Man With a Plan – Dude, Where’s My Boat?

By: Ujjyani Banerjee

Adam (Matt LeBlanc) wants to have dinners on the boat with Andi (Liza Snyder). Kate (Grace Kaufman) informs her dad and mom about her undertaking an additional shift at the mall, so she needs Andi to drop her off after school. Andi is happy as this job would give a good boost to Kate’s college applications. Adam decides to spend some quality time on the boat before work to show off to their neighbors. On his way he asks Teddy (Matthew McCann) how it feels to be the son of a boat owner, but Teddy is too engrossed in his phone. Adam goes alone and falls dead in his tracks as the boat is gone! Andi rushes down to help look for the boat, but finds it parked right there in their driveway. Adam is confused.

Adam gets to the office and learns from Lowell (Matt Cook) that Don (Kevin Nealon) and Joe (Stacy Keach) have gone to Happy Burger for breakfast. Upset to have been left out as usual, Adam decides to focus on nabbing the boat-stealer. Lowell offers to help. They search the boat and find Joe’s hat in it. It makes perfect sense as Joe loves night fishing. Adam confirms by snooping around his dad’s house, but while looking he starts to fixate over a photo of Don and his dad of which he’s been conveniently cropped out. Just after he finds a hat missing from the shelf Joe gets home wearing the same “evidence” cap. After hearing about the boat, Joe clarifies that if it were him he’d have made Adam haul the boat to the lake instead of doing the tedious work by himself.

Andi comes to Kate’s store to take pictures of her working daughter. Kate feels awkward and her boss, Karen (Bex Marsh), finds it odd that a grown woman is wandering around in a junior accessories’ store. Kate introduces them and then raves about the job to Andi. It turns out that she can be Assistant Manager in a year if her performance remains satisfactory. That eans, no need for college or the upcoming SATs on Saturday. However, Andi feels that this job is too unstable and low-paying to be deemed permanent. Kate isn’t the least bit worried as she already has her parents’ house as shelter and the money saved up for her college as funds for her future kids.

Lowell and Adam resume looking for clues on the boat. Lowell finds a grey hair, but soon realizes that Adam is a salt and pepper man, too. Just before giving up Adam finds a Happy Burger wrapper hidden away, which points all fingers at Don who’s now returned to the office. Don clarifies that he does nap on Adam’s bed in the afternoons and visits the burger place on his way over, but he’d never steal a boat. Before leaving for a much-needed siesta, Don adds that he and their dad were watching Kung Fu movies together the night before.

Lowell wonders if both Don and Joe stole the boat together. That would also explain the two hats. Adam gets jealous as Joe always chooses Don for fun adventures. Lowell offers to wear matching hats with him to help the istuation. Adam goes home and cuts Don out from all their family pictures. Andi watches him purge his feelings out through the scissors and realizes that he’s hurt. Both share their sad and worrisome news and soon manage to uplift one another’s morale. They decide to not be treated as doormats anymore. Adam goes to his dad’s house where he interrupts his and Don’s TV hour, accusing them of stealing his boat. He finally blurts out how they’ve been cropping him off family pictures and leaving him out of everything. Adam storms out leaving both of them clueless.

Meanwhile, Andi returns to the store ordering Kate to leave the job or at least take the SATs to have her options open. Karen wonders if Andi is simply jealous of the cute clothes they have at the store and pings mall security. Offended, Andi messes up all the folded clothes and then runs out of the store.

It’s bedtime. Adam and Andi share how they messed things up further. They hug it out until Adam jumps out of the bed upon hearing the boat rev up. Adam finds Lowell near the boat who stands guiltily upon being caught. Lowell apologizes to Adam for everything. He reveals how lonely he’d been feeling lately and the boat helped him get a woman interested in him. It turns out that he told Kayla (Gabrielle Lane) about being the boat owner who rented it out to Adam. Apparently Kayla is expecting a boat ride tonight as well. Adam feels sorry for Lowell. When Kayla comes to the door he decides to keep up with the ruse and signals him to take the boat out for a whirl. Lowell wells up in joy!

When Kate gets home Andi apologizes for her actions and decides to stand by her daughter’s choice. Kate reveals that she wants to take her SATs. Andi gives her a hug and Kate hands her a letter from mall security. They have apparently banned Andi from reentering the store. Andi, though, is more interested in how she’s been described in the letter. They’ve called her a woman “in her mid-thirties.” Andi is about to frame this letter for memory!

Adam goes to apologize to Don and Joe for accusing them of stealing his boat. He now expects an apology from them for leaving him out of all their fun activities and cropping him out of pictures. Don smiles as he recalls cutting him out from the photos. Joe admits to having spent more time with Don, but it doesn’t mean anything. Adam feels better and sits between his father and Don to watch TV, eat their snacks and drink beer with them. That night both Andi and Adam are relieved that both their issues got sorted out. However, Adam is clueless about the hat that he found on his boat. It turns out that Andi bought it for him so that he could have a hat matching Joe’s. Adam is thrilled and even more happy that for once that Don got left out!