A man inside is here to break your heart, put it back together, and then break it once again.
In Michael Schur’s latest comedy series, heart trumps humor as Schur, co-creator of Parks and Recreation and creator/showrunner of The right place – tells a story of mystery, solitude and community.
A man inside acts as a reunion for series creator and Ted Danson, who plays the titular “man” tasked with investigating a San Francisco retirement community where a priceless necklace has gone missing. Before going undercover, Charles (Danson) is a destitute widower who spends his days sending newspaper clippings to his daughter, Emily (Mary Elizabeth Ellis), eating and reading alone, and doing whatever he can to distract the empty space on his wife’s side. out of bed after his death from Alzheimer’s disease. Encouraged by Emily to return to the world and find a hobby to occupy himself with, Charles checks the classifieds and conveniently discovers an ad posted by Julia Kovalenko (Lilah Richcreek Estrada), a private detective looking for an assistant. aged survey.
Charles – a retired engineering professor – impresses Julia with his wit (i.e. he knows how to use a cell phone), gets a job locally, and moves into the Pacific View Retirement Community, a residential animated geriatric managed by Didi Santos-Cordero (Stéphanie Beatriz). What follows is eight episodes of classic spy motifs, timeless devilry, and a raucous ensemble that breathes life into a story about the oldest among us.
The cast of characters at the Pacific View retirement community is rounded out by residents like Virginia (Sally Struthers), Florence (Margaret Avery), Calbert (Stephen McKinley-Henderson), Elliot (John Getz), Gladys (Susan Ruttan) and Helen (Danielle Kennedy), the woman whose beloved family heirloom is presumed stolen after disappearing from her bedroom.
From the first scenes of episode 1, “Tinker Tailor Older Spy,” the series makes no attempt to hide the fact that it will be a bittersweet comedy just as eager to make you laugh as it is to make you shed tears . While I can’t predict that I’ll soon be able to get the aged Danson from the first moment of Episode 1 out of my head, it’s helpful to zoom out and remember that the feeling is what’s important. Just like the Disney and Pixar beginning sequence Up, A man inside succinctly tells the story of a widower who loved so deeply and fully that the audience can’t help but feel when that love, that special connection, is taken away in a matter of moments.
The sad truth of the show is that it’s pretty sad. This will be a gut punch to anyone who has seen a loved one decline, something I have seen many times myself. The good thing is that he will be there with open arms to give you a warm, gentle hug after he has inflicted the pain on you. I think A man inside is a classic example of “Call Your Mom-edy”, a phrase I coined earlier that applies to any show that can make you laugh and cause you to call your mother (or someone special actually) and tell them how much you love them.
The series itself is the perfect comedy series to watch with the whole family, as it is both wholesome and witty. A bit like Only murders in the building – which is coincidentally produced by Schur’s wife, JJ Philbin – A man inside relies on the stupidity of the elderly actors to come up with the best lines and gags. You can expect technological confusion, grumpy community members, and communication issues caused by those who are hard of hearing. Despite the predictability of some of the show’s jokes, it’s hard not to be charmed by the residents who end up becoming each viewer’s surrogate grandparents.
Each character, crazier and more eccentric than the last, reminds us that even if they are constantly neglected by society, they still have much more to contribute. This seems to be a growing trend on television, especially as OMITB enters its fourth season and Kathy Bates’ new show on CBS, Matlockfocuses on an elderly woman acting as a double agent at a New York law firm for personal reasons. They say blondes have more fun, but gray guys are definitely giving them a hard time on TV these days.
As someone who has spent the better part of a decade devoting his entire life to television and what to watch, I’ve learned that the content of a show is second only to how you feel. So even when a joke seems a little corny, it’s delivered with such seriousness that it’s hard not to laugh. More so, the show is at its best when it explores the beauty in the monotony of life.
In Episode 6, “Our Man in Sacramento,” viewers follow Didi and witness the mountain of obstacles she faces on a daily basis, including the loss of a resident and the heartbreak of having to pass this information on to others. . Beatriz, who most viewers probably know best for playing thick-skinned Rosa Diaz in Brooklyn Nine-Nine, slips into a gentle and caring role with such grace that you can’t help but look forward to her next scene.
By becoming a love letter to the elderly, the series also acts as a “thank you” to all those who look out for them, that is, people like Didi. At one point, his character even calls out someone else for adding to the already crazy workload and mental toll his staff faces every day. As Parks and Recreationthe series thanks the unsung heroes who do it for the love of the job and the difference they make. And like another hit series from Schur, The right place, A man inside encourages us to be kinder and better than the day before and does it with a punchline.
To put it briefly, A man inside is a tale of septuagenarian shenanigans that is light and fun from start to finish. We always recommend grabbing a box of tissues before sitting down to press play, but we may have hyperbolized the painful moments.
Unlikely, as one line from the trailer nicely sums up what you can expect from the series; “For the majority of older people, the greatest threat to their well-being is not an accident or illness, but loneliness,” explains the character Beatriz. Of course, this is almost immediately followed by a clip of Charles finding an entire pizza tacked to the back of his coat after he’s explicitly told to “lie down,” so perhaps that’s a more appropriate summary of the series.
One thing’s for sure, you’ll get a bit of both while watching A man inside.
All episodes of A man inside premieres Thursday, November 21 on Netflix.
