ABC premiered another late edition to their Wednesday comedy lineup with "Family Tools." Kyle Bornheimer portrays Jack Shea, a bumbling doofus with a good heart who returns home to take over his father's handyman business. J.K. Simmons is as crusty as ever as Jack's dad, Tony, who isn't at all keen about his son taking over the family business. But by the end of this pilot, he'd already had two heart attacks, so it was pretty clear he needed to take a step back.
Leah Remini was the mastermind behind the whole thing as Tony's little sister, Terry. After Tony's second heart attack, Terry forces him to have a heart-to-heart with his son, but Tony is a man's man meaning he doesn't really know how to.
He admits he's tougher on Jack because Jack's his son. "Yeah, that’s it. That’s all I got!" Tony said. "I’m not a shrink, I’m a tool guy, Jack. Can we please stop talking like fruit loops now?”
Critics weren't all that impressed with the new show. Entertainment Weekly wrote, "There’s nothing particularly terrible about the premiere episode, but there’s nothing quite remarkable about it either. The plot, characters and even comedy ... lack novelty."
Buddy TV agreed, but the focused their attention on series star Bornheimer. "For some unknown reason, network TV executives are convinced that Kyle Bornheimer is destined to be a huge sitcom star," they wrote. "In 2008 he starred in CBS' 'Worst Week' (cancelled after 16 episodes). In 2010 he starred in ABC's 'Romantically Challenged' (cancelled after four episodes). And in 2011, he starred in NBC's 'Perfect Couples' (cancelled after 11 episodes)."
Can Bornheimer find success with "Family Tools," or will this just become the latest in his short-lived flops? Catch new episodes every Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ABC.
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