'DeMarcus Family Rules' Episode 1 Review: Rascal Flatts bassist's humor and love for family will warm your heart
The new reality series featuring Rascal Flatts bassist Jay DeMarcus and his adorable family in 'DeMarcus Family Rules' landed on Netflix on August 19. Right from the moment you hit play on Season 1 Episode 1, you know that any DeMarcus fans are in for a treat. The intro shows both him and his beauty queen wife Allison DeMarcus in a marital therapy session with Jay mimicking his wife. What could be something quite unnerving is turned into fun and laughter, and at its core, that's what this show is all about.
As a celebrity and touring musician, one of the biggest challenges is finding that balance between a busy work schedule and family time. The pilot episode, titled 'Rules We Live By', does notable justice to the portrayal of such hecticness, with fast camera changes, high-energy dialogue and more, but there is always a sense of comedy behind it.
It's both candid and unafraid, and the fun energies Jay and Allison put out are second-nature and just one of the best parts of the DeMarcus family spirit. "Everybody just thinks because I'm a beauty queen," says Allison before being playfully interrupted by her husband, "that everything's perfect, but let me assure you, we get plenty of things wrong." Jay teases, "One of us does."
Once we are acquainted with Jay, Allison and their children Madeline Leigh and Dylan Jay DeMarcus, the show's "rules" throughline is chimed in with "Jay's Rule #1" announced as: "In a marriage, it is crucial to keep the romance alive." It is refreshing to see a busy musician husband whose number one passion is his romance with his wife. When his affection for Allison is interrupted, his frustrations are evident but it is rarely jarring or awkward, but rather replaced by Jay's unquenching desire to crack a joke. One of the sweeter moments of the episode is when Jay shares, "It's awesome to be in a relationship with somebody that you already love to begin with but then find more reasons to love because of the way that they are toward the little human beings that you've brought onto the planet." It's not reflected as mushy or too forward for single viewers, but moments like these come off as sincere and inspiring.
Fast-forward to "Jay's Rule #21" in the next scenes and we see that side-by-side, his desire to give his kids 100% attention is equally important to him. It's not an easy task to pull of but then we see Jay playing basketball with his children to their hearts' content.
For fans of Jay's music, there are shots with him playing instruments, country music as the background score between scenes, and the first episode also sees him bringing his kids to the studio. The show has not forgotten that fans want pieces of his musical life as well and that shines through tastefully.
If you are looking for fights, hairpulling and other reality show drama, 'DeMarcus Family Rules' is not the show for you. Viewing their relationship, it is clear that a lot of effort has been put into keeping and restoring family love throughout Jay and Allison's marriage. If you are up for an intimate portrayal of family fun, humor, frenzy as well as tender moments, and seeing who the Rascal Flatts bassist really is, then we recommend 'DeMarcus Family Rules'.