“Work It” is a new “high concept” situation comedy from ABC. “High concept” means the opposite of what it sounds like. It’s not an idea that is complex or high brow. Rather, it describes a concept that can be easily and appealingly communicated in a few words or one sentence. The high concept for “Work It” would be something like: “Two unemployed men dress as women to find jobs.” It’s a potentially funny premise that was successful (in a slightly different version) for Tom Hanks and Peter Scolari on “Bosom Buddies” from 1980-1982. Three decades later men dressing as women is still high concept but “Work It” is not making it work.
Lee Standish (Ben Koldyke), a former top salesman has been unemployed for a year. After he overhears that a pharmaceutical company is hiring female sales staff, he impersonates a woman and is hired when he shows impressive knowledge of the company’s products. His best friend Angel Ortiz (Amaury Nolasco) also gets a job at the company. But Lee is a guy’s guy which means that he and his friends make lame jokes about women and the chore of having to have sex that involves “cuddling” and “listening.” When he wants to celebrate his new job he offers to take his wife to the local bar to have a beer with his friends. She says no and he announces that he’ll wake her for sex when he gets home. So Lee is insensitive and clueless. This set-up is deliberate because Lee and Angel, now forced to live their work lives as women, will learn things to help them be better men.
I might be able to get through the silly weekly gender lesson if “Work It” moved past predictable jokes and seen it all before characterizations of women. Then again, probably not because “Work It” is not fun or funny. In the Pilot, Lee has lunch with his female colleagues and whips out a giant sandwich. Seeing his co-workers horrified expressions, he throws the sandwich away but not before removing once lettuce leaf and happily devouring it. Get it? Women don’t eat! The characterizations of Lee’s colleagues are equally unoriginal. They include a blonde, flighty woman who (surprise!) likes to party, a socially awkward woman who is needy and insecure and an icy, ambitious “mean girl.” There’s also a montage of Lee trying on his wife’s clothes, make-up and shoes and figuring out what to do with his man parts. A visit to a make-up counter and an ace bandage solve his problems.
“Work It” undoubtedly sees itself as a timely and humorous commentary on the current economic climate. Times are tough. Jobs are scarce. What if you had to dress as the opposite sex to find a job? This is Lee and Angel’s dilemma and it’s not an uninteresting question but if the show wants viewers to care about and laugh at the answer it needs to give it without recycling sexist comedy.
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