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Why I can't stand According to Jim

I love comedy but was only able to stomach one episode of According to Jim. It was the episode where Jim gets hustled out of his truck at a bar. You know, this young punk challenges Jim to an arm wrestle. Jim, burlier and stronger-looking, wins easily. But then the young man wants to wrestle again, this time betting Jim that if he wins, he gets Jim's truck. Jim takes the bet and finds that he'd taken a sucker bet. So, Jim's wife comes to the rescue to bail Jim out and help him get his truck back.

Ho hum.

Some see ATJ as a great comedy. I see it as another male-bashing show that depicts husbands and fathers as macho, know-it-all imbeciles who have to be bailed out of the latest mess they've made-whether it's a get-rich-quick scheme that couldn't possibly go wrong but somehow does, or deciding to do a home improvement project that really should be left up instead to the professionals. And, of course, skimming through Belushi's book "Real Men Don't Apologize" really made me think of how ridiculous the series must be. To this day, I have no idea if Belushi really espouses the nonsense in the book or if it's just supposed to be something his show's character would've written. It wasn't really even funny, so, frankly, I don't care.

When it comes to comedy, I usually stick to reruns like The Carol Burnett Show and Dharma and Greg. Sometimes, I even venture across the pond at PBS to watch British comedies like My Hero and the deliciously-hilarious Are You Being Served? Americans seem to be forgetting what makes for great comedy.

Learn more about this author, Richard Zowie.
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