It's a different story entirely on the hit Web show "We Need Girlfriends," in which Henry, Tom and Rod, three endearing oddballs from Queens recently dumped by their girlfriends, try to duck and weave their way back into the safety of long-term relationships.
Rod, Henry and Tom in a scene from the hit Web series 'We Need Girlfriends'
"We're all going to end up alone," bemoans Henry in one scene.
In "Girlfriends," these three are players only when there's a board game, like Jenga or Taboo, around. Henry is so shy he literally ducks at the sight of a beautiful woman.
His preferred pickup method is to hang around one long enough until she makes the first move. Rod, on the other hand, won't talk to females at all, preferring to woo them with sound effects. Only Tom has the courage to ask one out, but his approach could use some work.
"If you're ever lonely you can come knock on my door," he tells Lucy, the object of his affections.
"I think that's the most pathetic thing I've every heard," she replies.
According to its creators, Steve Tsapelas, Brian Amyot and Angel Acevedo, on whom the show is also based, "We Need Girlfriends," is the Anti-Entourage.
"I like [Entourage], but I can't relate to it at all," says Tsapelas. "It's the complete opposite of our lives. I mean, we go to bars and we're standing in corners by ourselves... we're not moving and shaking."
They might not be causing a stir socially, but they are moving and shaking the entertainment world. Their show is watched by millions on YouTube, MySpace and their own "We Need Girlfriends" Web site. But the most meaningful endorsement came from "Sex in the City" creator Darren Star, who is working on a pilot version of the series with the three for CBS.
Tsapelas, Amyot and Acevedo studied film together at Hofstra University in Long Island. When all their girlfriends dumped them after graduation the filmmakers turned their pain into something that was both comic and cathartic.
"Girlfriends" revolves around three recent college grads: the be-spectacled Henry; based on Tsapelas and played by Seth Kirschner; the earnest Tom, modeled on Amyot and played by Patrick Cohen and the obtuse Rod, played by Evan Bass, who Acevedo says is more of an exaggeration of himself, since he's the quietest of the real trio.
"We go to bars and we're standing in corners by ourselves... we're not moving and shaking." — Steve Tsapelas
"I think our initial idea was to cast better looking versions of ourselves," says Amyot with a laugh.
"We Need Girlfriends" may be the perfect paradigm for scripted comic Web shows. Compared to TV sitcoms, the eleven episodes are short, each clocking in at under fifteen minutes. The series successfully splices the authenticity of the creators' personal experiences with the comic absurdity of childhood sitcoms like "Saved by the Bell," which they grew up watching.
"Girlfriends," however, brings the genre fully into the present.
An entire episode is devoted to helping Tom maximize the impact of his MySpace page to make his ex-girlfriend jealous after she begins dating someone else and changes her status from "single" to "in a relationship."
That kind of "product placement" also provides an irresistible marketing hook for promoting the series on the social network sites.
The creators pushed it further, even breaking the proverbial "fourth wall" between the production and audience by creating real MySpace accounts for their fictional leading men.
Highlighting the show's plotline feud between Rod and Henry on social network feeds got both characters featured as "Cool New People" on MySpace, garnering them thousands of friends despite the fact they didn't even exist. When the show went online and the ruse was revealed, many of the MySpace friends turned into viewers, not seeming to mind being duped.
'We Need Girlfriends' creators Brian Amyot, Steve Tsapelas and Angel Acevedo based the show's characters on themselves.
And while the Web is both the promotional engine and delivery system for the show, it also played a key role in devising its ongoing content. When an angry Rod confronts Tom for "scamming on my squirrel," (going after a girl he was going after) the online audience liked the phrase so much it became a recurring through line in the show.
Tsapelas, Amyot and Acevedo also wove into each episode a creative mix of original music they found online -- all of it provided for free by emerging bands like Hand Painted Swinger, Ivy League and Plushgun looking for more exposure through the net.
As far as production values, "We Need Girlfriends," looks more like a television sitcom rather than a no-budget Web show -- a testament to the team's skills and efficiency. With the cast working for free, Tsapelas doing most of the writing, Amyot the directing and Acevedo the shooting and editing, they produced the episodes for less than $200 each.
The set was Amyot and Acevedo's apartment and their Astoria neighborhood. Most of the production was done on nights and weekends since they all have full-time jobs.
But that could all change if the CBS pilot of "We Need Girlfriends," works as well as the Web show. Amyot says "Sex in the City," creator Darren Star contacted them six months after the show went online. He flew them to Hollywood for pitch meetings, with CBS eventually buying the series.
"We just started cursing," says Tsapelas, recalling their reactions. "Using every curse word I know."
"It was just unbelievable, so exciting " says Amyot. "And then we called our parents, once the cursing stopped."
"Then they were cursing," Tsapelas adds, laughing.
They're thrilled with their success, but not about to forget how they achieved it -- transforming their past heartache into this new chapter in their lives. In that spirit, they thank their "exes" in the credits of the final "Girlfriends" episode.
Presently, they now all have girlfriends again (Amyot actually is back together with his "ex," one of the three who helped inspire it all). But despite their momentum, they're slow to shed the self-effacing qualities which helped "We Need Girlfriends" win hearts and minds across the Web.
"We're having some success now, but when we go into a bar or any social situation, people don't say, 'Oh, these guys are running a show for CBS'," says Tsapelas. "They're like, 'Oh, look, there's three schlubs'. You know, I think deep down we'll always be ourselves."
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Producers: Kevin Sites, Robert Padavick
Camera: Kevin Sites
Video editors: Didrik Johnck, Krysten Peek
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