Review: The Stanley Dynamic “The Stanley Business”

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SPOILERS BELOW

The Stanley Dynamic has become an interesting show to watch every week. It feels like a show from the past, never really referencing much of modern day culture. It could be I haven’t watched a family sitcom since I was a young teenager, so with the show being brand new it also seems to trigger some feelings of nostalgia. In any case, let’s jump into the review of the third episode and go over what is happening with the Stanley family this week!

In “The Stanley Business” Luke and Larry compete over who will help their mom with her catering job at the community center, in order to spend more time with Chelsea. Meanwhile, Lane brings on Lori to help him with his comic strips, but what is meant to be an equal partnership doesn’t end up being that way.

The Stanley Dynamic is pretty innovative for what it is. The show obviously doesn’t have a large budget, so having a hybrid of animation and live action can sometimes not work well. It also gets tricky when the animated character needs to interact with an actor who isn’t that experienced. For what it is though, I’m impressed. As each episode goes on, I feel the animation and live action will be more and more seamless. For now I think there are areas where it can be improved. What I did like about the interaction between live action and animation this week was when Luke karate chops a sub bun, and the bread moved. If they had more small things like that, Luke would become a more believable character much quicker.

Another gripe I have with the show is that Luke and Larry are supposed to be best friends in addition to being brothers, but in these first three episodes they haven’t come across as great friends. The first episode established the characters and their differences, but the following two had them at odds with one another. I’d like to see some more cooperation between the two brothers, maybe give them a common enemy so that their relationship feels more genuine. Once I understand how the characters are together when they are on the same page, conflict between the two will be more interesting.

The other subplot involving the little sister, Lori, and the father, Lane, was very well done. Lane still came across as goofy, but I really got a fatherly feeling when him this episode. Lori is extremely smart for her age, but this episode shows us that sometimes dad knows best. Despite that, he lets his daughter down easy to try and avoid hurting her feelings. On the surface it was a goofy story where you see a little girl boss around an adult, but once you peel back the layers, you find a nice story about a father and daughter. I enjoyed it a lot. The ladybug gag was sort of weird though.

The episode wraps up appropriately. We learn Chelsea already has a boyfriend, so neither Larry nor Luke gets the girl this episode. They do learn another lesson about being a good brother and friend though. Perhaps they should learn a new lesson next week? Lori and Lane end their professional relationship and go back to just being father and daughter. Chelsea gets hired by Lisa (the mom) to help with her catering, so I’m sure that will stir up some drama down the road.

Overall, not a bad episode. There were some funny moments, the ongoing gag about snakes was pretty good. The animation and live action was a little off at some points, but it was great at other points. I think the show has a potential to be honest. I think it needs to further establish some relationships, and maybe more unique situations. Other than that, the cast is charming, the jokes are alright, and it all makes for a nice half-hour

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How did you like “The Stanley Business”? Like it? Hate it? Let us know!