First Impressions: Legit ‘Pilot’ – Only Blowjobs!

For a pilot about a man getting his paralyzed friend a hooker, Legit has a very earnest core about three guys struggling in adulthood, revitalizing themselves through shared experiences. With Louie off the air until at least 2014 (and no Wilfred until the fall), Legit fills the void by combining some of the sentiments of both shows – the introspective tones and edgy humor – to create a very familiar – but enjoyable – comedy.

We meet Jim (played by Jim Jeffries, of course) at the immigration office, where he’s getting certified as an alien “like E.T.” with his friend Steve. He suggests to Jim that the way to snap out of a funk is to do something good for someone else – and not having visited Steve’s severely disabled brother Billy (DJ Qualls), he begrudgingly agrees to pay him a visit in the hospital.

The show quickly establishes Jim’s off-beat humor – his conversation with Steve about how he’d like his wife to die right after their kid was born, so he could always be the hard-working, lovable father – which carries throughout the episode, including a lot of handicapped jokes. Some might cringe at the thought, but the overwhelming majority of the jokes don’t come across as cruel or needlessly exploitative: instead, it shows us Jim’s humor is a defense mechanism for Billy’s situation, which is so depressing he almost can’t look him in the eye at times.

So the guys travel to Vegas and they get him a hooker – which leads to an awkward scene of Steve and Jim undressing him, the only time where the pilot really felt like it was reaching for its humor. Billy’s ‘huge’ dick ends up in Jim’s mouth for an instant – and although its not shown, it just feels like an uncomfortable bit thrown in there for shock humor that doesn’t really pay off in any funny way. But that’s really the only low point of the pilot, which avoids becoming offensive in its humor as it reveals the heart under its surface – particularly in the montage of their drive out to Vegas, with Jim in the back seat, helping Billy rock out to the radio.

Occasionally outrageous, but always heartfelt, Legit is lighter and more grounded than the horrible promos suggested. Judging by the pilot, it’s not completely about Jim’s character learning to help people – it’s about three guys finding solace in each other, growing through shared experiences and realizing that life can’t be enjoyed when it’s being talked about, only when its lived.

Grade: B+

Other thoughts/observations:

– Billy “leaving the room” was my favorite joke of the entire episode.

– the show doesn’t really do a great job establishing who the pre-revelation Jim is, except that he’s a bit of a selfish dick (he brings Steve to immigration under false pretenses so he doesn’t have to stand by himself).

– Steve’s marital problems will definitely play a role throughout this season, I’d imagine.