Straight eye for the gay guy is a big wink
By Chris Jordan
East Brunswick (N.J.) Home News Tribune
Jonathan, who is gay, has a teacup collection on a wall of his spotless living room. And that's not manly for the Flab Four, the heterosexual men of Comedy Central's "Straight Plan for the Gay Man."
Gannett News Service
Seeking greater insight into the heterosexual world, Jonathan has contacted the program, featuring the comedians who will "straighten him out" in the new Comedy Central show airing at 8 and 10 p.m. Monday nights.
Gay fashion salesman Jonathan Schneider, center, lets the Flab Four comedians redecorate his home and take him bowling in a "makeover" episode for Comedy Central.
The show is a parody of the Bravo channel's "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and of male stereotypes in general. It's also a bit of a culture shock for the gay participants.
"I'd describe the show as four straight guys meet gay men and ruin their lives," says Flab Four "Information Guy" Kyle Grooms of New Jersey. "All these guys have really nice apartments, but then we decorate them like a straight man" would.
After the straight guys were done with it, the apartment in Episode 1 (featuring Jonathan) looked like it was decorated by Marmaduke.
"My living room is very masculine," Grooms says. "I don't have no flowers. I do have candles for the ladies — that's the most feminine thing I have."
'Straight Plan for the Gay Man'
In the first of three episodes, the Flab Four — Grooms, Curtis Gwinn, Billy Merritt and Rob Riggle — hang out with Jonathan, an upscale fashion salesman. They do "manly" stuff like go bowling, buy hot dogs and shop at the Salvation Army. The ultimate goal is to make Jonathan seem straight enough to pass as a straight man as he trains to be a meat packer. Yes, really.
"It was fun for all of us straight guys, and the gay guys to hang out," Grooms says.
"They're cool, you know what I mean? We were making fun of straight guys, and we weren't trying to change" the gay guys.
Jonathan passed his meat-packing test, but he passes on going straight.
"I was very happy to get out of those boots and put on my Gucci loafers," Jonathan says at the end of the episode, sipping martinis with the Flab Four.
Mission accomplished, says Grooms, who got his straight-guy cred — and his start as a funny man — in Perth Amboy, N.J.
"I was always the class clown," Grooms says. "I was the funny guy making people laugh. I grew up with comedy. When my mother went to work, she'd leave me at home with my brother and we'd be listening to Richard Pryor eight-track tapes."
Speaking of straight-guy stuff, Grooms fired a gun in the high school's ROTC program, and played high-school football. "We were bad, 2-7," Grooms said of the '87 team.
"I didn't play in one play all year until we were going to win a game, and the team said, "Put Kyle in!' It was like the movie 'Rudy.' "
