Matt LeBlanc in “Man With a Plan”
Matt LeBlanc’s new sitcom, “Man With a Plan,” brings back the actor to familiar territory, and feels like the natural progression for the character he played in “Friends” and its spinoff “Joey”—but while it may be a fresh venture for the actor, it’s mostly a mix of parenthood-comedy clichés.
LeBlanc plays Adam, a contractor who becomes a stay-at-home dad soon after his wife, Andi (Liza Snyder), gets a full-time job. The new arrangement seems easy at first for Adam, the easygoing dad of three kids (Grace Kaufman, Matthew McCann, Hala Finley). But he immediately realizes the hard work—and unbelievable chaos—that comes with the job!
Adam also gets a taste of his unsung wife’s former duties when his youngest child’s teacher, the demanding Mrs. Rodriguez (Diana-Maria Riva) designates him the sole “room parent,” who is assigned special tasks for the betterment of the kindergarten class.
LeBlanc plays Adam like a more mature, more responsible Joey Tribbiani—he’s a little slow at times, but he’s still charming and good-natured. And after two decades in show biz, the actor creates a credible and age-appropriate character, comfortable with his dad bod and gray hair.
The series, however, feels like the merging of “parent” comedy shows such as “Home Improvement,” “The Middle” and “Guys With Kids,” to name a few. It teeters between being wholesome (there’s a lot of parenting hijinks) and risqué (Adam mistakes a balloon pump for one of his wife’s…devices). So it’s not totally family-friendly fare, even when things get juvenile—specifically, Adam’s scenes with his brother, Don (Kevin Nealon).
Adam is also given tasks—he’s singled out by Mrs. Rodriguez to follow her sometimes-unreasonable demands. No, there’s no romantic or sexual weirdness going on between them; it’s strictly an informal boss-subordinate rapport. It gets especially tiresome by the third episode.
LeBlanc and Snyder decently function together, with years of acting regularly in series between them (she was in sitcoms “Yes Dear” and “Jesse”). Situations proceed as expected, ultimately reaffirming the main characters’ marriage and mutual respect by the end of the episode. Whether you relate with “Man With a Plan’s” humor or not, it’s largely that prescriptive, feel-good quality that makes it a decent watch.