From the producers of Lost and Alias, and the screenwriter of City
of Angels and For Love of the Game
comes a contemporary, air-quote heartwarming ensemble about a group of
supportive friends in various stages of romantic relationships and friendships,
this time set in
sludginess ensues, with lots of attractively made-up people to gaze dreamily upon.
7th Heaven’s Barry Watson), the only
unattached member of his clique. Around him are the newly married Nicole and
Angelo, the seemingly happily married Dave and Deena and the recently engaged
Marjorie and Adam. But what gives with Brian? Of this close-knit group of
friends, everyone else has paired off, while he’s the last bachelor standing.
At 34, regardless of his run of bad luck in matters of the heart, Brian still
holds out hope that one day he’ll open the door and be blinded by love. However
questions about his fate have been popping up more frequently in his head. The
most pressing question is — one that only he can answer — whether all of his
problems could stem from the fact that he’s harboring a secret crush on the
picture-perfect Marjorie (Sarah Lancaster), his best friend’s girl? Lawyer Adam
(Matthew Davis), Brian’s best friend since childhood, was going to break up
with Marjorie, a pediatric surgeon, but found himself proposing to her instead.
Their busy lifestyles leave them little time to plan their upcoming wedding
and, oddly enough, that seems to have given them more time to re-evaluate
whether they’re indeed doing the right thing.
Meanwhile, Brian’s fortysomething sister, Nicole (Rosanna
Arquette), and her boy-toy husband Angelo Varzi (Raoul Bova) are trying hard to
start a family, but something’s not right. Nic’s high-stress work as a record
executive and Angelo’s fledgling acting career have created some anxiety in the
marriage. Now they’re torn between conceiving a child the old-fashioned way or
using modern medicine to speed up the process. Dave (Rick Gomez), who runs a
videogame business with Brian called Zap Monkey, is married to stay-at-home mom
Deena (Amanda Detmer); they’ve been together for 13 years, have three little
girls and a lackluster sex life. This prompts the frustrated and unconventional
Deena to suggest to the more content Dave that they consider having an open
marriage. Like seemingly all married people with their single friends, Deena
and Dave can’t wait for Brian to join their “club,” though they’re not exactly
sure why.
What About Brian
puts forth a premise in which the details are everything, but there’s not a
strong enough, singular creative vision behind the show to give it any extra “oomph,”
something that’s apparent from listening to one of creator and show runner Dana
Stevens’ audio commentary tracks, in which mention is made of three different
versions of the pilot episode. These problems abate and lay dormant for a
while, but never completely disappear; certain plot strands, like Dave and Deena’s open marriage, seem just flat-out stupid. Tone becomes an issue again particularly
in the second season, which careens all over the place. The first season finds
Brian holding out for true love, and pining over Marjorie to such a degree that
you wonder why he doesn’t just walk around with a boom-box, blasting “Layla.” The
show’s aborted second season finds Brian heading down an altogether different
road, no doubt courtesy of some get-on-with-it-already studio notes: life in
the dating fast-lane. A lot of characters wander in for small episode arcs — also
starring are Tiffani Thiessen (she ditched the Amber), Jason George, Krista Allen, Amanda
Foreman, Jessica Szohr, Marguerite Moreau and even Stacy Keibler,
among others — but the ploy reads like desperation, really, throwing diversionary
character strands at a wall hoping something will stick.
A nicely packaged set, What
About Brian: The Complete Series contains 24 one-hour episodes (one of
which was never domestically aired) spread out over five DVDs. It’s presented
in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen, with a Dolby digital 5.1 surround sound audio
track, and optional French and Spanish subtitles. Supplemental extras come in
the form of the aforementioned audio commentary track, plus cast interviews and
behind-the-scenes footage that speculates as to what would have happened to the
series’ characters in a third season. C (Series) B (Disc)