User Reviews

This film is the epitome of Barney Fife--full of himself and rather annoying. And, it's the epitome of Andy--loyal and decent and very likable. Other episodes have had the same themes, but few this well.

Andy and Barney have an opportunity to go to the big city and spend some time at an exclusive men's club. Barney, naturally, assumes he's sophisticated enough to make a good impression on the club members and will most likely be offered membership. But he tells Andy that he must let go of his simple country ways to fit in with these city folk. But, as soon as they arrive, it's obvious that Barney is at his worst and naturally everyone there is turned off by him. However, they do like Andy and offer him membership. What is Andy to do?!

While this is one of the least funny episodes I can think of, it does a lot to establish the characters and is a good episode because it doesn't shy away from being poignant. Well worth seeing.

The Esquire Club is an exclusive fictional club that Andy Taylor's fishing buddy is a member of. The club member (aka. Roger Courtney) invites Andy and Barney to visit the club and meet the members for possible membership. Barney's ego kicks in and he's convinced that Andy should go so far as to be pretentious about what they do. The club members see through Fife's pretentious ways and have no desire to offer him a membership. Andy is offered a membership but turns it down. Following Andy and Barney's visit two members of the Club visit the Sheriff's Office. They express their interest in having Andy join but they don't offer a membership to Barney. Andy explains to Roger that he and Barney are close friends and not excepting Barney means Andy would have to decline as well. The two Club members understand as Andy thanks them for the invitation and tells them he looks forward to seeing them at the fishing hole. When Barney returns to the Sheriff's Office and Andy tells Barney that only one of them was accepted Barney assumes he was the one. He immediately sits down and begins to write the Esquire Clum a letter expressing his disappointment that only he was accepted.

The writers showcased Deputy Fife at his egotistical best. He pretended to know so much in an effort to impress. He failed miserably. Fife's strategy was to review the stock pages and talk to the members about his knowledge of golf. His comments were embarrassing. However, this is where Don Knotts shined. All he wanted to know is, "Can we join the Club?

This episode shows us Barney's vanity and egotism and Andy's simplicity and loyalty. Yet in the end, Barney shows the splendid character that lies beneath the vain exterior as he proclaims his loyalty to Andy over membership in the tony Esquire Club. I disagree with the reviewer who said that the episode is not very funny; the scenes in which Barney brags about his impending membership are quite funny indeed and beautifully played by Don Knotts, Howard MacNear, and Andy Griffith (who seems to be genuinely fighting back laughter). So are the later scenes when we see Barney full of comical anxiety about his and Andy's acceptance into the club. As usual, Barney takes things far too seriously and, thanks to his fundamental lack of self-awareness, winds up stumbling badly. Only this time Andy cannot rescue him!

My only criticism of the episode is that the club scenes could have been fleshed out a little more by showing how Andy behaved and impressed the club members, in contrast to Barney's faux pas. The scenes at the club are very brief and feel perfunctory and superficial. Too, Roger and the other club members could have been portrayed in a little more depth. The episode spends a little too much time on the opening shenanigans of Barney's nap and Andy's teasing.

Aside from that, "The Clubmen" is a classic and memorable episode from TAGS' best period. In particular, the episode drives home the point that Andy and Barney are not just work associates, they are inseparable friends. No wonder that when Barney left Mayberry, the departure of Andy's best friend left a gaping hole that was never filled.