Season 2, Episode 12
About half an hour or so after this latest episode of Happy Endings ended, the Paley Center hosted a panel discussion for Cougar Town (whose third season will premiere on Tuesday at 8:30/7:30c, justsoyouknow), which was actually moderated by co-creator Bill Lawrence. While there were a whole lot of nuggets for any Cougar Town fan, the thing that really stuck with me was something Courtney Cox said about ensemble dynamics and guest stars. In an attempts to compare CT with her previous show Friends, she said that the latter show's best episodes always centered around just the six main characters, and didn't use any sort of guest stars, special or otherwise.
Obviously, it's something that resonated with me in the light of just having seen “The St. Valentine's Day Maxssacre”, which was a fine return to form for the show after a string of lower-than-normal-quality episodes, which reached it's nadir with the last new episode, “Makin' Changes”. (And know you know why I didn't even bother writing up a review for that particular episode.)
I'll admit, I was a bit skeptical about watching this episode going into it, both in light of the show's creative trough, and because the summaries of the episode that I saw seemed overly complex, even from my usually Time Warner Cable guide description. The reason for this was that the episode started by splitting each character off into their own storyline (except for Brad and Jane, who shared one for obvious reasons), which makes sense given that they were all celebrating Valentine's Day, and they can't do everything together.
(Although this does make me wonder when the show's going to get back to that hanging thread of Dave and Penny's budding romance. It's not something I'm particularly excited about, but nothing bothers me more than when a show leaves a narrative thread dangling without a clear purpose as to why.)
Normally, this would be something of a death knell for a show like Happy Endings, which tends to live and die by its ability to deliver rapid-fire dialogue and jokes, something that tends to work best when it's just the main characters, and not a lot of exposition/setup is needed. If of course also helps that the main cast is always well suited to that kind of comedy, while the guest stars tend to be something of a mixed bag, and tonight they weren't all that adept at channeling the comedy's general style. (Well, with one exception, but we'll get to him in a minute.) Nor did it helps that Dave, Alex, and Penny's stories all ended with some fairly predictable punchlines.
But what made this episode work in spite of the hindering premise and some limp resolutions is that it managed to weave all these stories together under the thread of each character having a terrible Valentine's Day. Granted, it's not the most original premise, but it's one that reinforces the group dynamic that is so essential to this show. Even though each of the members ended up alone on Valentine's Day, they ended up alone together, and that made the world of difference for them.
Of course, things do end happy for one of the gang, as Max gets a second chance with former ex Grant, with the help and encouragement from the rest of the group. Even when they end alone together, there never above making sure at least one friend isn't alone if they can help it. This develop excites me in two ways. First, I've always felt that Max is one of the best gay characters currently on television, but sometimes the show forgets to give him romantic storylines, which negates the supposed stereotype breaking nature of the character. Hopefully, placing him in a solid romantic arc will remind viewers everywhere of the character's sexuality, and he can go back to being an effective progressive portrayal.
Secondly, Grant is played by the fantastic James Wolk, who a whole three of you will recognize as the lead of last season's it-only-lasted-two-episodes-but-boy-was-it-still-awesome flop, Lone Star. I have no idea of Wolk's comedic chops – his appearance here didn't really test the actor in that area – but he's an actor that deserves more work than he gets, and I'm glad that that work happens to be on one of my favorite comedies. Let's just hope he doesn't carry the curse of cancellation over from his previous FOX show. (Are you knocking on wood as you read this? Because I certainly knocked after I wrote it.)
Much like with Friends, the power of the episode resides in the fact that it is ultimately focused on the core group dynamic. What's funny is that when Happy Endings premiered in the spring of last year, it received it's fair share of comparisons to the former show, though they were all in the form of criticisms, seeking to take the show down a peg or two for recycling the formula that had grown stale from all the 90s-era copycatting. These days, those criticisms have faded, as the show has distanced itself comically from its four-camera forefather, yet has also adopted it's heart in a very satisfying way. (It's telling that this episode also featured Brad matching each of the gang with a Friends-persona, an obvious if still funny meta joke at those early critiques.)
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
“It's like butter. And I know because I'm comparing them right now.”
“VD sex!”
“No, we're not bumping you because we're not Howie Mandel.”
“Hint: they ripped him head to taint.”
“Yeah, my fault, totally my fault you hit me in the face.”
“That place it hard to get into than Obvious Joke Here, that new alt-comedy club.”
“I've never had any plaque – except that plaque they gave me for not having any plaque.” “That's a pretty great plaque plaque.”
“Put me all the way under. All the way. I won't get mad if I make in my pants; seriously, I won't strew if I poo.”
“I secretly love that song.” “Who doesn't? It's two men playing acoustic guitar at each other.”
“Fourth wind!”
“So you took Grant for granted.” “Wow, that made me sad.” “Well, the truth hurts.” “No, how you said that.”
“It's like I'm a gay salmon swimming upstream, fighting for my life in a river of bears.”
“He also said that he hated when I say a-mah-zing, but I've hardly said it at all this season.” “You mean winter?” “Yeah, it's really more of a summer word.”
“Hey, Ross. Rachel. Pheope. Fat Joey. I love you guys.”
“'XO'? Faith restored.”
“I know a horsey.” “I bet you do. Put your head down.” “Don't patronize me, Monica.”
“I wouldn't actually touch these blankets. I hear that bums have sex in these things when they're parked.”
(Although this does make me wonder when the show's going to get back to that hanging thread of Dave and Penny's budding romance. It's not something I'm particularly excited about, but nothing bothers me more than when a show leaves a narrative thread dangling without a clear purpose as to why.)
Normally, this would be something of a death knell for a show like Happy Endings, which tends to live and die by its ability to deliver rapid-fire dialogue and jokes, something that tends to work best when it's just the main characters, and not a lot of exposition/setup is needed. If of course also helps that the main cast is always well suited to that kind of comedy, while the guest stars tend to be something of a mixed bag, and tonight they weren't all that adept at channeling the comedy's general style. (Well, with one exception, but we'll get to him in a minute.) Nor did it helps that Dave, Alex, and Penny's stories all ended with some fairly predictable punchlines.
But what made this episode work in spite of the hindering premise and some limp resolutions is that it managed to weave all these stories together under the thread of each character having a terrible Valentine's Day. Granted, it's not the most original premise, but it's one that reinforces the group dynamic that is so essential to this show. Even though each of the members ended up alone on Valentine's Day, they ended up alone together, and that made the world of difference for them.
Of course, things do end happy for one of the gang, as Max gets a second chance with former ex Grant, with the help and encouragement from the rest of the group. Even when they end alone together, there never above making sure at least one friend isn't alone if they can help it. This develop excites me in two ways. First, I've always felt that Max is one of the best gay characters currently on television, but sometimes the show forgets to give him romantic storylines, which negates the supposed stereotype breaking nature of the character. Hopefully, placing him in a solid romantic arc will remind viewers everywhere of the character's sexuality, and he can go back to being an effective progressive portrayal.
Secondly, Grant is played by the fantastic James Wolk, who a whole three of you will recognize as the lead of last season's it-only-lasted-two-episodes-but-boy-was-it-still-awesome flop, Lone Star. I have no idea of Wolk's comedic chops – his appearance here didn't really test the actor in that area – but he's an actor that deserves more work than he gets, and I'm glad that that work happens to be on one of my favorite comedies. Let's just hope he doesn't carry the curse of cancellation over from his previous FOX show. (Are you knocking on wood as you read this? Because I certainly knocked after I wrote it.)
Much like with Friends, the power of the episode resides in the fact that it is ultimately focused on the core group dynamic. What's funny is that when Happy Endings premiered in the spring of last year, it received it's fair share of comparisons to the former show, though they were all in the form of criticisms, seeking to take the show down a peg or two for recycling the formula that had grown stale from all the 90s-era copycatting. These days, those criticisms have faded, as the show has distanced itself comically from its four-camera forefather, yet has also adopted it's heart in a very satisfying way. (It's telling that this episode also featured Brad matching each of the gang with a Friends-persona, an obvious if still funny meta joke at those early critiques.)
Quotes and Other Thoughts:
“It's like butter. And I know because I'm comparing them right now.”
“VD sex!”
“No, we're not bumping you because we're not Howie Mandel.”
“Hint: they ripped him head to taint.”
“Yeah, my fault, totally my fault you hit me in the face.”
“That place it hard to get into than Obvious Joke Here, that new alt-comedy club.”
“I've never had any plaque – except that plaque they gave me for not having any plaque.” “That's a pretty great plaque plaque.”
“Put me all the way under. All the way. I won't get mad if I make in my pants; seriously, I won't strew if I poo.”
“I secretly love that song.” “Who doesn't? It's two men playing acoustic guitar at each other.”
“Fourth wind!”
“So you took Grant for granted.” “Wow, that made me sad.” “Well, the truth hurts.” “No, how you said that.”
“It's like I'm a gay salmon swimming upstream, fighting for my life in a river of bears.”
“He also said that he hated when I say a-mah-zing, but I've hardly said it at all this season.” “You mean winter?” “Yeah, it's really more of a summer word.”
“Hey, Ross. Rachel. Pheope. Fat Joey. I love you guys.”
“'XO'? Faith restored.”
“I know a horsey.” “I bet you do. Put your head down.” “Don't patronize me, Monica.”
“I wouldn't actually touch these blankets. I hear that bums have sex in these things when they're parked.”
I LOVED the friends references. Made me happy.
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