Hung - Season 1

So the only reason I watched Hung was because the second season was going to air between two things I already intended to see, and I thought I might as well fill that gap. The first season ended up being a decent enough if unexceptional comedy, sort of like Entourage in that it never makes me laugh that much but it just has that element of being totally watchable enough that I don't feel like changing the channel. Unlike Entourage though, the lack of laughter is less because only one character is actually funny and more because it tries to be serious just as much as it doesn't. It's the story of a middle aged man trying to put his life back together, and it's more concerned with being true to that than shoving in a ton of jokes. In a way I respect that, even if a bit more focus on the comedy would have made it more enjoyable.

So Thomas Jane of the mostly garbage movie I reviewed a few days ago plays Ray Drecker, a history teacher and sports coach in a poor Detroit school who decides to try to make some money off his huge penis after his house burns down and his kids move back in with his ex-wife. He starts a "happiness consultant" business with a woman he's bumped into a few times which basically consists of Ray being a prostitute for lonely women, and they sort of bumble through it for a while until the season ends. Ray has this odd, old fashioned personality that I came to enjoy quite a bit, and provides the human center of a comedy that sounds like it could be over the top but in truth seems very grounded. He wrestles with success versus loyalty, wonders about his son's sexuality, and just comes off well as a sympathetic figure. It's not a great show, but I like it.