I didn’t have high hopes for “Enlisted,” premiering as a midseason entry on Fox’s winter schedule.
There’s usually a reason that new shows aren’t included on a network’s fall slate, and those reasons usually encompass artistic merit (or lack thereof). And while “Enlisted” isn’t as one-note awful as I expected (given its January premiere), it’s not great comedy, either — but offers up just enough to be sandwiched between those two extremes.
The setup here, told in quick flashback form, introduces brothers Pete, Derrick and Randy Hill, who are from an Army family (their father was killed in action) and who form a bond, early in their childhood, to protect and watch out for each other. Flash-forward 20 years later, and while the three brothers are still serving Uncle Sam in the military, they’re doing so under very different circumstances.
Sgt. Pete (Geoff Stults), the oldest and most ambitious of the three, is on the front lines in Afghanistan until he punches out a commanding officer. He’s demoted and sent back to the States — specifically to Florida’s Fort McGee, home of the Army’s Rear Detachment Unit, which deals with the families of soldiers serving overseas, including tracking down lost pets (its motto: “Yes, we’re Army”).
And guess who’s stationed at Fort McGee? Why it’s none other than Pete’s younger brothers Derrick (Chris Lowell) and Randy (Parker Young). Cpl. Derrick is a world-weary, sarcastic slacker who can’t be bothered, while Pvt. Randy is a hyper-sensitive worrier who loves being in the military — and will tell anyone who’ll listen just how happy that makes him.
Once the brothers are reunited, and some old emotional wounds re-opened, we’re supposed to find humor both in Pete’s ragtag platoon — which includes a fat guy named . . . wait for it . . . Chubowski — and the sophomoric banter accompanying Pete’s competitive interaction with Jill Perez (Angelique Cabral), Fort McGee’s lone female officer. (Pete to Jill: “I’ll put my privates up against your privates any old day.”)
I’m guessing many 14-year-old boys will get a kick out of that and other scripted gems (Chubowski to a soldier trying to hoist him over a wall: “Your hand’s inside of me”; Randy describing Pete: “He put what he has in me.”). There’s even a vomiting scene thrown in for good measure, and it’s all underscored by a musical soundtrack that sounds like it was lifted from 1981’s Bill Murray/Harold Ramis Army comedy, “Stripes.”
What saves “Enlisted,” just barely, is the effort put in by Stults, Lowell and Young, who all seem to be having a good time — particularly Young, who tackles his role as the uber-emotional Randy with relish. Veteran actor Keith David is on hand — and gets a few laughs — as the brothers’ commanding officer, Cody, a friend of their late father.
We’ll find out soon enough if viewers will enlist in this sitcom for the long term — or do an about-face and march away.