Product Description
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Men of a Certain Age explores the unique bonds of male
friendship among three men experiencing the changes and
challenges of mid-life. They have been best friends since college
but now, in their 40s, are navigating through the second act of
their lives. Joe (Romano) is a friendly, slightly neurotic,
recently separated her of two who had dreams of being a
professional golfer. Now he owns and runs a party store. Terry
(Bakula) is a laid-back, handsome actor who seems to breeze
through life (and women). Lately, he’s spending more time working
as a temp than as an actor. And Owen (Braugher) is an
overstressed husband and her of three who endures constant
criticism from his her, for whom he works as a car salesman.
.com
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Men of a Certain Age is actor-comedian Ray Romano's exceptional
second TV act, a bracingly honest comedy-drama about the joys and
pitfalls of middle age. Created by Romano and Mike Royce, an
Emmy®-winning writer and producer on Everybody Loves Raymond, the
series follows three college friends as they wade into the deep
end of their 40s--recent divorcé Romano, who pines for his lost
marriage and missed life rtunities; car salesman Andre
Braugher (Homicide: Life on the Street), who chafes under the
command of his boss, who's also his her; and actor Scott
Bakula (Enterprise), who clings to a Lothario lifestyle while
facing a faltering career. Although the show addresses many of
the expected issues associated with men in their middle years,
from impotence and workplace relevance to maturing children, the
tone is respectful and bittersweet, and mines the material for
its human qualities instead of sitcom gags. Emmy winner Braugher
and Golden Globe recipient Bakula handle both sides of the show
with typical skill, but it's Romano who offers the greatest
surprise; his performance--light-years from the hess Ray
Barone--sketches a man struggling to carve out a new identity in
subtle, carefully balanced tones. Fans of Raymond may not find an
abundance of laugh-out-loud moments here, but the interplay
between the leads generates many wry moments, and the supporting
cast, in particular Jon Manfrellotti as Romano's Runyon-esque
bookie, shoulder much of the humor with ease. Given the time to
develop its already appealing characters over the course of
several seasons, Men of a Certain Age could become a top
television drama, one that could stand comfortably next to
Romano's achievements in comedy.
The two-disc set of Men's first season offers a handful of
entertainment extras, most notably a pair of very funny
commentaries by Romano, Royce, Braugher, and Bakula for the pilot
and season finale. In between good-natured digs at Braugher's
Julliard education, the show runners discuss changes made to the
pilot and the origin of several story elements (in particular,
the pilot's seemingly indestructible possum). The deleted scenes
offer the material cut from the pilot, as well as from subsequent
episodes; all contain intriguing bits of character development
and dialogue instead of the usual extraneous throwaways. Gag
reels are usually painful experiences, but Romano's comic skills
make this a highlight, as does a jaw-dropping barrage of
improvisations by Manfrellotti during the Chinese restaurant
scene from "The New Guy." A brace of short, network-provided
interviews with the leads, as well as a series overview, closes
out the set. --Paul Gaita