hatred of our still beloved’s new boyfriend could
lead us to consider him about as awful as Hitler. We’ve all stressed out over
the creation of a perfect response, whether it’s call or text, after meeting
someone new. And Baruchel is still an incredibly likable lead, balancing
everyman relatability with an aw-shucks sense of comic timing that makes him
perfect for this kind of part. Eric André and Britt Lower are effective
support.
The missteps in the two episodes of “Man Seeking Woman” that
I’ve screened come down to timing. Every single bit so far goes on too long.
There’s no such thing as a throwaway joke or an aside. It’s almost respectable
that Rich and his cast are this willing to hammer every concept, such as the
troll date, into completely oblivion—when you think the joke is done, they have
about ten more variations on it—but it makes for a surprisingly tiresome
half-hour. We may all be able to relate to Josh, but that doesn’t mean we’ll
want to spend time with him every week.
