The TV Chick

Men of a Certain Age centers around a group of friends who have known each other for 30 years, and their lives, relationships and ups and downs. I was pleasantly surprised by the first few episodes. It’s darker than I would have expected, but the plot intrigues me enough to tune in for more. It has incredibly strong leads with different backgrounds in Andre Braugher (Homicide: Life On The Street), Scott Bakula (Star Trek), and Ray Romano (Everybody Loves Raymond). Romano and his creative time brought incredible success to Everybody Loves Raymond, and I hope that Men of a Certain age garners the same level of success. It has a lot of potential, powerhouse actors and a very unique premise. I recently had a chance participate in a Q&A with all three stars of the show. Here is what Ray Romano (Joe) had to say about the chemistry with his co-stars, his darker role, and his most memorable moment of filming so far.

What made you decide to switch from comedy, you know, Everybody Loves Raymond, to this role of Joe, which is sort of a darker role and a darker show?Well I had done enough of that other thing hadn’t I? You know, I came off of Raymond, it was very successful and I was proud of it. And just when I was deciding what next to do I sat with my buddy, Mike Royce, we had done a lot of work together, he wrote on Raymond, and we both knew we weren’t going to try to do another sitcom, we didn’t want to have to follow ourselves. And we were more drawn to this, to something a little more – I don’t want to say dramatic but definitely more real.  Realer. And this was just, you know, the natural thing to do. We still want to – we still do comedy, you know, and we still write comedy but we write it in a much realer universe, you know.

Do you expect a Neil Sedaka backlash when episodes – the second episode airs?
Boy I hope not, because I’m a fan and I believe I, you know, that’s coming from a young kid’s perspective. And I believe I defend him in that scene. And not only that, I – about five or six years ago in some article in a magazine I mentioned that I have Neil Sedaka on my iPod and he heard about it and came back stage at my show in Vegas and said hello. So don’t start anything up.

This is your second show with your name attached and compared to way back when with, you know, Everybody Loves Raymond, how’s your anticipation? How’s your stomach anticipating this versus the sitcom?
Probably – there’s probably – I don’t want to say there’s more at stake now but I got to think there’s – I’m more nervous now because, you know, I know the world. Before I was like just a fish out of water there and if that show didn’t make it well, I don’t know why or how it doesn’t make it. And here I’ve kind of got fans, I’ve got a history. I have expectations. So it would be more – and it also will be, you know, my failure now – might be more newsworthy and bring more attention to it itself. But aside from that it’s just, you know, we invested all – a lot of the last three years at least of our lives because this was a long time coming out just with the writer’s strike and where – finding a home and all that. So I got to think there’s more at stake now for me.

Did you find that there was instant chemistry when you began working with Andre and Scott or did you find it took a little bit of time for you to gel between each other?
Well Scott and Andre are – they’re both great guys. They’re a little different, you know, Andre is a Julliard-trained actor so right away I was intimidated meeting him. Scott’s a great actor also he just has a different style, a different way of connecting with somebody. And Andre seemed to me it was the same with Peter Boyle where I was scared to death to be in the same scene with him. Once he started talking to me and we started joking and he became, you know, opened himself up to me it was like we were friends for a while and it was very comfortable. So the chemistry there, you know, it wasn’t immediate just because of that, because I’m too insecure to have that but it was really quick.

You say you feel insecure, what would you need to feel secure?
Oh you can’t – what are you going to do? You think I’m going to – 20 years of therapy you think I’m going to be able to answer that right now? There’s not – there is no answer, it’s just keep going. The search is the answer. That’s – why do you think I’m doing this? You know, if we could go back in time and you can get my father to hug me then maybe we’d have a chance. I don’t know. You know, I don’t know, I mean, it’s all different levels of insecurity. You know, I said this joke once on Letterman, I said, you know, before I thought my cab driver hated me and now I just think my limo driver hates me. It’s all the same, it’s just moved up.

You’ve been associated with the standup and you had your sitcom based on that character. Now you’re doing actual real acting, you know, you’re stretching beyond what we know you for. How did you prepare yourself for that?
Well I mean as much as Ray Barone was, you know, an extension of myself, it was still acting. I mean, it was a sitcom, it was a different dynamic maybe, but it was still acting. And, you know, I’ve done a couple things, I’ve done a couple films. I did a somewhat dramatic role in a film before this in between Raymond and this it was called the Last Word. And it unfortunately went right to video but I thought it was a pretty good film. But – so I’ve dipped my toe in that area. Now, you know, this character Joe is – while Raymond was an extension of myself to some degree this guy is also. So, you know, I’m just doing what hopefully I’m doing it organically and well. I’m just taking, you know, what I’ve learned up to now and doing it. Does that make any sense?

Do you have a most memorable moment from your time filming the show so far.
Oh boy, well we’re in the middle of our last episode. I don’t know I mean there are moments – there are scenes, you know there’s one scene in the fourth episode that I – it was just me and Andre and Andre’s character Owen and we’re in my hotel room and he’s telling me that he found out my wife was with this guy having an affair while we were married. And he got this information so and he feels like he needs to tell me. And it was a pretty dramatic scene with this, you know, great actor, Andre. And it was, yeah, I mean, that kind of stays with me. You know, it’s something that it was lucky to experience with this, you know, we got to – hopefully we got to, you know, these – we got somewhere where I never thought I could get, you know, as an actor I guess. I’ll pick that one. But, yeah, I mean it’s just – it’s, you know, I don’t know that there is many shows that kind of go to those places with these guys. You know, we like to think of the movie Sideways as kind of the tone and the – and something that’s similar to these, you know, these guys who are just kind of searching for something. And yeah, they’re at this age where that stuff’s happening, you know, and let’s talk about it because otherwise we got to go to a shrink. Nobody wants to see that, that’s – HBO did that show: In Treatment.

When I first received the screener to Men of a Certain Age, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I wasn’t a fan of Everybody Loves Raymond, but Ray Romano is clearly very talented. Romano and his creative team decided to do a darker comedy this time. Men of a Certain Age centers around a group of friends who have known each other for 30 years, and their lives, relationships and ups and downs. I was pleasantly surprised by the first few episodes. It’s darker than I would have expected, but the plot intrigues me enough to tune in for more. It has incredibly strong leads with different backgrounds in Andre Braugher (who is known for Homicide: Life On The Street) and Scott Bakula (who is known for Star Trek), and of course the aforementioned Romano. I recently had a chance participate in a Q&A with all three stars of the show. Here is what Andre Braugher (Owen) had to say about the show, being in a comedy, and getting into his character’s mindset.

What brought you to this particular show? 
Well you know I was – it was suggested to me that Ray and Mike were doing a single camera show and that there might be a role that I would be interested in and so I read the pilot script and thought it was terrific and thought that all of things that made “Everybody Loves Raymond” were still intact – “Everybody Loves Raymond” a hit were still intact you know what I mean? The carefully observed human comedy is there and I really dug this character and I dug the fact that you know he’s struggling for competence and not succeeding.  And then I said to myself I really want to be a part of this.  I mean there’s always you know I’ve always been interested in new challenges, but I’ve also always been interested in being an excellent comedian. And it takes really studying with a master you know to get a part of that and I so I felt like you know I got that with Ray.  I wanted to be a part of this show from the very beginning.  You know people were skeptical that you know either I was right or that I would be interested but from the very beginning I knew that I was both right and interested and that this thing will work out. And so it’s only a matter of working hard to convince people you know to let them know that this is going to work out for all of us.

You are known for your dramatic roles. Is being in a comedy a challenge?
Well you know it’s not all those things that I imagined you know when I first you know tried to wrap my head around comedy you know about timing and you know gags and which way do you look with your eyes and that sort of – I guess my new show it’s really about playing the emotional stakes of the scene for what’s there, you know what I mean?  Here’s a guy who wants to be very good. He wants to earn his father’s respect, you know what I mean?  But he’s falling short in every dimension, you know what I mean?  And absolutely love and adores and respects his father, but can’t get the kind of you know attention and respect that he wants, you know?  But I think I knew from the very beginning that it was about the – the fundamentally loving relationship was at the bottom of it. And that if I skipped over that, if I missed that, then I missed all the richness of the comedy, so the same thing that makes drama compelling is the same thing that makes comedy compelling which is to understand what the stakes are and to commit to them.

How do you personally relate to your character?
Well I mean in a lot of different ways.  I mean I’m involved in the same stuff that Owen is which is that you know I got two living parents and a bunch of wild boys at home and you know a wife and crazy co-workers and you know best friends and I love them all but they drive me absolutely up the wall, you know? And I think that’s the thing that everyone can relate to about these families is that, boy, they love each other to death but they’re driving each other absolutely crazy.  I mean Joe and Owen and Terry have known each other for 30 years and we give each other a lot of shit but – and we complain, you know what I mean?  But nobody ever changes, you know what I mean? We argue over the most ridiculous things but that’s how we relate and I think people can understand that and see that they’re quite truthful and well observed and consequently something that’s worth watching, you know what I’m saying?  This is true and these relationships have consequences, so I liked that about this show.

Do you have a group of friends like your character does?
Oh absolutely, guys that I’ve known since I was kid.  Yes.  We’re still tight, you know what I mean?  We pick right off where we left off you know.  We have the same complaints about the challenges that this stage of life has brought, you know?  We imagined you know that when we got to be this age we’d have it made but you know what that’s a fantasy, you know what I mean? We struggle at this age and we’re going to be struggling 20 years from now but that’s just life, period you know?  I find this show to be you know right on the mark in terms of what everybody’s trying to do and how frustrating it is and funny you know?  I mean we’re cry about it on Monday but we’re laughing about it on Friday and it’s just you know that’s how life is.  It’s good in that way.

What’s it like getting into your character’s mindset?
You know it’s not so different.  I mean all of these characters are struggling for competency you know and it’s true when you think about Ben Gideon and Frank Pembleton, I mean they’re hyper confident, without a doubt. But things are falling apart in other realms you know?  I think what (forms) all these characters is that everybody wants to have it all, you know what I mean?  And the farther we get in life is we realize you can’t have it all but you know that doesn’t stop us from struggling for it you know? So Owen is looking for professional competence, you know what I mean?  And he’s looking for respect, you know what I mean?  And he’s falling short of that sort of stuff, buy you know he’s obviously at loving relationships in every direction. I mean you know he’s got two best friends and you got to consider that to be the wealth of a lifetime to have two close friends in the course of a lifetime (that you’re) still seeing, you know what I mean?  A loving wife and healthy kids and – you know what I mean?  An overbearing father and all that sort of stuff and crazy co-workers, but that’s the way it goes. So I have to say I think all of these guys are basically struggling for the same thing, you know what I mean, which is to have it all.  And it wasn’t difficult to get into the mindset at all, you know what I mean?  What Mike Royce and Ray Romano had created here I think is a very specific kind of group of truthful relationships, and so consequently it’s easy to play and pretty straightforward.

And he’s going to get a win at some point?
Yes.  He’s going to sell more cars, you know what I mean?  He’s going to be forced to become a more competent car salesman, but you know it’s not a – there’s not a bed of roses, you know what I’m saying? So you know what I mean, I got a wife who knows it all, you know what I’m saying?  And a father who’s proven that he can do in one lifetime twice as much as I failed to do once you know what I’m saying?  And that’s a source of frustration, but you know there’s no doubt that I love all of these people you know what I mean?  And we’re going to make it work out. I mean that’s the thing about families.  I mean they’re – if we didn’t love them to death, we wouldn’t put up with that stuff you know.  We wouldn’t put up with that craziness.  And so that’s what it’s all about.

Be sure to tune in on Monday at 10 pm on TNT for the series premiere of Men of a Certain Age. TNT has some quality programming (see: The Closer), and I have hopes that this series will fit right in. Also, look out on Monday for my interviews with Scott Bakula and Ray Romano!