Straight Plan for the Gay Man

We all saw it coming, the flip side of the Fab Five--and we all know it's not as relevant or sensible as the original Queer Eye show ( who wants to go from gay glam to straight glum?), but the redeeming part of this show is that it signals a bigger issue--the cultural movement of gay acceptance, particularly in the most stagnant part--straight men and gay men's relations. So who cares--this show has innate meaning.

Gay and straight aside, sometimes it's good to be reminded that buying a lot of expensive clothes and a mother of pearl spoon to serve your caviar, not leaving the house without a *product* in your hair, and removing all the cool stuff from your living space to make it look hotel-fashion sterile; doesn't make you a better person.

Straight Plan for the Gay Man spoofs an extremely superficial show, mainly through putting the straight macho man stereotype in the spotlight. It has comedic value, but the big takeaway is not the fun poked at males, be they gay squealers or straight slobs; but rather the down-to-earth idea that sometimes jeans and t-shirt is just better than a suit, and a burger and coke just better than oysters and white wine - and that if someone will think less of you because you don't wax your back, maybe they're just not worth impressing.

There are few comedy shows or comedians brave enough to poke fun at the ridiculousness of stereotyping. Most of the time, people are content to just adhere to laughing at well posted jokes about "the way people really act" etc. I was really surprised by this show, and I valued it not only for lampooning what life as a stereotypical "straight guy" is like, but also lampooning "Queer eye" and the whole sense that gay guys and straight guys are really so different such that either side needs the others' advice. Whether it was joking about straight fashion's heavy use of "layers" or the straight male's willingness to turn anything into a competition, I personally felt that because the show was designed to lampoon another show that enforced stereotypes, that it could only be funny by breaking down those stereotypes.

By the end of its small 3 episode run, it did its job, and I'd say it was great to see the hosts take on and poke fun at things which may be true to some extent, but they remind us of how overblown those truths can be. After all, when's the last time you really competed with another guy by ordering more condiments on your hot dog.... not that that's gay or anything.

when i first saw the commercials for this, i thought that it was going to be a very unfunny parody. i figured comedy central just threw a show together to cash in on the whole "queer eye" thing.

It is actually quite an intelligent and hilarious show. every "how to play it straight" tip is dead on to how the straight man thinks, and it makes fun of gay people in a positive way instead of in a negative one. it is probably the best comedy show that i have seen that deals with gay and straight people.

Very funny, you can enjoy it whether you are homo or hetero, give it a look, not to be missed.

When the "Flab 4" get lost in the opening credits it's a dead give-away to where this show is going. Nowhere.

At first glance it seems like a great idea to lampoon a runaway hit show about gay men "metrosexualizing" straight men. But then you have to ask yourself, what do stereotypical, straight men know that a gay man would want to know?

I don't think that they've found the answer to that question yet.

The first episode played heavily on straight and gay stereotypes and while they did it in an inoffensive manner they, for the most part, were just NOT that funny.

In the show they are parodying, the straight man actually gets something out of the experience, a slightly better look, a much nicer living space and a few ideas about how to shop/cook/dress, etc. In the end of the gay show the straight man is most generally glad to have had the gang's help. In the parody, they lack this. In the end the gay man is most likely to be glad that he's gotten through its and that these guys are outta his life.

This comedy is not mean spirited. And for most gay men seeing straight guys poke fun at them in a "good natured" way is an improvement. I'll probably watch again but unless they come up with some better ideas, this show is not gonna be much of a hit.

I suggest that this show take a few more tips from the British version of "Faking It" There they have had episodes where gay men have passed themselves off in typical "Straight Guy" situations that have been genuinely interesting. But then the comedy may not be there as easily.