Baby Daddy premieres tonight at 8:30pm on ABCFamily.
There seems to be this really weird influx of shows centered on the idea of men being forced into a climate that is typically female-centric—Last Man Standing, Work it, and Men at Work—and it's pretty safe to say that none of them are that spectacular: Work It was quickly axed, Last Man Standing got just enough eyeballs for a second season, and while the verdict on Men at Work is still out, those paltry reviews and sinking ratings aren't helping. Baby Daddy, the newest entry in bro-dude programming trend, is about three man-children who discover a baby at the front door of their apartment and decide to take care of it… all with HILAAAAAARIOUS consequences! Calling this cast of cartoonish idiots characters might be giving them too much leeway since they all feel like the physical manifestation of Things That Appeal To Men Ages 17-35: Ben (Jean-Luc Bilodeau), a twenty-year old bachelor who works as a bartender; Danny (Derek Theler) Ben’s older brother, lady-killer, and the Kelso of the group; and Tucker (Tahj Mowry) as the token minority. Oh, and throw in hot female friend Riley (Chelsea Kane), and you have yourself a late-night sitcom.
The idea of men having to do something even remotely feminine is so funny because, of course, men are stupid. They can’t take care of babies! There’s not a single joke that isn’t about one of the male characters failing miserably at taking care of the infant, the baby being a crap-dispensing monster, or just how competent women are compared to their male counterparts; and since every single one of them falls flat, Baby Daddy is twenty minutes of literally the same three jokes failing over and over again.
Worst of all is the vitriol against Riley; specifically, the fact that she used to be fat. Nearly everyone on the show points out her obesity as an insult, because as we all know—in order to counter the fact that these men are terrible at raising children, making fun of fat chicks is fucking comedy gold. Even Riley herself makes self-deprecating jokes about her weight, but it’s totally okay because she’s now pretty and skinny, and can be awkwardly placed in a love triangle between Ben and Danny. As cliché as it might be, the trials of parenting can be a rather funny subject—as seen in NBC’s Up All Night—but Baby Daddy is too lazy to come up with a potentially new perspective on the subject.
Sumology: Baby Daddy isn’t aggressively bad, but it’s representative of the uninspired tripe that typically occupies weeknight television. There are better comedies than this, and certainly ones with more heart.
Grade: D
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