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[title]Within their crop of new comedies, ABC has offered up three separate sitcoms that tackle the very difficult subject of how difficult it is to be a man in the modern world. While Last Man Standing deals with a protagonist frustrated with the feminization of men in American, Man Up! looks at the other side by presenting three male characters concerned that they have let their male role models down by becoming soft and weak.
The pilot episode finds Will (Mather Zickel) stressing over the perfect gift for his son as he enters the masculine age of thirteen. The upcoming birthday party is also causing some anxiety for his friend and brother-in-law, Kenny (Dan Fogler), whose ex-wife (Amanda Detmer) will be attending with her new strapping boyfriend (Henry Simmons). Meanwhile, their buddy Craig (creator Christopher Moynihan) is fretting after learning that his ex-girlfriend is getting married.
While not as offensive as Last Man Standing or the horrific mid-season offering Work It, Man Up! still fails the ultimate test of any sitcom: it's just not funny. Fogler and Teri Polo, who plays Will's wife, manage to eke out a few non-bland moments, but otherwise this comedy is a major snooze fest about characters that just aren't interesting. Perhaps Tim Allen should drive his truck over to the Man Up! time slot and give them a few lessons on how to keep their audience from falling asleep.
Man Up! premieres Tuesday 7:30pm on ABC.