ADAM TAYLOR/ABC
From left: Kyle Bornheimer, Johnny Pemberton, and Leah Remini in “Family Tools.”
Television Review
‘Family Tools’ is a not-so-noble failure
By Matthew Gilbert
/ Globe Staff /
April 30, 2013
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Why, on so many levels; why? It seems tragic that, given the number of comedy writers out there, ABC didn’t come up with a stronger vehicle than “Family Tools.” The show, which premieres Wednesday night at 8:30 on Channel 5, is just another set of prefab sitcom tropes pasted together with cheap jokes. The ensemble, led by Leah Remini and J.K. Simmons, has as much chemistry as an organic farm.
The show, based on a two-season British series called “White Van Man,” revolves around a family handyman business called Mr. Jiffy Fix. When Simmons’s tough guy Tony Shea is too sick to work, he hands over the reins to his bumbling son, Jack (Kyle Bornheimer), who has just dropped out of seminary school. Full story for BostonGlobe.com subscribers.
Matthew Gilbert can be reached at gilbert@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewGilbert.
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