Man with a Plan – Valentine’s Day

By: Julie Mante

Adam (Matt LeBlanc) has big plans for Valentine’s Day. He made reservations at Staiano’s for dinner and dancing. He ordered the special lovers’ package for two. He forgot to get a babysitter for his three children. He asks his brother Don (Kevin Nealon) if he can stay with the kids while he spends time with his wife Andi (Liza Snyder). Don says he can do it, but has to ask his wife Marcy (Kali Rocha) first. When Marcy answers she wants to know where Don is taking her for Valentine’s Day. He pretends that he has plans and immediately hangs up. Adam calls Marie (Jessica Chaffin) and Lowell (Matt Cook), but they both have plans for Valentine’s Day. His daughter Kate (Grace Kaufman) has heard everything and volunteers to babysit. Adam realizes this is the answer to his prayers. His daughter is thirteen years old so she is old enough to babysit.

When Adam tells Andi about Kate babysitting, she does not think it is a good idea. Adam tells her that he tried to find someone, but Kate is their only option. Adam tries to assure her that everything will be fine. Besides, the restaurant is not far away from their house. Andi still has a lot of doubts, but Adam is convinced that Kate is responsible enough to do this. Andi agrees to give it a try, but if it goes badly Adam cannot suggest Kate babysitting ever again.

Andi gives Kate instructions for the night. When Andi is not paying attention, Adam tells Kate to call him, not Andi, if there is a problem and she agrees. When they arrive at the restaurant, Andi wants to check in with the kids already. Adam tells her everything is fine and to wait a while before calling. The couple is surprised to see Don and Marcy seated at their table. Don stole Adam’s reservation. When he sees Adam and Andi standing there, he goes and tells them what happened. He thought Adam would not be able to find a sitter so he took a gamble and took Adam’s reservation. When Marcy asked him what Adam and Andi were doing at the restaurant, he said they were surprising her.

Kate calls Adam to tell him that fuse went off so all the lights are out. Adam tries to teach her how to turn it back on, but Kate feels it is better to wait until he gets home. Adam does not want to do that because Andi will know that something went wrong so he tells her that he is coming home to fix it. He tells Don to cover for him with Andi. Adam comes home to turn on the breaker and races back to the restaurant. When he gets back, after he assures her that his stomach is fine, he asks Andi to dance with him. Marcy is suspicious when the wine glasses have Andi’s and Adam’s name on them. Don tells her the restaurant must have made a mistake with the lovers’ package. As they are dancing, Adam’s phone rings and Andi wonders if Kate is calling. Discreetly, Adam checks and it is Kate. He tells Andi he has to leave for a bit and Andi asks him why. He replies, “Babe, a love like ours is beyond questions.”

While Don is asking for the glasses to be fixed, Adam calls Kate to find out what is wrong. Turns out, Adam left the back door open after he fixed the breaker so a bat flew into the house and it went into Emme’s (Hala Finley) room. The youngest Burns child is scared so Kate does not know what to do. He tells her that he is coming home. He tells Don to tell Andi that he had to move the car. Don says he has to find a strong drink for Marcy because she is getting suspicious. When Adam returns home, Kate tells him that she was able to get the bat to fly out of Emme’s window. Adam is proud of her. When he gets back to the restaurant, Kate calls him again before he sees Andi to say that Teddy (Matthew McCann) got his head stuck in the banister. Adam gets his head out and quickly leaves for the restaurant. Kate’s phone rings and it is Andi. Andi tells her daughter that she wants to know how things are going and Kate tells her that Adam just left. Andi is surprised to learn that Adam has been going home every time Kate called him with a problem the entire night. Andi tells her that they will be home very soon.

When Adam returns, Andi tells him she knows what is going on. Adam says he did not want her to know because he likes the fantasy of leaving the kids with Kate so they can have alone time together. He says that they can trust Kate because she called him every time there was a problem. Andi admits that he is right. She decides to call Kate to tell her that she is doing good job, but Kate does not answer the phone. Kate is preparing chocolate smoothies for her siblings so she could not hear her phone ringing. Adam and Andi start to panic because they cannot get in touch with Kate. As they are leaving the restaurant, Adam accidently bumps into a waiter carrying drinks to a table and his suit is drenched in alcohol. He tells the waiter that Don will pay for it. Don yells, “Why do I have to pay for it? It wasn’t even my reservation!” Unfortunately for him, Marcy hears him say that.

As they race to get home, the couple gets pulled over by a cop. Because of the accident, Adam’s suit smells like alcohol so he is afraid the police officer will think he has been drinking. He asks Andi if she can spray with something to lessen the smell. She sprays him with lavender hair spray. It has glitter and it is all over his face and body. He complains that she sprayed it in his eye and he cannot see anything. Later, Kate hears someone knocking on the door. Officer Tompkins (Richard Whiten) asks her, “Are these your parents?” She answers, “I’m afraid so.” The roles are reserved when Kate acts like the parent while Adam and Andi are the children that got in trouble. Kate says, “Just know, I’m not mad. I’m disappointed.” Adam apologizes for everything, but Andi tells him that she had a fun night. As Adam and Andi decide to end the night in the bedroom, they hear another knock on the door. Don has been kicked out so he brought a pillow to stay the night at Adam’s.

In the closer, Adam and Andi are going to the movies and have left Kate in charge. Since Valentine’s Day, Kate has improved on her negotiating skills. When Adam tries to stick to the three dollars per hour rate they had last time, Kate changes it to ten dollars. When Adam asks why she reminds him that he cannot return the movie tickets so her time is worth more. Impressed, he agrees to the price change.