TVSquad

(S01E01) Take 'Til Death. Add Dennis Finch. Stir.

That's Rules of Engagement in a nutshell. And the result of the mix isn't particularly funny.

OK, I have more to say, but not much. Let's get the gist out of the way first. Patrick Warburton and Megyn Price are Jeff and Audrey, a couple who have been married for a long time. Oliver Hudson and Bianca Kajlich are Adam and Jennifer, who just got engaged; he just moved into her apartment, which happens to be in Jeff and Audrey's building. David Spade plays the role he's been playing for ten years; this time, the smarmy manchild is named Russell, who's 40, single, and simultaneously loving his freedom and wondering if there's more. Of course, Jeff likes to tell Adam about the pains and "compromises" of marriage, and Russell likes to tell Jeff about what he's missing by being tied down to one person.

Hilarity ensues, right? Well, whenever Warburton speaks, it does. His deadpan tough-guy delivery sold just about any line that came out of his mouth. "We've wrapped up the sex portion of the marriage. We've moved on to Letterman," is one of his funnier lines from the episode, despite the fact that it was shown 3 billion times during the NFL playoffs and the Super Bowl. It's a hell of a lot better than Hudson's rant about being in a "cakeless marriage." And it was also a hell of a lot better than anything Spade said; all I was thinking while watching him was "That first season of Just Shoot Me was pretty good, wasn't it?"

Anyway, that's all I have to say about this disaster. Maybe the next few episodes will be better. But it doesn't seem likely. It makes me long for The New Adventures of Old Christine, and that's saying a lot.