This has some definite penultimate-episode aspects to it, a big event episode in which some shocking revelations are made and major shakeups occur in the characters’ lives. You tend to see this sort of ramped-up tension before the season finale of a genre show or drama, but it feels oddly appropriate here as well.
Everyone has gathered for Jessi’s bat mitzvah, but several major clouds are hanging over the festivities. Jessi has recently learned something heavy about her parents and doesn’t know what to do about it, Nick is sick of being treated like a baby by his mom, and Andrew and Missy’s parents don’t want them dating. Throw in the school’s terminally-stupid Coach Steve as the worst bat mitzvah DJ ever, and you have a recipe for impending disaster.
Lots of good stuff here. I like how Jessi’s plot has been building gradually over the last few episodes, and the callback to The Rock of Gilbraltar with the Andrew/Missy stuff is perfect – plus, the running gag of Jay quoting his dad’s law commercials pays off in a really satisfying way. Some good bat mitzvah humor, from the “Great Women in HERstory” theme to the ill-timed electric slide to the elderly gentleman constantly shuffling around asking, “You boys need a yarmulke?”
The Hormone Monstress gets one of the best lines this time around, bucking Jessi up at a crucial moment with this fabulous speech: “You are a woman now, and this is what women do. We suck up all the bullshit life dumps on us and keep smiling through it all in our boxy-ass dresses!” And seriously, where else but this show are you going to get a tray of scallops seductively voiced by Jon Hamm?
Matthew is used sparingly but well. He doesn’t really interact with any of the main characters but throws in his occasional observations from the sidelines. He and Lola have a hilarious exchange about Malala Yousafzai, and there’s a bit of really dark humor that ends perfectly with a side remark from Matthew to another character.
Most of the episodes feature a comedic song, sungs variously by characters, ghosts, or giant tampons as the situation calls for it, and this one has a big group number, with everyone on the dance floor railing against the futility of existence in “Life is a Fucked-Up Mess.” Matthew has a few riffs toward the end, and it’s entertaining to hear how ridiculously good he sounds in comparison with every other character. Even the other actors that I know can sing (like Maya Rudolph, who, among others, voices Nick’s mom) have rather stilted in-character voices here, so Andrew Rannells is the only one who gets to wail. It’s funny.
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