Rules of Engagement: Season 1/2/3 - Thoughts

A friend of mine recommended this show to me, and while I may have heard of it, I was honestly quite vague about it. After being repeatedly told that it was hilarious, I decided to download it and give it a watch. The show focuses on two couples, and their single friend; each episode covering the situational comedy resulting from their respective relationships.

 I usually review just 1 season at a time, but with Rules of Engagement having a really short first 1, and also thanks to its easy going nature, I decided to collectively watch a few seasons and review them together. Additionally, the first noticeable style change I noted was when I got to Season 4; so clubbing the first 3 seasons of 34 episodes made sense. As episode 1 of season 1 opens, audiences may get the feeling that Adam and Jennifer are the main couple, but as the episodes progress you will realize that the binding piece of Rules of Engagement is Jeff and Audrey. I would go as far as say that the second couple is thrown in there just as an addon to the strong Jeff – Audrey dynamic; similar to the addition of Russell’s over the top single player character. The show is light and fun, and great to relax and watch. Sadly it is not very gripping, and seldom did I find myself eagerly gunning to watch a second episode back to back. The overall setting seems a bit dated, but signs of age are by no means a negative. If you’re looking for easy fun entertainment, you’ll enjoy Rules of Engagement; but rest assured missing a few episodes will not hurt any.

The secret to Rules of Engagement being as enjoyable is Jeff and Audrey. Jeff is played by Patrick Warburton who is the stereotype husband of more than 10 years. He is super funny, and portrays the character brilliantly. Though I’m not familiar with any of his past work, his filmography looks to be pretty extensive. Audrey played by Megyn Price is the perfect match for Jeff, and together their chemistry is wonderful. To be honest there is very little I can think of to better the Jeff – Audrey dynamic. Adam is played by Oliver Hudson who is extremely convincing at being the totally dumb young boyfriend. In keeping with Adam’s character is Jennifer, played by Bianca Kajlich, his pretty yet silly young girlfriend. Last but not least is Russell played by David Spade; the funny little man, who is so totally single and in bachelor forever mode. Kudos to all the performances on Rules of Engagement, as all the cast members live and breathe their roles, down to the T.

The content I was sampling was a lossy DivX rip. Each episode weighed in at 175 MB, for approximately 21 minute episodes. Bitrate and compression seemed okay, but video lacked color vibrancy. Considering that Friends looked a lot like this, I would presume that the source content favored warm colors and browns, and wasn’t very vibrant to start with. Sound was presented by means of a 2 channel mp3 soundtrack, but served pretty well. Dialog was clear and I doubt the program was mastered with much more than a stereo mix.

My Recommendation: Watch It - (Fun, but not necessarily special)