This show is like Trailer Park Boys meets Real Housewives, set in the Greater Toronto Area. It was an absolute pleasure to binge-watch this over the weekend! It's only a matter of time until the good people of Toronto stumble upon this gem.
It's spun like a mockumentary/reality show, about the real-life owner of Wild Wing Restaurants Rick Smiciklas, and his eccentric entourage of childhood friends, family, and business partners. It's hard to tell what parts of this show are real (if any). What is clear is that Rick is an enabler, and his generosity is often taken for granted by those around him, particularly by Franco "The Baker" in Season 1 who is an enormously lazy, self-aggrandizing screw-up.
Rick sets up several food-related ventures for Franco to manage, all of which fall apart under his incompetence. Rick's other friends, Lars "Boss Hogg", Mild Ricky "The Driver", and Billy "Backdoor", aren't much brighter, but together they are a lot of fun to watch. You get the feeling they've known each other in real life for a long time, and their characters on Wingmen are not far off from their actual personalities.
There are a host of rotating supporting characters like the bombshell babes Faith and Sabrina, who work in the Wingmen Head Office, straight man Rob Stewart "The President", Rick's mom Baka, his lawyer "Dirty Doug", and childhood friend Gino "The Drunk". Whether any of these people had any acting experience is debatable, but they are great for reality television.
The charm of this show is visible from the intro, in which the cast is portrayed as high-rollers, hanging around Vegas, partying on a yacht in Miami, wining and dining in Chigago and New York City. This is coupled with a great clip of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford pulling up in a blue 1977 Trans-Am with 'TORONAH' plates, Rick kisses him on the cheek *almost* like a mafioso.
While the show does eventually film in these exotic locations, most of Season 1 is set in Toronto's suburbs (Aurora), so it makes for a pretty funny contrast. Boss Hogg looks especially out of place, usually wearing a white cowboy suit and driving around York Region in a limo.
Season 1 ends with a wild wedding in Vegas. Season 2 revolves around Rick's life in swanky Yorkville after he sells his ownership of Wild Wing for over $20 million. I did not enjoy Season 2 as much, but there were definitely bright spots that make it worth watching. The scene in which Mayor Ford gives his car to Rick before his cancer surgery is especially touching.
Johnny Kim "The Concierge" and Rinaldo "The Valet" are great additions, but the drama surrounding Rick's cousin Mickey "The Cousin", his wife Bianca, and her two sisters drags on for much of the season. While I appreciate the heartfelt footage of Rick's trip back to his home country (Croatia), the trip takes him out of the show for most of Season 2. Franco and Boss Hogg are great characters who are seldom seen in Season 2, which was a let-down.
The show suddenly becomes aware of itself halfway through the season as Wingmen's alleged "executive producer" Mitch suddenly carves out a role and confusing plot-line of his own, conspiring against certain actors in the show. Despite these faults, I was already hooked. The stock music, cheesy transitions and bad effects only add to the fun viewing experience that Wingmen has to offer. I hope they come out with another season!
It's spun like a mockumentary/reality show, about the real-life owner of Wild Wing Restaurants Rick Smiciklas, and his eccentric entourage of childhood friends, family, and business partners. It's hard to tell what parts of this show are real (if any). What is clear is that Rick is an enabler, and his generosity is often taken for granted by those around him, particularly by Franco "The Baker" in Season 1 who is an enormously lazy, self-aggrandizing screw-up.
Rick sets up several food-related ventures for Franco to manage, all of which fall apart under his incompetence. Rick's other friends, Lars "Boss Hogg", Mild Ricky "The Driver", and Billy "Backdoor", aren't much brighter, but together they are a lot of fun to watch. You get the feeling they've known each other in real life for a long time, and their characters on Wingmen are not far off from their actual personalities.
There are a host of rotating supporting characters like the bombshell babes Faith and Sabrina, who work in the Wingmen Head Office, straight man Rob Stewart "The President", Rick's mom Baka, his lawyer "Dirty Doug", and childhood friend Gino "The Drunk". Whether any of these people had any acting experience is debatable, but they are great for reality television.
The charm of this show is visible from the intro, in which the cast is portrayed as high-rollers, hanging around Vegas, partying on a yacht in Miami, wining and dining in Chigago and New York City. This is coupled with a great clip of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford pulling up in a blue 1977 Trans-Am with 'TORONAH' plates, Rick kisses him on the cheek *almost* like a mafioso.
While the show does eventually film in these exotic locations, most of Season 1 is set in Toronto's suburbs (Aurora), so it makes for a pretty funny contrast. Boss Hogg looks especially out of place, usually wearing a white cowboy suit and driving around York Region in a limo.
Season 1 ends with a wild wedding in Vegas. Season 2 revolves around Rick's life in swanky Yorkville after he sells his ownership of Wild Wing for over $20 million. I did not enjoy Season 2 as much, but there were definitely bright spots that make it worth watching. The scene in which Mayor Ford gives his car to Rick before his cancer surgery is especially touching.
Johnny Kim "The Concierge" and Rinaldo "The Valet" are great additions, but the drama surrounding Rick's cousin Mickey "The Cousin", his wife Bianca, and her two sisters drags on for much of the season. While I appreciate the heartfelt footage of Rick's trip back to his home country (Croatia), the trip takes him out of the show for most of Season 2. Franco and Boss Hogg are great characters who are seldom seen in Season 2, which was a let-down.
The show suddenly becomes aware of itself halfway through the season as Wingmen's alleged "executive producer" Mitch suddenly carves out a role and confusing plot-line of his own, conspiring against certain actors in the show. Despite these faults, I was already hooked. The stock music, cheesy transitions and bad effects only add to the fun viewing experience that Wingmen has to offer. I hope they come out with another season!