Mikes Film Talk

After watching the first two episodes of Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life (How to Survive Your Lovable Jackass and How to Survive Insufficient Funds) one is left with the conclusion that show creator Jay Lacopo has a hit on his hands. The pacing is good, the episodes so far are outlandishly funny and the characters addictive.

Granted, Meghan Rath as new neighbor Kelly Bishop is the most addictive thing about the show. How can one not fall in love with a  smart arse female athlete who, when coming face-to-face with her 30-something boring boyfriend manages to say “Tampon” so adorably?

The show’s theme tune is very addictive and two episodes in,  the storylines are odd, quirky and damned funny. The pilot introduced all the characters to the viewer in the  form of a house warming party. We meet the cute neighbor, Neal gets a new Amazon girlfriend  and the 64 inch flat screen television is stolen during the epic celebration.

Not to mention that in episode two, the guest cameo is Paula Abdul…Dude! (Sorry had to get that out…)

On a subplot level, the three roomies, and Cooper’s brother partake of Barry’s grandmother’s hangover cure, after the party, and realize that it is pretty special stuff.  As Barry is the “Lovable Jackass” we follow his obsession with the stolen TV, which he “spots’ two years later, in a UFC hangout.

Overall, the pilot has Cooper being kidnapped by the skin-headed UFC gang. The idea is to trade the telly for Barrett. Cooper’s older brother Josh (Justin Bartha) buys the gang a new   3D ready television to trade for his younger sibling. 

By the time the end credits roll, the three roommates decide to mass produce Barry’s grandmother’s hangover cure and become entrepreneurs.  The viewer learns that the UFC guys that Barry (James Earl) believed stole their new TV did not, it was the landlord.

Standout Moments in the pilot:

Cooper (Jack Cutmore-Scott) being left behind after they grab the television from the UFC hangout.

The Kiss-Cam at the Clippers Game where Barrett and Bishop share a “jokey” kiss only to have it turn into something else and Cooper’s blurting out:

“I gotta take a leak…”

Almost all the conversation between Kelly and Cooper.

“Tampon.”

Meghan Rath’s look at the Kiss-Cam after Cooper rushes off.

Cooper’s attempted escape with the hood on his head.

Josh getting knocked out, while driving,  after saying:

“Don’t make me come back there.”

Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life, episode two – How to Survive Insufficient Funds sees Cooper, Barry, Neal (Charlie Saxton) and Josh at a posh bar. They are celebrating the move to entrepreneurship and after the big brother leaves, a blonde comes up and invites the remaining trio to the VIP area.

Four bottles of bubbly later, the lads owe $1,400 and lack the funds to pay. Josh has to bail his brother out and the fellas have no money for rent.  Their landlord immediately posts an eviction notice and the guys are desperate to get their hangover cure off the ground and pay their rent.

Meanwhile, Kelly babysits for Josh and Leslie (Liza Lapira) and hits it off with Josh’s wife.  Just as the two ladies seem to be bonding very well, Leslie blows it and asks Josh to sort things out. She forces her husband to attend Kelly’s sports treatment clinic and he, like Leslie, blows it. 

The three new businessmen, who are about to be evicted from their apartment, get a chance to make money from a “Barry Idea.” Barry learns from a homeless guy that drug trials pays big money and after the landlord turns off the power to the apartment, the three decide to give it a try.

Leaving the drug testing facility, with enough cash to fix all their problems, the guys look over the “side-effects” from the trial: Itching, sweating and hallucinations. They then bump into Paula Abdul in the car park. Cooper immediately approaches the star to see if she will support their product.

Standout Moments in Episode Two:

Josh touching Kelly’s breast during the treatment.

The guys getting robbed by “Paula Abdul” in the car park after she does a promotional video for the product and seconds after Cooper finishes filming,  Abdul turns into a long-haired toothless, homeless man.

The adult “get together” with Kelly and Brinley her associate, Josh and Leslie.

The guys deciding that the homeless guy’s adage of “desperate times, desperate measures” is a good one.

The entire sequence where Barry, Cooper and Neal break into the bank.

Paula Abdul.

Josh checking with Leslie when he tells Brinley that “this is not happening.”

By the end of the episode, Cooper breaks the fourth wall again to relate the lessons learned.  Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life is, thus far, funny, clever, a little “outside the box,” hip and musically catchy (as in score.)

This airs Sundays on FOX and is yet one more comic hit for the network. Tune in and prepare to be very entertained…and to laugh a lot.