‘My Boys’: Danke schein?

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The season finale of ‘My Boys’ was cleverly titled ‘Rome, If You Want To’ (after the B-52’s song ‘Roam’), but maybe it should have been called ‘The One That’s Like ‘Friends’ and ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.’ ‘

Perhaps it was inevitable that the Chicago-set sitcom would feature an homage to the 1986 John Hughes film, and in a way it paid off in a Chicago Tourism Board sense. The exterior shots of the Art Institute, Sears Tower and Lake Michigan were all beautiful. But occasionally the writing on ‘My Boys’ shoehorns in the Windy City, and this was one of those times. Why only now would P.J. (Jordana Spiro) and her friends decide to take in the sights? So often on ‘My Boys’ the Chicago references are knowing and winking, but this time they seemed like they came from someone who had spent a weekend in the town but had seen ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’ 50 times.

The main plot point of the finale began with a promising story line that the show has explored before: P.J.’s new boyfriend Evan (Michael Landes) finds it difficult to break into the group of guys she constantly surrounds herself with. This was an issue left unresolved last season, with the apparent solution in the finale to have P.J. hook up in-group with her friend Brendan (Reid Scott).

However, this season’s finale quickly refocused on the story line that’s been running all season: P.J. and her friend Stephanie (Kellee Stewart) have plane tickets to Italy and must find hot dates. P.J. originally finds herself doing what any normal woman would do: opt to travel with her girlfriend instead of inviting some guy she hardly knows. But the show leaves us on a semi-cliffhanger as P.J.’s last-minute date arrives on the plane. ‘You made it,’ she smiles, but at who, we don’t know. This ‘who did she choose?’ cliffhanger is very reminiscent of the ‘Friends’ Ross and Rachel days.

Since it’s a summer show and on a shorter schedule, maybe it’s time to stop expecting ‘My Boys’ to start living up to the standards of ‘The Office’ and take it more for what it is: a light, funny summer sitcom that won’t demand too much of its viewers as long as its viewers don’t demand too much of it. P.J., after all, is thankfully still rough enough around the edges to keep her from being another Carrie Bradshaw or Rachel Green. It’s just a shame that the show displays so much potential when it’s not being forced to fit any particular mold. But it seems to stumble when it has to address the typical needs of a sitcom like ongoing story lines, romantic plots and season finales.

-- Claire Zulkey