So much average

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Andy Richter set a high bar with the turn-of-the-century series "Andy Richter Controls the Universe" (about a writer working in a nowhere job who replays bad scenes in his life). "AR Controls the Universe" had a perfect cast and was full of laughs. One episode, "Gimme a C," was the sitcom episode I laughed at more than any in history."Andy Barker P.I." is another great idea. Andy Barker (Andy Richter) is an accountant with a very normal life, with a nice wife, and he's taking an exciting step by opening his own firm. But his new office was formerly occupied by a private eye who is now in a rest home (or is he?) and Barker gets drawn into private eye work on the side.The series is dotted with hilarious moments, though the characters apart from the Barkers are overdrawn.I think the problem with both Andy Richter shows is that they have great ideas for movies rather than continuing shows. Still, this show has its laughs, and Richter is always likable.

Andy Barker (Andy Richter) is a mild-mannered Certified Public Accountant who moves into a professional office. The previous tenant was private eye Lew Staziak (Harve Presnell) who has retired. Clients keep coming to hire a P.I. and Andy starts taking on cases. Andy's wife Jenny (Clea Lewis) at first disapproves. He befriends Simon (Tony Hale), the manager of a local video store, who wants to be his partner. Wally (Marshall Manesh) is the super-patriotic Afgani restaurateur.This is playing with the noir hard-boiled detective genre. This show tries very hard to be wacky. Somehow much of it fails to connect. The jokes don't come off quite so funny. It is more awkward and uneven than anything else. The cast is a nice funny group, but they are all sidekicks. Like it or not, this needs a pretty leading man type to solidify the center. Andy could play against that type of character while still being the lead.

I don't know much about Andy Ritcher, but I do recognize a funny character. Usually you see him in other chummly actors like the late John Candy and so forth. Basically his character is a mild mannered accountant who's bored with his day job a bit and decides to be a Private Eye, after being mistaken for one. He therefore have adventures solving eccentric crimes with a middle eastern restaurant owner, a neurotic video store owner/movie buff, and a bored female African American assistant. I think this show has potential its like The secret life of Walter Mitty meets Delirious meets The Michael Richards Show. Its a bit slow at times but it picks up and goes uphill with the hilarity. I highly recommend this show! A great night on Thursdays with Ugly Betty, Scrubs, and this show.

The first season of Andy Barker is funny, not hilarious. However, I found myself stifling giggles at work while watching certain scenes. I don't know how much life is left in the show, but these first six episodes were more satisfying to me than The Office's first season. If you like NBC's sibling shows Monk or Psych, Andy Barker makes a good addition, and half the running time. While this is Andy's show, the supporting cast does well. I'm not a Tony Hale fan, but a lot of people are, so they'll be happy. This show does better with racial stereotyping than Knights of Prosperity, the eatery has some nice sequences. While some parts of the show are racier than Monk, it should be suitable for most families (8+). Now go buy Sledge Hammer on DVD.