Taking a Chance

Home repair TV fans, rejoice: the third Restoration contemporary hits the kitchen with an angsty, red-hot dance of doubt. Elliot Quinn is an unemployed office worker crawling out of the slough of drugs and a suicide attempt. Augustus Rhinehart stars in a home improvement show that temporarily takes over the house where Elliot is living. Elliot knows he's a hot mess and owns it. His fianc%C3%A9 cheated on him and then (unrelatedly) died. The combination sent Elliot over the edge, and his self-esteem, in particular, hasn't recovered. Augustus has trouble owning any of his truths, the biggest one being that he was the one Elliot's fianc%C3%A9 was cheating with. He falls hard for Elliot anyway, and it's a tribute to Arthur's deft touch that this implausible premise does largely hold together as the two work to heal each other before the facts blow up in their faces. There's plenty of stage time for the ensemble cast carried over from Getting It Right and Finding Their Way, but this warm and funny story can stand on its own. (Sept.)