Eh, this
one is… iffy. While there are some
strong aspects of it that I like and it does explore a nice message, it feels
like its wires got crossed somewhere, and it confuses its own point but
good. Despite some good jokes and a fine
finish, this episode is a bit too sloppy to wholly redeem itself.
Rocky is
incensed when, on a Sing! set tour,
Shania makes the supposition that Rocky’s boyfriend Chris (a grip on the show)
is gay. Similarly, Jane is thrown for a
loop by Bryce, another realtor at the same company – his fashion and mannerisms
read gay to her, and in her mind, the way he chases after women is callous
toward whatever feelings they might have for him. Bryan and Shania decide both questions can be
settled by combining their gaydar and inviting both guys over for a “gay test”
disguised as a dinner party.
It’s
absolutely true that gaydar is usually based on stereotypical behavior or
interests rather than, you know, being attracted to members of your own
gender. I’m not disputing that, and it’s
not out of the realm of reason that Shania would be involved in a “gay test”
centered around the two men’s knowledge of female Oscar winners, pop hits, and
gay icons. And it even makes a general
sort of sense for Bryan to spearhead this as well. Despite the fact that most of the portions of
his test “prove” that his own partner is “straight” – David is hopelessly out
of depth with all these references – Bryan does have a history of conflating being gay with an appreciation for
gay-coded interests.
Where the
waters get muddied is that this whole thing starts in part out of Bryan’s
desire to get a christening gown for the baby’s birth announcement and his
response to David’s reluctance, insisting that clothes don’t make someone gay,
it’s a new world out there, and you can’t always tell anymore. It makes zero sense that Bryan would be
pushing for “identity isn’t based on stereotypes” in the same breath that he’s
using Rihanna and Rue McClanahan to suss out Chris and Bryce’s
sexualities. The episode might’ve been
able to salvage the theme by giving us more of a wake-up call for Bryan,
letting him realize how far his actions skew from his ideals, but we never get
that moment.
Still,
like I said, there are things I like. I
enjoy the interactions between Rocky and Chris (their last scene together is
especially good,) and it’s interesting to see Jane at a complete loss at the
concept of a man being metrosexual. Side
note: Chris is played by Mark Consuelos,
who’s more recently played Hiram Lodge on Riverdale,
and Bryce’s introduction here is the beginning of a recurring role for John
Stamos. Additionally, David gets a
mini-exploration of how society’s homophobia made him behave badly in his
youth, out of fear of being “found out” – I’d have liked to see more of that.
Even
though Andrew Rannells is tasked here with leading the plot in two diametrically-opposed
directions at the same time, he has his fun moments as well. Some terrific lines, my favorite being his
excited delivery on, “If this works, I can repackage [the gay test] with
has-beens and sell it to Fox. Beach
house!” He and Goldie also have a
delightful little standoff when he buys her cookies and then decides “they’re
too beautiful to eat.” Plus, it’s a
little thing but I like Bryan’s habit of admitting his screw-ups by cheekily
blaming them on someone else. It’s a
nice device, because it’s Bryan playing on his vanity/shallowness in a very
knowing way. When he blames someone
else, Rannells plays it so we know that this is absolutely Bryan’s sheepish way
of admitting he made a bad call, and it becomes a sort of private joke between
him and David that we as the audience can share.
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