["You Gotta Man Up" playing]
♪ You gotta man up ♪
[bowling pins clattering]
♪ You gotta man up ♪
♪ Honey child ♪
♪ You gotta man up ♪
[laughing]
♪ You gotta man up ♪
♪ Oh ♪
All right, guys. This week we are meeting Kenny Yarnevich.
-Yay! -Yarnevich.
I'm Kenny Yarnevich.
I'm 64 years old and from Kansas City, Kansas.
[Antoni] Nominated by his sister Kathy and her two daughters,
slash, his nieces, Rachel and Meg.
We're nominating my brother Kenny
because he always helps everyone,
but he never ever asks for help himself.
[Kathy] We'd love to help him,
but he doesn't accept help from us.
[chuckles]
Oh, God.
Kenny loves all things Croatia.
He comes from a big, close Croatian family.
Back in the early 1900s, Croatians come over here and built a church,
and then it's just been a big Croatian community ever since.
He's been the president and manager of the St. John's Catholic Club
-since 2001. -[Jonathan] That's cute.
♪ You gotta man up ♪
[Rachel] The St. John's Catholic Club is an old-fashioned bar
with an old-fashioned bowling alley.
[Kenny] It's a good money-maker for the church.
I do a lot of work for the community, so that's my number one thing,
just having a good time and helping other people out.
I love people.
He's been single all of his life.
He's never been in love
-and has never been married. -Wow.
I figure when the right one comes along, I'll know it someday.
Testing, one, two, three, four.
I think he's dated a few times here and there,
but I don't think that's his thing.
My brothers, sisters, and I, we all got married, had our own kids
and Kenny's always lived with my parents.
[Kathy] My mother passed away in '85,
and my dad passed away in 2003,
so now he has this house that's his own,
and it's probably still the same way
my mom decorated it back in the late '70s.
[radio static]
-I can't wait for this. -[Antoni] I love a good time capsule.
[Tan] I love a shrine.
To be up front and honest with you, my house is a disaster.
Got things just kind of scattered all over,
and there's no really main reason for it, it's just the way it's been.
[Antoni] Kenny feels more comfortable socializing outside of his home
and has not yet had anyone over.
-I would hate that story. -Wow.
For the first time ever in his house,
-he's hosting a Yarnevich family reunion. -Yarnevich!
I haven't been inside the house in 15 years,
none of us have, and it'll bring back the most wonderful memories
of our family being together.
You know, that is a big moment for him, 'cause it's been 15 years,
and we all know that family can be
-the most ridiculously critical. -[Karamo] Yes.
-You're-- -We just haven't-- What?
-You're, like, whispering. -I'm sorry.
-It's driving me crazy. -Okay.
[laughing]
So, our mission: let's help Kenny see that after years of kindness,
he's more than ready to be the king of his own castle.
-Yes! -Yeah!
[theme music playing]
♪ Oh, things just keep getting better ♪
-[Karamo] Oh, my gosh! Are we at a church? -[Tan] Yeah.
-All right, kids. Let's go say hi. -Hi!
-Hello! -Oh, my God. Hi! Oh, my God!
[all laughing]
-How are you? -Nice to meet you.
[overlapping greetings]
[Kathy] Come on in. Welcome to the club.
[Karamo] ♪ Kenny! Kenny! ♪
[Bobby] Hello, Kenny!
♪ Kenny! Kenny! ♪
Thanks for having us at your club.
-Hey, welcome. -What's going on? I'm Bobby.
-Nice to meet you. -[Karamo] Hi, Kenny.
-Hey, how you doing? Nice to see you. -I'm giving you a hug.
-How are you, my friend? -Good to see you.
-God bless you all. -How are you?
You look like you're back there ready to serve us something.
-Whatever you want. -I want a pickle.
-A pickle. We can do that. -Yeah.
I love pickles.
-[Antoni] Thank you. -All right.
So, he stole my heart from the get-go.
-Are you always back here serving others? -Yes, sir.
-[Karamo] Do you ever come on this side? -No.
My gosh. Should we role-reverse?
-[Karamo] Can we serve you really quickly? -[stammers] Oh, no, I--
-Okay. -Bye, guys. We love you.
[Jonathan] Come on over. Come on over.
-I really like it here. -[Jonathan] Yeah!
[Karamo] What can I get for you?
[Kenny] I'll take a bottled water that's in there.
-Nice. -I would really appreciate that.
Hydration is important.
Thank you.
-This is a social club, right? Basically. -Yes, sir. Yeah.
-You run the whole show here? -[Jonathan] He's the president.
President and manager. Yes, sir.
You know, this is my second home. Actually, my main home.
-[Kenny] My home is my second home. -[laughter]
-[Tan] Okay. -How about-- I tell you what.
I'd like to see you guys bowl.
Yes!
-[Karamo] Good job, Bobby. -[all cheering]
[Jonathan] No! I hate it.
-[Karamo] Is the ball too heavy for you? -[Jonathan] Yeah, it was really heavy!
-[Karamo] You got it, Antoni. -[Kenny] There you go, he picked it up.
-Well done! -[Bobby] Good job!
[Karamo] Good job.
Come on, Tanny! You got it, Tanny!
-Come on, come on, come on! -[Jonathan] Let's go, Tanny!
You guys are a lot of fun.
-Thanks, Kenny. -I'm ready for another pickle.
-[Jonathan] No! -[Kenny laughs]
All right, we're all bowled out. Is it time to see the house?
-[Karamo] Can we see your house? -[Tan] Can we see the house?
I'll just give you a warning.
It's a messy house. And I feel ashamed, but...
-No! -No, don't feel ashamed.
There's nothing at that house, except for maybe, like, a dead body
that'd prevent us from loving you, you know what I mean?
-[Karamo] Is there a dead body? -Then we're good.
-We're only here to help you. -Hold on. Kenny, is this you?
Uh, about 18 years ago, yep.
-Aw! -Oh, look how handsome you look!
You've been sporting this mustache for some time.
That is correct. Yeah.
It's a-- They-- We call that a signature look.
-[laughs] -Uh-huh.
I feel like every family has, like, a fun aunt and, like, a fun uncle.
Kenny is definitely, like, the fun uncle of the family.
Mine was Uncle Dave, he would, like, sneak us out to get us, like, ice cream.
And, like, my Aunt Julie was like,
"Let's steal stop signs."
-[Kenny] This is it. -[Jonathan] Oh, honey, the shrubbery.
[Bobby] Do you keep the trees like this to prevent people from coming over?
[Kenny chuckles]
No?
[Jonathan] This shrubbery is next-level.
This is awesome.
[Bobby] Oh, she's just a scared little girl.
[Jonathan] I don't wanna mess up my shoes.
[Antoni] Very Secret Garden.
[Kenny] Okay.
All right, let's see.
-Ah! -[Bobby] All right, Kenny,
this is not nearly as bad as you made it sound.
-[Antoni] You prepared us for the worst. -[Kenny] It's dirty.
-There's-- There's some dust issues. -[Karamo] There's a lot of dust.
-[Bobby] I see-- Do you have a dog? -I did have a dog.
-Yeah, that's part of him. -[Bobby] Okay.
[Tan] Most of your carpet is, um, fur.
-[Jonathan] That's called shag. -[Tan] Oh, is it shag?
[Antoni] You have all these old Christmas cards. You're actually my father.
-That's who you are. -There you go.
[Tan] I'm not even willing to touch it, but look at that.
[Jonathan] I think it's ironic how much dust your vacuum cleaner has on it.
I think we're gonna get you filing cabinets.
[Tan] Now I see why you were a little concerned
about us seeing it, 'cause it is... very messy.
[Kenny] Hey, how long has it been since you guys actually saw a Beta recorder?
-[Bobby] Since before any of us were born. -[Antoni] Kenny, you're a sentimental man.
Yeah, I guess so.
[Karamo] I'm noticing the dog fur,
the dog treats, and the dog bowls, but I don't see the dog.
He died unexpectedly in January.
-[Karamo] So that was your companion. -Oh, yes! Took him everywhere.
-Yeah. Aw... -I took him everywhere.
Why have you still kept the bowl and things?
Good question.
I don't know, I should just probably get rid of that.
You're still kinda grieving the loss of him?
I guess, kinda sorta.
-Yeah, I guess you could say that. -[Karamo] That makes sense.
[Antoni] Look at that sticky tape.
[Jonathan] Ew!
[Tan seethes]
-They're dead. -[groaning] It's so, so gross!
No, I'm out.
[Karamo] Poor family photo.
Ugh.
[Bobby] Everything in here, I would say,
is exactly the way your parents had it, yeah?
Yes, that is correct.
-Minus some of the clutter, I'd say. -Yep.
-[chuckles] -Minus a lot, yeah.
A big minus.
Just by looking at the house,
it is so very clear
that Kenny has never been able to let go of the memory of his parents.
Um, I just let it get too bad over the course of time.
When they passed,
he stopped caring for himself.
And...
you know, I-- I'm by myself, so I felt, you know, overwhelmed.
[Bobby] He didn't dust anything, he didn't move anything,
he didn't touch anything.
It has been the exact same for 15 years.
You know, I wanna respect the history of your mom and dad,
but also make it to where it functions for you and where you feel at home here.
-That's it. -This wallpaper has definitely gotta go.
So, most of it is--
Most of it is...
um, sports.
You know what he is? He's serving me, like, "quarter-hoarder."
-Quarter-hoarder? -He's like a quarter of a hoarder.
Quarter of a hoarder. I think a lot more than a quarter of a hoarder.
-Oh. -Kenny.
Every thing is a sports thing.
Yes, I love sports. A sports nut, I guess you could say.
I love that you've got something that you love so much,
but does it have to be on everything you wear?
No, but I don't go nowhere.
-So... -Okay. You go to work.
I know, but we-- we're kind of sports-related down there, too.
Okay. So, maybe we could find a way to streamline your wardrobe.
-Okay. -I did actually find a suit.
Can we try it on? I wanna see what the fit's like.
-Sure. -How long have you had it?
-Long time. Probably seven years. -Okay. Oof.
-Yeah, see? It's not good, is it? -Oof, Kenny, no.
I could fit in your suit jacket with you.
-[laughs] -Like, I literally could.
[sighs]
[Tan] Just try and close the jacket around me. Let's see if it works.
-By God, I think you're right. -D'you know?
[chuckling]
This is so good. I really have to wash my hands.
If you were to just tighten things up
-and make them look a little sharper... -Uh-huh.
...you're gonna feel a million bucks, I promise you.
-[Kenny] Really? -[Tan] Yep.
-[Antoni] Do you like to cook? -[Kenny] Oh, yes, I love cooking.
-Oh, my God. Yes. -Okay.
Oh, yeah.
I cook for big groups.
We do a tailgate.
I try to do the meat.
-Any Croatian dishes? -Yeah. And Croatian dishes, too, so,
you know, I made, like, my Croatian food.
Where do you prepare it if you can't prepare it here?
[Kenny] I prepare it down at the church.
I really want you to have a space where you can make yourself a little omelet,
-or even if it's eating leftovers or-- -Oh, yeah. I--
My-- My routine now is, um,
you know, I'll buy these sandwiches at the store.
-Okay. -And then, uh, put it in a microwave bowl
and the microwave's my best friend.
You microwave a sandwich with lettuce in it?
Well, sure.
You should at least use a panini press to get it nice and crispy.
This was discontinued in 2005.
[Antoni] You know, you really remind me of my dad a lot.
He has calendars from several years ago that are still hanging.
He's very nostalgic.
And I see that in you a lot.
I see the attachment that you have to, like, your dog,
to your parents' home. Like, I get it.
I really-- I understand that.
How do you feel about, like, not saying goodbye,
but just sort of putting a bit of, like, distance and space
-between you and all of this nostalgia? -It's probably time.
I feel like, with you, you just--
you haven't had anybody show you
-that that's something you can do. -Queens?
What has he not had anyone showing him?
My dad is a borderline--
I'm not calling you this, but my dad is a borderline hoarder,
and one way we've been working with him is by telling him,
"Look, you don't have to keep these things.
Somebody else can benefit from having them,
somebody who has less."
Do you feel like you have...
-"hoarding tendencies." -Yes.
-You do? -[Antoni] Oh, you admit it.
-Yes. -Being able to be self-aware
-is, like, the first step, queen. Yay. -Yeah.
I mean, I did see newspapers from 2000 and 2008.
-The-- -He is my dad!
He is exactly my dad.
My eye first goes to...
this flaxseed hairspray.
[Jonathan] Ooh. Honey.
She's aggressive.
-Do you have this in your hair now? -Yes.
Let's feel it.
He's kinda crunchy a little bit, but not too bad.
Do you have a barber that you go see a lot?
No, I see a-- a beautician.
Ooh, I love it!
-You wanna feel properly taken care of. -Yes.
-I love that. -Yep.
I think your mustache is asymmetrical.
I think this side goes down
-farther than this side. -It probably does.
But I also wonder what you look like without a mustache.
[Antoni] Oh, my God. Oh, my God. That's little mice poops.
Wow.
Um, who gave you permission to put a picture of me on your wall?
That is weird, I've never been here before,
I don't know how you got that painting of me, but we'll talk.
It's good. I'm not gonna let it freak me out.
There you go.
-You are a really fun and sweet guy. -Well, you guys are, too.
I really love being around you guys.
Are we also the most guests you've had in here?
Oh, by all means.
-In a long time. -Wow.
-Being honest with you, it's depressing. -Yeah?
You know. And then when I lost my dog, it was more depressing.
I, uh, always have a radio on,
all the time, just to kinda take out the loneliness. You know?
-To have something coming in. -Yeah.
I'm pumped up when I'm out with people
and helping people out and everything.
And I come here, and walk in,
-and then I'm in a house by myself. -Yeah.
[Kenny] And it just feels--
Again, I think that the loneliness is really more than anything else.
[Karamo] Yeah.
Yeah, I'm embarrassed with the inside.
-Yeah. -But, again, nobody comes over.
So, I think that's another thing, too, is why should I...
do anything to fix up the house... if nobody comes over?
But, on the other side,
-I just let it go too far. -Yeah.
So...
-Okay. -I'm ready for about anything.
You know, you might have some things that you wanna change,
but you're a really good guy. Yeah.
Oh, I-- I try to be.
-Hello, gents. -We're just talking about
-what an amazing guy Kenny is. -We was, rapping and--
-What's Croatia in Croatian? -Hrvatska.
-Hrvatska! -Three, two, one...
[all] Hrvatska!
[Karamo] My goal this week is to help Kenny
see that he can open himself up to other people,
that he doesn't have to be just the one serving them.
He can sit down and be a part of the family as well.
[Bobby] I think a lot of times when people inherit a house from their parents,
they feel like changing it is losing the memory of their parents.
But it's been 15 years.
It's time to move on.
[Tan] He's the most lovable guy, but I want him to look presentable.
I want people to feel like they should come to the house.
He clearly needs a change in his life,
and if not now, when?
You know, Kenny has been unable
to, like, stop the momentum going one way
and get it going another way.
We are going to have to, like-- [clapping]
That's chiseling, if you don't know.
[Antoni] He's such a sweetheart.
Like, there's nothing bad that you can say about Kenny.
I wanna get him a dog!
[blues rock music playing]
[Bobby] I wanted to bring you on a little shopping trip.
[Kenny] Oh, okay.
-Thank you. -After you, sir.
[Bobby] I wanted to see if we can find your style.
[Bobby] Normally, when designing for somebody,
there's something in their house that I can see is a reflection of them,
but the way Kenny's house is now, there's nothing.
It's exactly the way his mother left it.
It's a nice little bar cart.
-Oh, that's nice. -Right?
Red wine glass, white wine glass.
-Okay. -I like these chairs here.
What do you think of 'em?
-I love 'em. -Okay.
[Bobby] How do you like this table?
-I like that table. It's nice. -Yeah?
-[Bobby] What is it you like about it? -[Kenny] It's the width and the length.
Okay.
-That's cool. -Is it just the size?
-Size, yeah. -Okay, all right.
-Do you like this blue? -Yes.
-Okay. Do you like this green? -Yes.
Yeah?
Shopping with somebody who doesn't really have an opinion is kinda hard.
What do you think of circles?
-Circles is nice. -[chuckles] Okay.
Kenny just kinda said he liked anything I pointed out to him.
Right now, when it comes to your house,
what is it you feel when you walk in the door?
To see the same stuff in there I had for years...
is just kind of, uh...
you know,
I can't really say depressing, but just, you know.
-It can be. -Yeah.
When there's things that you see every day that remind you of sad moments,
like, maybe some things might remind you of your mother or your father
and when you see that every day, it can make you sad.
You know, there are some times where
you do need to change your stuff.
Because it just...
-It's a restart. -Mm-hmm.
I have a lot to think about when it comes to Kenny's design.
It needs to be a bachelor pad,
but I also want it to function for him and his family.
How will it make you feel if your nieces and nephews would be like,
"Hey, Uncle Kenny, we're coming by,
just to come over and, like, watch a game with you"?
-What's that gonna mean? -I love 'em so much,
I'd give 'em the keys to the house so they'd come anytime they want.
[upbeat music playing]
[Tan] No, Kenny, I'm one of those people that parks terribly.
-Look how bad my parking is. -[laughing]
[Tan] Do you usually go to malls to shop?
[Kenny] No. I actually don't go anywhere, if you wanna know the truth.
I need to get out and do more things, I guess.
[Tan] Yeah, you do,
-and we're starting right here. -Yeah, okay.
-After you. -That sounds good. Thank you.
-[Tan] Isn't this store beautiful? -It really is nice.
It's so nice, huh?
This is just overwhelming to see all the selections and--
If you're here on your own, they have employees that can
help take you around and give you suggestions,
but also, like, all of your nieces
who desperately want to hang out?
Say, "Take me shopping one day.
Let-- Be that-- Be my eyes."
Never thought of that. That's a good idea.
The majority of your clothes are sports clothes.
And, if I can speak frankly...
-Sure, you bet. -[chuckles] It's--
It's a much younger look.
It's a college student look.
Okay.
[Tan] But you are still wearing clothes that are quite large for you.
So, right now, your shoulder's down here,
your actual shoulder is up there.
I'm gonna get you a suit
-that actually fits correctly. -Okay.
Just tightening that suit up
and making sure it fits on your shoulder is gonna make all the difference.
It's gonna make you feel a lot more... refined.
-[Tan] You ready to try some clothes on? -Oh, I'm ready.
[Tan] Right now, his clothes are doing his body no favors.
The suit that Kenny has is massive.
-Kenny, how are we doing? -[Kenny] Very good.
Are you decent?
I want to get him the most beautiful suit.
Something dark, something classic, something he can wear to any occasion.
[gasps] Ooh, very sharp.
-Okay, come out for me. -All right. Okay.
-And I'm gonna just stop you here. -All right.
And you're gonna take a look in the mirror. [laughs]
That's me?
-Who's that sharp man? -Wow.
I love the color.
Oh, my God.
[Tan chuckling]
Oh, this is great.
Wow.
Yep. The shoulders are right, feel a lot better.
-Do you see what a difference that makes? -I see exactly what you mean.
-I see exactly what you're talking about. -Yeah.
A hundred percent better.
Kind of feel like I need a woman's opinion.
Is there anybody that might be able to help with this?
Oh, hi!
Oh, my God!
-[Tan laughs] -[Kenny's nieces exclaiming]
-You look amazing! -Look at you!
-You look so good! -[laughing]
-Aw! -[Rachel] I love seeing you like this!
Kenny's been kind of closed-off with his emotions up until this point,
so to see Kenny get choked up when he sees his nieces,
and see their reaction when they see him,
is beautiful.
Oh, my gosh.
It's such a blessing to see all you. Such a pleasure, I can't believe.
Once every six months, just bring him shopping with you, please.
-Yes. -Oh, we would love that.
You're gonna keep him in check, right? He's not gonna go back to College Kenny.
-'Cause it was College Kenny. -[laughing]
It was definitely College Kenny.
[Rachel] I've never seen you look so sharp.
You are gonna see him look this sharp, but whenever you see him in the future!
-Yeah! -Yes!
[light pop music playing]
[Karamo] Sit on down, my friend.
So, have you ever been to this area?
-Never. -Never?
So I guess I just...
never... really went out of my area
because I never had no reason to be there.
I'm taking Kenny to a bar where he could be catered to,
and we can have a real conversation about why he's been isolating himself.
So, every time you go behind the bar,
that's your way of saying, "Oh, I belong here,
you all belong there,
so I'm isolating myself from you all."
And then you would leave the bar and you would go home,
and you would isolate yourself there.
Yeah.
I think somewhere along the line,
you forgot that people want you around.
If you started to just serve people
so that you could be around, but you're actually not around them.
-Would you agree to that? -Yeah, I agree a 100 percent.
I think you hit it-- hit it right on the head.
It's always been in my heart to see other people have a good time.
When's the last time you remember yourself having a good time?
Oh...
[Karamo] Walls aren't built overnight.
People don't start isolating themselves just one day.
Probably couldn't tell you.
That's not a healthy way to live.
It's a gradual process where you feel less and less accepted by the world.
Do you, in your mind, feel like your sisters and brothers have
what you're supposed to have?
Do you feel like they've achieved more?
Oh, yes, by all means.
-Yes. -Okay.
They...
kind of...
went off with their lives and then just took off.
You know? And I just stayed at one pattern.
-All my life. -Yeah.
And I guess I've just been stuck.
It's never really bothered me, we've always loved each other,
-we still do to this day. -Of course.
I just always compared myself and...
and think back, "Well, I-- I'm a failure."
You know, I look at...
what other people's accomplished and what I have, you know, and--
[sniffles] So...
But you're not a failure.
It's not the truth at all.
Because if we go down the list,
everyone we've talked to have said how great you are,
you're stable, you're loving, you took care of your parents.
Don't compare yourself to them anymore.
You are not a failure.
You're not a failure.
I could just cry right now.
-Yeah. -[sniffles]
[sighs] You hit it right on the head. [sniffles]
That's been the problem.
It really has.
So, I'm sorry about that.
No, do not feel sorry. You know what I mean?
Like, come on, give me a hug, man.
[Kenny] All right.
All right. [sniffles]
-Thank you. -Yeah.
[Kenny] Oh, what do we got here?
-[woman] That's the squid ink radiatore. -Oh.
[Karamo] Have you tried, um, this black squid?
Never had it.
-Tried a lot of new things today. -Yeah.
[Karamo] Don't worry, I'm serving you.
-[Kenny laughs] -Okay? This is-- This the new leaf.
This is it.
[Karamo] You deserve to get served.
-[Antoni] Hello, gentlemen. -Hey!
How's it going?
-How are you? -What are you guys up to here?
-Eatin' and chattin'. -Tell me about what you guys had.
-We had the tomatoes and the squid. -[Antoni] Did you like it?
-[Kenny] I loved every minute. -Have you ever had a radiatore
with a squid ink type pasta before?
-[Karamo] It's Mediterranean, right? -It's very Mediterranean.
Actually, it's one of the official dishes of Croatia.
-It is? -Yeah, squid ink risotto.
Leave it to a Polish guy to tell me this stuff.
[Antoni] We're going to the kitchen, we've got work to do.
-I'm gonna leave you all alone. -Okay, brother.
First things first. Towel, over the shoulder.
So when your hands gets messy you can wipe it down.
-[Antoni] Ever made risotto before? -Never.
[Antoni] You've made cabbage rolls, you've made other type of, like,
-more traditional Croatian dishes. -Never this.
-Do you know what a risotto is? -No.
-You've never even heard of it before? -Never.
-That's amazing. -That's bad.
-[laughs] -Well, no, it's not bad.
-We're making a rice stew. -Oh.
What I love about it is that it's something that you can cook
very simply for one to two people,
or you can cook it for a group.
It just requires a bit of patience and a couple of, like, tricks along the way.
-Thank you. -All right.
[Antoni] We're gonna finely chop half an onion, please.
Perfect little cubes.
And we're starting it with our onion, we're coating it in some fat.
Here comes my favorite, the garlic. I love garlic.
-You love garlic? -I love garlic.
[Antoni] Garlic's one of my favorite things ever.
Now I'm going to ask you
-to grab the squid, or calamari. -Uh-huh.
And you're gonna plop those in.
We wanna take our time with this over a low heat.
-A bit of white wine. -Yes.
That should be enough. Season it with a little bit of salt.
And now, squid ink. You can buy it in a jar.
A little bit goes a very long way.
Lovely.
Oh, wow. Smell that.
You can smell the alcohol's burning out of the white wine already,
-you get some of those fruity notes. -Oh, God!
-Can you feel your Croatian ancestors? -I can feel it right away.
-Right away. -Yeah.
And now we're gonna do a very traditional simple risotto.
And we're gonna put some butter.
This is about two tablespoons.
Once the butter's fully melted,
we're gonna put our onions in.
We're ready to add our rice.
It's a very short grain of rice.
I put the rice grains in here, and we're toasting it.
The trick with risotto is that you have to monitor it,
but start to finish, it takes about 20 minutes and it's done.
-Oh, really? -So.
It takes a little longer than microwaving a sandwich,
which I'm still not over you putting lettuce in the microwave,
but it's okay, I'm not here to judge.
We're using some fish stock.
And when you're slowly adding the stock, it's gotta be hot.
See how the rice grains are already plumping up?
-Oh, yeah. -They're getting all nice and juicy.
Now we're gonna switch and I wanna see you do this part.
All right.
-Cool? -Cool.
I've never met anybody
who displays such an air of innocence as Kenny does,
and this guy's 64.
-Whoa. -Still crunchy.
-Yes. -We're not quite there yet,
but we know what we don't want.
He's so just kind of open to learning anything.
[Antoni] Beautiful.
And now the final little piece, bottarga.
It's the fish eggs,
and they add a nice little salty kick to it.
-All right. -All right.
So grab a little bite,
and I encourage you to grab a little piece of calamari if you can.
Awesome.
-Do you like it? -I love it.
-It's not the simplest thing in the world. -Yeah, but it's not that hard to learn.
I feel like all of it made a lot of sense to you when I was explaining it.
-Right? -Exactly. Yes.
[blues rock music playing]
-[Jonathan] Come on in. -[Kenny] Alright. Thank you.
Ever had a man in heels get the door for you?
-[Kenny] First time ever. -Welcome to The Gent's Place.
Well, thank you.
-You know, it's a-- a place for gents. -Okay.
Kenny's just kind of, like, asleep at the wheel.
Haircut time for us.
He has literally been doing the same thing to his face and hair
since the '70s, but he doesn't look exactly the same as he has since the '70s.
I kind of like what you have going on for your shape through here,
but I feel like it's a little back-heavy
-and a bit long on the sides. -Okay.
And then also, um...
we're definitely gonna shave your mustache.
It's G2G, which is...
-"Got to go." Got to go. -Got to go.
It's distracting me from what a handsome, classic-looking man you are.
-[chuckles] Okay. -It's a classic Croatian beauty.
Gotta go.
Ah! Best decision we ever made.
-Really? -Oh, my God.
-Cool. -Yes.
[Kenny snoring]
[lullaby music plays]
[snoring]
[Jonathan] Does this remote work?
-[woman] That one won't work for the TV. -Oh.
[snoring continues]
Kenny, you've been asleep for, like, 11 hours.
Wake up.
[both laughing]
[Jonathan] What are you smiling about?
-Tell me, what you thinking about? -I think it looks great.
-And you're not even done. -I'm not.
You know, as we grow and we mature and we age,
you know, our faces change and our hair texture changes,
and in order for us to stay looking as gorgeous as we can,
we gotta be like a gorgeous river, honey, and, like, flow with those changes.
[Jonathan] Yes, sir!
-You look gorgeous. -Wow.
You look so...
much better!
You're right, that mustache was hiding half the face.
Horrifically!
-You were right. -I mean, it was a full-on assault
on your face.
[chuckling]
♪ Got a one-way ticket On a southbound bus ♪
♪ Ain't no need for us to discuss ♪
♪ They say the best laid plans Of mice and men ♪
♪ You know they all been goin' awry Again and again... ♪
Okay, so, I don't know if you've noticed where we... are.
[Kenny] Oh, my God.
-Oh, this is cool. -Right?
Oh, look at this.
-[woman] Hello! -Hi, how are you?
Hi!
I, too, understand what it is to lose a baby puppers,
so do you.
We really wanted to help Kenny Ken adopt a puppers.
[Jonathan] This is where I got my kittens from.
-We were here a week ago. -She literally helped me adopt my babies.
-There you go. -And so we wanted to bring you here
and see if you, pray, fell in love.
-Let's just take a walk. -Okay. Let's do it.
-We're gonna be open-minded. -All right.
[woman] Couple little bulldogs.
[Antoni] Oh, boy, we love you.
[woman] I know. And then we're gonna keep going back over here.
-So, Duchess is preciousness. -Oh, my gosh.
-[Antoni] Oh, my gosh. -[woman] This little angel of love.
This guy is all things preciousness and he's like a houndish,
but he's real cute.
These guys are actually siblings.
They're kinda mixed-breeds, so we don't know
exactly what they'll look like when they grow up.
It's kinda like a surprise, you don't really know what they're gonna look like.
It's like an adventure.
-[barking] -[woman] Here, bud. Hey.
Margaret's a little shepherd mix and she's about nine.
And then Kramer is about three.
They good with other people and--
He's been really friendly with people here.
Sometimes he's a little bit shy.
And this is what you have, this is pretty much the selection?
-[woman] This is it here, yep. -[dogs barking]
I think Akio over there, he's handsome.
[Jonathan] Oh, my God!
And then...
we land...
on Akio.
-Akio. -[woman] He's very cute.
-[Jonathan] Aw! -[woman] I know. Akio is my favorite, sir.
He's a little chow mix and he has a gorgeous purple tongue.
He came in as a stray, and he was, like, skin and bones,
and he had practically no hair.
And so now, he's getting a lot better and he's on some antibiotics for it.
And he's been really social with the other dogs, too.
He reminds me a lot of my last dog. I had a yellow lab.
-Oh, my God! -Looks just like--
[Jonathan] I grew up with yellow labs, too.
-[Kenny] Really? -Her name was Jenny.
[Kenny] Wanna go for a walk?
Do you guys wanna head out front and I'll meet you out there?
-Yeah. -Okay.
[dog barking]
I'm overwhelmed. I wanna cry.
It's okay.
He reminds me of my last dog. [sniffles]
God. I liked that dog.
-[Antoni] I can tell. -Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah.
Kenny's a man who really wants to feel needed and feel loved.
I noticed you really watching every dog
and trying to have that eye contact and, like, that interaction.
Yeah, he's the first one who just hit me.
I think he makes up for that by running the social club.
-Hi! -Because he gets to take care of people.
But I think it's taken a toll on other facets of his life.
How you doing? Wanna go for a walk?
[Antoni] Kenny needs a dog.
And a dog needs a man like Kenny.
He's just got a really good energy to him,
-he's very calm, he likes other dogs. -What do you think?
-[Jonathan] He's so cute. -[woman 2] He's really nice and social.
He reminds me of my last dog so much.
[sniffles] Yeah. Don't you?
-[Antoni] Should we walk with him a bit? -[all] Yeah!
-Let's walk with him a little. -Yeah.
And apparently, we find out, that this dog
is so good about not pooping or peeing in her cage.
[Jonathan] Everybody's gotta go!
[Antoni] Oh, he's good, he knows exactly where to go.
[woman] It's gonna be a minute.
-[Jonathan] He really had to go. -[Antoni] Really had to go.
-[Kenny] Poor guy. -No pee shyness for you, queen.
It was the longest urination session
-I have ever seen in my life. -I have never!
It was like an entire music video.
[Jonathan] He's still peeing! It's been, like, two minutes!
[laughter]
[Antoni] He's got quite the bladder.
Stop going so fast.
-Come here. -He's nice and gentle, though.
-I wanna pet you! -He's attentive, he's responsive.
You're so beautiful.
-Look at the treats. -Oh, boy.
[Antoni] Ah!
Hi, buddy. Hi.
How you doing? You good? You a good doggy? Yeah, you a good doggy.
You gonna be my doggy?
-You gonna be my doggy? -[Jonathan] Yeah!
-Yeah! Yes! -[Kenny] We gonna go home?
-[Antoni] Have you decided? -[Kenny] Yeah!
-That was easy. -That was really easy.
Can we be buddies?
You gonna come home?
Yeah.
I'll take care of you and I'll feed you good. How's that?
-Ah! Okay! -I'll take care of you.
-[Antoni] I'm coming, too! -Take you for walks every night.
[Kenny] I'll take you.
[Jonathan] Come on, let's go home. Let's tell the good news to the ladies.
Come on!
[Jonathan] You're home, girl.
These shrubs have had a Queer Eye makeover of their own.
[Jonathan] We've got puppers.
Who, officially? What have you decided to name?
"Fab 5."
-I think it's the best name ever! -[Jonathan] Fab!
Fab 5, ready to go?
-[Jonathan] You excited to see your house? -[Kenny] Yes.
[Antoni] We got a doggie!
[all exclaiming]
-Kenny, what's his name? Listen up, guys. -Fab 5.
-Fab 5? -Yeah, that's Fab 5.
-Oh, my God! -Hi, sweetheart!
[Tan] Kenny, look how good you look! Look at that haircut!
-[Karamo] You ready? -[Kenny] I go first?
-You go first, my friend. -My God.
Oh, my God.
[voice breaking] Oh, my God.
Oh, God!
[uplifting music playing]
-This is my house? -This is your house, man.
[Kenny] This is beautiful.
Oh, my God. [sniffles]
I don't believe it.
-[Bobby] Custom painting of Croatia. -[Kenny] Oh, beautiful.
Karamo and I took the liberty of sending all those newspapers
from the early 2000s to the Smithsonian.
-Yes, we figured they worked best there. -[laughter]
[sniffling] God, they'd be so proud to see that.
So many great photos of them.
[Kenny] I just wish Mom or Dad was here to see this.
-[Bobby] They are. -God.
[Bobby] They're lookin' down.
[Kenny] Oh, look at that.
-Oh, my God. -[Bobby laughs softly]
Oh!
Now we get to do some cookin'!
-[Karamo laughs] -[Antoni] Yeah!
[Jonathan] Yeah, Boobers!
[Kenny] Oh, my God.
Look at this.
My God, this is really my bedroom.
It's really your bedroom.
This is really my house.
-Yeah. Keep saying it. -I can't believe it.
We are not playing a trick on you, boo.
God, this is beautiful.
No wonder they call you the Fab 5.
-[laughing] -And we're not even done yet.
-We've still got more to show you today. -[Karamo] Yeah.
-[Jonathan] Take off your glasses for me. -All right.
[Jonathan] Now, this is an eye cream which I love.
So, you're gonna take it,
and it's gentle touchy.
You're gonna put this right over top.
-Like that. -All right.
Just like this. And then you just let that sit for, like, ten.
Okay.
And then, while you let that sit, you can kind of re-zhuzh your hair.
[Jonathan] Mousse.
Kenny's new look is clean, it's polished,
it's still him, he's still got a cute little bit of a quirk,
he's still got a little bit of a personality.
-This is called Toppiks powder. -Okay.
Look at how incredible.
Oh, my God.
It's just a slightly more refined and polished Kenny.
Holy Night Nurse, that makes your hair look so much thicker.
-Look at how hot you look. -[Kenny] Oh, my God.
Now that I made you into Tan's twin. [chuckles]
You're having, like, a full-on housewarming party tonight,
and you're gonna be entertaining them.
-How do you feel about that? -I feel great.
-Good. -I can barely wait.
I really would love you to recreate what we did at the restaurant.
Everyone can just have a little taste.
-Okay. -But I think it's super-important
for everyone to have something to munch on
-right as they come in. -Okay.
So, I wanted to make you a really nice, little authentic
Eastern European spread to start, okay?
-[Kenny] Wow. Povitica. -[Antoni] Povitica!
It's like a nice, little sweet dessert bread that you can have,
but it actually pairs well
with a lot of the salty things that we have going on.
-[Kenny] Oh, okay. -Smoked kielbasa,
-headcheese... -Oh, that is headcheese.
[both] Yeah.
But anybody of Eastern European descent,
like, if you've been to Grandma's house, you know exactly what headcheese is.
-Oh, sure. -You have plenty more of all of this that
you can prepare for your guests ahead of time
-so they have something to munch on. -Okay.
-In your new Croatian-American home. -Wow.
-[Tan] Can I take your glasses off? -Sure.
Now, your glasses are fine.
However,
-I want a-- a hipper version of those. -[Kenny] Sure. Oh, I like it.
-They're nice, right? -Oh, I like it.
I can see better...
-Oh, my God. -[Tan chuckles]
I love it.
-Yeah? -Oh, it's great.
Oh...
that's really me, right?
[Tan] They look great on you.
Footwear.
I got you some sneakers
that you can wear with a pair of jeans, you can wear with your pants.
They're just a little more sleek.
I got you shirts that I know are gonna look great on you.
I wanted to get you some layering items.
[Kenny] I love them.
-[Tan] Yeah? Do you like those? -[Kenny] Oh, yes.
And then, the suit.
The suit, I had altered.
They tailored it so now it fits you beautifully.
It's the easiest closet for you to get dressed every morning,
you pull a pair of pants, you pull any top,
and you're gonna look like you've really thought about what you're wearing.
You're right.
[Tan] Kenny, won't you come and show yourself to these boys?
Kenny! Kenny!
[all exclaiming]
[overlapping chatter]
-[Bobby] Look at that! -I know!
You look great!
[Jonathan] This is, like, our biggest transformation of all time.
[laughing] I know!
How much better do we feel?
-Like, look at you! -Oh, hundred percent better.
Kenny has been so receptive to everything that I've shown him.
-[all oohing] -Yeah, lookit!
[Jonathan] You're serving, like, a sexy Mr. Rogers realness right now.
[Bobby] Yes!
And throughout this whole process, he's seen a different version,
a new version, a happier version of himself.
You guys are fabulous and...
I'm gonna miss everybody.
-I really mean that. -[Bobby] We'll miss you too.
You guys...
this has been overwhelming, and I appreciate it.
Thank you so much for everything.
It takes a lot of courage to say,
"You know what? I'm gonna let five strangers into my home
and let them see me for who I am,
and not feel judged,
but feel like I can learn something."
And I think you're set. Not to mention you're gorgeous.
[laughing]
[Karamo] My hope for Kenny is that he remembers
that he deserves to have family and friends around him
and in his home.
I want him to not only be someone who serves,
but also be someone that accepts service.
Aw, thank you so much.
If you ever have any questions, just let me know.
[Kenny] Oh, I will.
[Jonathan] Be good, Fab 5, you little baby!
-Bye-bye, guys. Thank you so much. Bye. -[Tan] Thank you.
[Kenny] What do you think, Fab? Hm?
[blues rock music playing]
[Antoni] Here's your prosciutto cornbread.
[Karamo] I love prosciutto. It's my favorite.
[Antoni] Put a pickle on there for Kenny.
Come on, Karamo, even if you don't eat it.
[Tan] Kenny was a bloody sweetheart. I loved Kenny.
[grunts]
-Are you boys ready? -Yeah.
[Karamo] Here you go, Bruley.
[kissing]
[Karamo] Fabby.
[Antoni] You know he's gonna have full conversations with that pupper.
-[Tan] He's got a new companion. -[doorbell rings]
-Hello. -[gasps] Oh, my God, Kenny!
-Oh, my God! -Welcome!
-My God! -[laughing]
-Ah! -Oh, my God.
-Kenny, look at you. -[Kenny] How you guys doing?
Oh!
-Look at you! -How are we doing?
Oh, look how happy they are for him.
-Look at your home! -Isn't it-- Isn't it nice?
This is your home now. Mom and Dad would be so proud.
I know, guess they're lookin' down on me right now. Isn't this nice?
-[Kathy] It's so beautiful! -You remember how dusty that house was?
-That was next-level dust. -Next-level.
-I love what you're wearing. -Isn't it cool?
This is so beautiful. Yeah, you look--
[Kathy] Yeah!
[Tan] Must be such a lovely feeling
for her to think she can go to her brother's house again.
What a weird thing...
-The house she grew up in. -Yeah!
-The kitchen. -Oh, my--
I know.
[voice breaking] Oh, my God.
-Oh, my-- -This kitchen!
I just-- I'm speechless. I'm absolutely speechless.
The Fab 5 are your guardian angels, Kenny.
-They did a wonderful job for you. -I swear they are.
-Yeah. -Oh!
[Bobby] Aw...
[Megan] Hi, guys. Come on in.
-[Jonathan] Ooh, I love her shoe. -Love her skirt.
Gorgeous red velvet shoe, honey.
Fab is meeting everyone!
-Alex. -[Alex] Kenny.
-First time in the house. -[Alex] Good to see you. Wow.
-You've never been here. -Never.
No, I know you've been when you were a kid.
-[woman] Yeah, like 20 years ago. -Yeah, wasn't there 20 years' change?
[laughs] Yeah. Uh-huh.
Look at him! He is mingling! He's socializing!
[Kathy] Do you want the garlic in the-- with the onions, too?
-[Kenny] Yes. -[Kathy] Okay.
[Kathy] This smells great.
-I'm looking at the-- Are they good? -They're really good.
[indistinct chatter]
I love that he put out the charcuterie and cheese in the living room,
get everybody comfortable.
I wonder if it's intimidating at all going from no guests
-to, like, ten. -A lot!
So, I just need to keep stirring this?
[Kenny] Yeah, keep stirring it, hon. That's fine.
-Yeah, stir that up. Okay? -Yep.
That looks a little thick, so what we're gonna do is get some broth back there.
-Okay, stir that up. -[Rachel] Mmm.
-[Kenny] There you go. -[Megan] Oh, good!
This looks amazing.
This is so important for them.
It's literally bringing them into the kitchen together.
Every holiday now, this is what we expect.
-[laughing] -That's right, no problem.
Them seeing how nice his house is, how well he's doing,
that's gonna alleviate so much worry knowing he's sittin' pretty over there.
-Have you seen Kenny around? -Good to see you.
Oh, this is his brother that's coming in right now.
Aw.
-You're looking wonderful. -Yeah.
How you doing? Good to see you.
-What a place. -How you doing? Good to see you.
-Look at you! -[Karamo] This is a healing moment
for this entire family.
-[Rachel] This looks awesome! -[Kenny] Yeah.
-Thank you. -Megan?
-[Megan] Okay, here we go. -Yes, that looks awesome.
This is absolutely delicious.
Thank you, Uncle Kenny, this is awesome.
-Squid? Where's the squid. -You guys go for that.
[Antoni] He made a lot!
My week was the best week I probably had in my life. Uh...
-[woman] Aw... -[chuckles]
I just can't-- You know, the guys are so overwhelming and...
did a lot for me and helped me out
and I really love them.
[laughs softly]
Aw...
I wanna thank you all for coming, and...
I know it's been a long time since you've been here,
some of you have never been here.
Some of you did see the condition this house has been in,
others, you probably heard stories about it.
So, to make damn sure it stays this way,
uh, I had keys made up.
So, I'm gonna give one to Rachel.
-Aw... -[murmurs of endearment]
And one to Megan.
And one to my sister Karen.
And one to my sister Kathy.
-[Kathy] Thank you! -[Kenny] Okay?
If you wanna bring your boyfriends in here, I'm not here, I don't care.
[laughter]
[Tan] Whoa! That's progressive.
-Uncle Kenny? -[laughing]
Check up on me, make sure I'm doing my job.
-Mm-hmm. -If I'm not, let me know.
-All right. -I know my sisters will, right?
We will, because our first order of business
will be to come and decorate for the holiday!
Oh!
-[Kenny] Yeah, okay! -[indistinct chatter]
People should always remember, it's never too late to start over.
[Jonathan] And just because you're 60 or 65
does not excuse you from learning.
'Cause once you know it all, what's the point?
I think it's time we have a toast and...
celebrate that we're all here and thank you all for comin'.
[all] Živjeli!
As we get older, we forget that there's still a lot of life to live,
and you can't be afraid to go out there and live it.
[Kenny] I feel so blessed that my family was lookin' after me,
and that I got to meet the Fab 5.
This has just been great.
This has been the best week of my life.
Cheers to Kenny in Croatian.
-Živjeli! -[all] Živjeli!
[soft jazz music playing]
Wanna know how to set up your bar for your next party?
Keep it simple.
Gin, vodka, a nice whiskey,
and a lovely tequila.
And if you're not drinking,
have a mocktail.
No one will know the difference.
-Right, Jonny? -[Jonathan] Absolutely.
This is plenty for me.
[bell dings]
["You Gotta Man Up" playing]
♪ You gotta man up ♪
♪ Man up ♪
♪ You gotta man up ♪
♪ Honey child ♪
♪ You gotta man up ♪
-♪ Man up ♪ -♪ Yeah, you gotta man up ♪
♪ Oh ♪
♪ Yeah, yeah ♪
♪ Oh, you gotta man up ♪
♪ Man up ♪
♪ You gotta man up ♪
♪ Honey child, you gotta man up ♪
-♪ Man up ♪ -♪ Oh, you gotta man up ♪