Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life Doesn't Need a Guide to Success

Cooper Barrett (played by Jack Cutmore-Scott), a young, wild, recent college-graduate, stars in Fox's new comedy, Cooper Barrett's Guide to Surviving Life. The show opens with hundreds of graduation caps being tossed in the air. The camera then cuts to Cooper who stares deeply into the camera, breaking the fourth wall, telling the audience that nothing in college prepared him for the situation he's currently in. As the camera continues to pan out, it's obvious that Cooper is in quite the predicament, tied down to a rickety chair in a sketchy attic. He never breaks eye contact as he informs the audience that the first lesson he will be teaching started the day after he graduated college. 

The show then flashes back to 2011, when we are introduced to the other characters. Neal (played by Charlie Saxton) is the lanky awkward nerd, and Barry (played by James Earl) is loud and unapologetic, referred to as the jerk of the group. Together, Neal, Barry, and Cooper make up the typical power trio of friends who are moving into an apartment together. Josh (played by Justin Bartha), Cooper's older brother, a successful lawyer, pays the three a visit, dropping off a brand new 3-D flatscreen TV. In return, all Josh wants is a fun night, giving him a break from his cookie cutter life, and extremely pregnant wife. 

Barry has grown a deep attachment to the new TV, and makes it his mission to protect it during the party. He becomes suspicious of a group of shady, mobster looking men eyeing up the TV, and almost starts a fight, but becomes distracted by a partier who offers Neal, Cooper, Josh, and him a bag of blue pills. The next morning, all four wake up to the sound of a phone ringing, in a trashed apartment, void of the new TV. 

Two years later, Barry walks out of a movie theatre and sees the sketchy men he thinks stole the TV. Making a rash decision, he follows these men home alerting the others that he has hunted down the men who stole their TV. With the help of Cooper and Neal, Barry manages to take back his precious TV, but not before the group of men sees Cooper's face. However, much to their surprise, Josh tells the group that the TV they retrieved was not the one he bought them. Another two years later, Cooper meets the mobster men again in the bathroom of a Clipper's game, where he's knocked out, and held hostage, bringing the audience up to speed. 

I fully enjoyed this pilot episode and think it establishes the great potential the show has. It was refreshing to watch an action packed comedy show, and every character is quirky and has room for development. My only concern is that eventually the writers will run out of ideas for crazy adventures. The characters and plotline reminded me of The Hangover, so if you're a fan of movies/shows formatted in that manner, be sure to give this show a chance!

Neal: “The thing is dude, I've been crunching some numbers and based on my looks, salary, and personality deficiencies, there's a 87% chance my wife will have a mustache."