just watch it!

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I watched this show when I was 19. I enjoyed it since it seemed to grasp how every marriage that I knew from friends and family. Granted not all marriages are carbon copies of the ones on the show, but at least it hits on ones that are familiar. I found that the awkward moments with Mickey (Mike Binder) and his wife (Sonya Walger) looked like bad acting seemed to emphasize that awkward feelings they were having. Little nuances like this made it a little better for me. And the support characters are real to me. Especially since I have been on both sides (being the single guy and the married guy *sort of) The complaints seem real and the responses genuine as far as I could tell. I have since watched it and still find the humor. I was more curious about how long the show would last since they covered the main question of infidelity? The second season I am sure covered another topic, but I don't really remember. I do hope they put out the second season just so I can complete my thoughts on the show. All in all I did enjoy it when I was single and when I got into a serious relationship.

Even given that this series is aimed at married men in their 40s, there's a curiously dated feel to it, both in the home and in the workplace.For instance, in the real world newspapers are full of women reporters, columnists and editors, but the newspaper Mickey works at seems a throwback to the days when the only women around are secretaries and personal assistants. It's also implausible that all of those 20-something women seem eager to get into Freudian-transference father-daughter relationships with their bosses, whom they know are married. Sure it happens, but it was an old story when Nora Ephron wrote about it more than 20 years ago.Also, was there ever a time when people were secure enough in their employment to screw around at work as much as these people did? Is this some parallel reality with no sexual harassment policy? When was this project conceived? It also portrays married life as a never-ending sublimated power struggle between husband and wife. I don't think I've ever seen a bleaker portrayal of gender relations outside a Neil Labute movie.

With this show I've learned a valuable lesson: Trust any program HBO sees fit to put on. I quickly dismissed Larry Sanders, Sex and the City, and Mr Show. I was not interested in Mind of the Married Man for it's first couple of episodes believing it to be nothing more than the male Sex and the City. A negative review in People didn't help its case either. Because it was sandwiched in between Band of Brothers and Curb Your Enthusiasm for its first few weeks I was forced to catch little bits and pieces here and there. Eventually it started to catch my attention and before I knew it I eagerly awaited each episode.Like all HBO shows it earns points for doing things that broadcast programming can't get away. Subjects, namely sex, are dealt with bluntly and openly without trying to delicately skirt the issue. How many shows can you name where you'd see a woman bobbing her head up and down in her husband's lap while he snickers at the Three Stooges on TV? I don't think you'll see a subplot about a guy contemplating whether or not to get a "happy ending", a euphemism for a handjob, from a masseuse on Must See TV either.The continuing story across the entire season is very well executed. The developing sexual tension between Mickey and Missy his assistant and how it affects his relationship with his wife kept me hooked. The final episode of the season had what I considered to be one of the best comic payoffs in which it is revealed that Mickey's Japanese masseuse isn't as she appears to be. I suspect that the framework for the entire season of episodes was worked out far in advance. It's not as though week to week an effort is made to fudge the storyline together.The comedy, like other elements in the show, is played subtly at least as compared to that of most sit-coms where you can almost hear the actors and writers cry out, "Laugh! Laugh! Damn you!" Married Man doesn't really care whether you get everything and if you do it's not going to wait until you finish laughing before moving on to the next thing.The characters like people in real life don't always have the right thing to say at the right time. You can almost see, in Mike Binder's portrayal, Mickey searching for his words when placed in tense situations. Ivana Milicevic, who plays Missy, came as a complete surprise. Because she looks as though she must have had a career as a runway model I assumed that she was a.)not intelligent b.)not a good actress. As conventionally beautiful as she is the show doesn't merely see fit to use her as set dressing. Missy is afforded a fair amount of depth. Of course there is hardly an ugly woman in the cast and yet the aim of the show is not to merely parade an attractive cast for a drooling audience. If there is a criticism I could level at the show it is in regards to the show's setting and occupation of the characters. Almost all romantic comedies take place in some large metropolitan area usually New York, Chicago, or San Francisco. Married Man is set in Chicago. These urban environments aren't presented as most of us would see them as fairly dirty, crowded, and stress filled places. Confrontational strangers are only there to provide some comedy. Main characters never have jobs most middle Americans would have, instead plying their trade in some form of the media/publishing business. Mickey works for a newspaper. However given the quality of the show this is relatively easy to overlook.

The Mind of the Married Man is yet another great HBO series. Where Sex and the City has a definite female point of view and focus, Married Man plays with mans struggle to keep his inner "caveman" in check and remain happily married. As a married man I find the characters completely believable. In fact I see a lot more truth in the show than I care to admit. Married Man does seem to owe something to its predecessor "Dream On" but its different enough that the similarities didn't even occur to me until someone else pointed them out. My only criticism would be the transparent child of the Married Man who magically appears every breakfast scene only to disappear for the remainder of every episode with no effect on the lives of the two main characters.Bottom line is that Married Man is funny, revealing, and heads above any sit-com on network TV. Married guys will love this series!