You'll
notice that we've jumped over episode 4, in which PC doesn't appear.
Episode
5 hinges on one of the oldest tricks in the comedy book: the miscommunication. Estelle is organizing a surprise get-together
for Paul with a bunch of his old friends, but her general sneaking around to
get the party set up convinces him that she's having an affair. There are confrontations a-plenty,
everyone speaks just vaguely enough that no one understands why Paul is so
outraged, and Paul thinks Estelle has been sleeping with every one of his old
friends on a revolving schedule.
I’m
of two minds about miscommunication humor.
If done well, it can be pretty funny, but there’s always a breaking
point. Writers dabbling in this brand of
comedy are racing towards a brick wall, that moment when it tips from funny to
ludicrous. This episode, I think, hits
the wall. There are just too many people
involved for the misunderstandings to go on as long as they do. Credibility doesn’t just strain – it snaps
clean in half. And there it goes,
another comedy that flew too close to the miscommunication sun.
Pilfrey
shows a different side in this episode.
After the over-the-top craziness of episode 3, he's been doing some
self-reflection and has declared himself a new man. For some reason, Pilfrey acting polite and
considerate seems even more suspect than his usual cocky, self-involved
ways. You can’t shake the feeling that
there’s a Mr. Hyde just under the surface, waiting to escape. Psychobabble abounds, and he's constantly
hugging people; the disconnect is pretty entertaining.
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