Christmas Baby Woes

Happy Endings, S03E07

The gang found out that Jane was really born on Christmas and tried to celebrate her birthday without letting Christmas sneak in.  Dave tried to help Penny give Pete the perfect gift and failed to see the sentiment of Pete's gift for her.

Everyone would have been able to pull off the no-Christmas birthday party for Jane if it wasn't for Max and Alex.  I wasn't too surprised that Max was unable to stay away from something he loves to consume--that's like telling a fish not to swim.  Alex's fetish with unwrapping gifts, though, was so out there and a little creepy.  But she is very childlike, so it's not uncharacteristic of her to enjoy the process of opening presents.  Still, I wish she could have shown a little restraint.  Max was a lost cause, but if he wasn't and hadn't had that "back nog" on him, Alex would have stabbed him in the spine!  Then it would just be blood spraying all over the place.  Somehow, though, for Jane being a Christmas baby, I'm sure she would have preferred that.

I really identified with Jane's problem.  I have a birthday in what I call the "Christmas Radius" where any date that falls within it gets swept under the carpet by Christmas (and sometimes New Year's as well).  If you've never had a gift that seemed to just be an unimpressive extension of a Christmas gift, then you can't really relate.  It is a little sad when you feel like the one day you are allowed to make it a little about yourself is ignored or made light of.  Because of this, I thought Jane's idea to tell people her birthday was a completely different date was a pretty damn good idea.  People aren't going to remember the real date anyway, so what's the harm in that?

One thing that I thought was interesting in that story was Jane macing all of her friends.  She had just woken up from bed and was still in a robe, yet she had two bottles of it ready to go.  I know she doesn't like surprises and is always prepared, but damn!  I couldn't imagine carrying mace in my own house at the crack of dawn.  If she's that worried that a robber or rapist might be waiting for her on the way to the kitchen, she should invest in a security system.

I sort of wish that Dave's claim to "gift whisperer" was nothing more than hot air from him (as usual) and his gift for Pete had been a bust.  But it turned out to be just right.  Ugh.  Nothing more than I hate than seeing Dave feel superior no matter what insignificant thing he's gloating about.  It was nice, though, that he turned out to be dead wrong about Pete's gift for Penny.  It did seem like Pete hadn't put any thought into it at all, but it turned out to be a big symbol of his love for Penny.  Yay.  That shut Dave up for a second.  It's annoying that he thinks that he could possibly know the depth of Penny and Pete's relationship.  He needs to back off.  Even if he's unconsciously showing some kind of untapped affection for Penny.  I still hoping that road will never be taken again.

This was an okay episode.  Nothing too bad that made me upset.  I think what I liked most was that the story was something I could relate to.  With all the crazy things these friends get involved with, I'm fairly sure there won't be many more stories like that for me.  And I don't think that I'll find many more stories I like in general as well.

Don't Make Max A Fifth Wheel

Happy Endings, S03E06

Alex and Jane's father was celebrating his 20th anniversary of his mattress store with a party, and Jane wanted to entertain her father with the perfect joke.  Alex asked Dave not to come to the party, but he came after Penny's suggestion with no knowledge that Alex hadn't told her parents that they were back together.  Max began to feel lonely because of Penny's new relationship with Pete and tried to replace Penny with someone similar to her.

It's always funny to me to see someone who doesn't like Brad.  Jane's dad was particularly hard to reach, simply annoyed with Brad for saying "parties, right?"  It's not even a matter of them having little to talk about--it's just that Brad could probably say anything and his father-in-law would just stare at him, unamused.  I loved that.  I even loved when Brad, so desperate to end the unease between the two of them, stole Jane's painstakingly constructed joke for her father.  It sucked that he stole her work of art, but at least Brad had finally broken the wall between him and her dad.  I couldn't blame him for that.  He's probably been sweating for years.

And even though Jane had to go with plan B, she still managed to get her dad to laugh at her by knocking herself out.  It was a win-win.  Brad got to connect with his father-in-law, and Jane got her father to laugh.  For the two of them, they had a really successful evening.

I didn't care about Dave and Alex's problem until Alex's dad kept talking to Dave about how much money he put into the ceremony that didn't happen.  I mean, he was not trying to be very subtle about how the wedding had hurt him in the pocket.  That was sort of funny.  Still, if in the end Dave hadn't gotten in front of the whole party and announced that he and Alex were dating again I wouldn't have been upset.  It's very much an insignificant thing to me whether Alex tells her parents about her and Dave or not.  If the two of them are going to be doing more things like eating corn like a typewriter, I'm ready to see them split again.

I sort of expected that Penny and Pete wouldn't be split by the next episode, but I also didn't care if I was wrong about that.  I suppose I've gotten like Max and don't have much confidence that Penny will hold onto a guy, so what's the point in liking (or disliking) her flavor of the week?  It's just amazing that she had a really good thing going and she ruined it by writing down Pete's flaws, which she had previously said she wasn't going to do.  You would think that's something someone would do after you breakup, not when you're still in the honeymoon phase of your relationship.  Pete's wrong about Penny being "a little" crazy.  She's full-blown on.

I felt bad for Max, who literally kept getting pushed to the side by all of his friends in couples.  I was sort of proud of him for no winning Penny back by getting between her and Pete.  That seemed like the first thing he would try.  Instead, he got a Penny-like girl named Nicole (or "Nickel" as he tried to call her) to befriend.  It's too bad Penny was too wrapped up in being a "love guru" that she didn't even notice he was trying to make her jealous at all.  In fact, Nicole ended up getting hooked up with Pete's brother right away!  I would have thought Nicole's appearance was a waste then, but at the very end of the episode there was this great scene where Nicole surprises Max in his apartment and he had no idea she was right behind him the whole time.  Although she was acting like a psycho and Max had screamed at the sight of her, I loved his response afterward:

Oh, my God.  You're insane.  And I love it and I want to party with you forever!

I loved how he hugged that crazy girl!  But is Nicole going to stick around?  Or was that just for an extra laugh (much needed one)?  After all, Max did get Pete and Penny back together (nice of him even if I wasn't desperate for Pete and Penny to stay together), so he doesn't have his best bud around to hang with.  Nicole seems nuts, but I'm open to her joining the crew if she can multiple the craziness of Max.  He's been pretty tame lately and I want him to get back to crazy schemes like that ghetto stove he made.  That was genius.

I guess I didn't hate this episode.  I didn't think it was very funny, but the party for Alex and Jane's dad was sort of interesting.  I might start to become interested in Penny's life again now that she has a stable boyfriend.  I'm so used to her being a single mess that perhaps her bad traits might be toned down with a good man at her side.  Or maybe Pete will turn out to be a bit of a weirdo, thus making their relationship a little more meant to be.  I just wish that Max would find someone soon.  Even if it's entertaining for him to seek replacements, I'm sure it's dangerous for him to go around and find any more Nicoles around town.

Real World Days

Happy Endings, S03E04

While everyone was having dinner at Alex and Dave's place, Max played the unaired season of The Real World that Brad and Max were cast in.  The episode where the others visited Max revealed a lot of truths that caused tension among their group.  Dave also went looking for clams and got subjected to a lot of unpleasant events that made him feel like he was experiencing the Native American struggle.

I was once again hoping that Max would salvage this episode and he did by bringing out the DVD of their gang's appearance on reality TV.  I was a little excited to see them as their younger selves, particularly Penny as Max's girlfriend.  We haven't really seen any flashbacks or the sort when Max wasn't being completely true with himself.  Besides that, I just liked seeing Jane in her pink hair and punk-like style.  Everyone else looked a bit of a mess (except Max who never wasn't a mess), but it was still interesting to see a glimpse of how they were.

I liked that the stuff they saw caused trouble between Brad and Jane and that both of them were guilty of something bad during the filming of the show.  The best thing they showed, though, was that Max's historical coming out was a fizzle because with the food in his mouth it sounded like he had said, "I'm Greg."  That wasn't funny enough to laugh out loud, but I liked that Max's moment was diminished because he was busy stuffing his face at the time.  Classic Max.  The worst thing that was revealed was Penny's long-time crush on Dave.  Ugh.  Can't we just let that go?  I mean, I can't imagine Penny and Dave being a worse couple than he and Alex, but still.  I couldn't care less about how she feels about the V-necked fool.

Speaking of that fool, his little journey to get clams was so stupid.  The only decent moment was when he actually got the clams and tried to barter for them because some couple dressed as Pilgrims had stolen his car and money.  The guy's response to Dave's offer of a non-monetary trade made me laugh:

This is a real store.

 In the end, Dave's clams didn't even turn out to be worthy of eating, so his whole ordeal was really a waste of a side-story.  It also showed once again how much of an idiot Dave is, but not in any humorous kind of way.

There was one other thing that was a little funny.  I liked when Jane and Brad were inspecting Alex's dubiously cooked turkey.  Jane mentioned that it was poorly seasoned and most likely dry, while Brad commented:

 She's clearly been making it dance.

Either those two know their turkeys too well or they know Alex too well because that's incredible that Brad could tell that.  It was cute that they swapped out her turkey for the perfect one Jane had made and no one even noticed (really?  who would believe that Alex could cook anything?).

I wish this episode had been nothing but a complete flashback to their Real World days.  Somehow it was the focus of the episode and still seemed like we got to see little of the DVD.  I guess it was because everyone was too busy being angry at someone else.  I wanted to see more of how dumb they were back then and less of how irritating they are now.  And I hope we don't have to see another Dave-only side story any time soon.  He's bad enough paired with someone else--he's a disaster by himself.

Lotta Hype, Not Laughs

Happy Endings, S03E03

Max started a new job as a hype guy for bar mitzvahs, and Penny suggested that Brad join him after she had gotten good reviews from their combined performance.  Jane tried to help rekindle the love life between Dave and Alex, which was getting way too comfortable and boring.  Penny got a lot of attention from the young boys at the bar mitzvah parties.

Somehow with Jane getting involved in Dave and Alex's kind of gross couple life, Alex and Dave weren't so annoying to watch.  I didn't want to see them find their love again, but I liked that their story ended with them all getting detained by airport security.  Alex was a moron to go to the airport with a fake ticket (although I don't know why she had be tied up just because she was trying to honor a ticket at an airline that didn't exist), but at least it helped Dave get tackled and Jane get tased and pepper sprayed.  It wasn't that funny, but I just liked it wasn't that boring.  There was, however, one funny line in this story when Dave commented that he should have called before interrupting Jane and Brad's role playing:

[Penny] I did call ahead and apparently it did not make a difference.

I love how Jane and Brad are so comfortable with their sex life.  And it's not really disturbing or gross.  It's just sort of cute how they mesh well with each other and you never have to ask why they are together.  Although I have issue with this show nowadays, the two of them might be one of my favorite TV couples of all time.

What I really liked about this episode was of course the story about Max and Brad.  They are my favorite duo for any story on this show and are usually the best combination out of the whole group.  This time they were in a group that had a name that was a pun of Boys II Men.  In general, I liked Max having yet another unconvential job that none of their friends had ever heard of before and Brad and Max having a fight, but the best thing was the very end where they showed a music video.  They should have just extended it and made it the bulk of the episode.

I really loved how they kept saying that some of the steps were secrets.  And then after they actually went back to naming real steps, they went on again to say like a series of the steps were secrets again!  It sounded like Max had written that song and was just too damn lazy to think of 50 actual steps.  So good. 

Penny was totally being kinda creepy hitting on those young boys.  It wasn't surprising that at the end they weren't interested in seeing her boobs, but wanted to go to the mall.  She never disappoints in the area of being pathetically unattractive to the right kind of guys.

This episode was okay.  I felt like I could have been more excited about the stories if they all had a little bit more (except Penny's because I don't want to see little boys flirting with her).  I wouldn't mind if they did another Boys II Menorah story in the future, but since it involves Max I couldn't see him sticking to one occupation forever.  I do like the idea of Brad joining him more often on his random ventures now that he's unemployed.  I'm looking forward to seeing what crazy thing Brad and Max can get into in another episode.

Is Jane A Warlock?

Happy Endings, S03E02

Penny tried to buy a car without having Jane interfere too much.  Max showed Brad how to live Brad's old life in Max's no-money style.  Alex and Dave looked at apartments together.

This episode was okay.  I think what I liked best was that Jane got to be her normal aggressive self in this episode.  This time she was a no-prisoners negotiator for a car purchase.  More than that, I really loved how Jane kept magically moving from place to place and Penny wondering if she was a witch or warlock.  I can understand that Penny might have wanted to do something on her own (and she ultimately did),  but I would have just let Jane do her thing.  It's amazing how well she could predict all the moves of the dealership down to the meager cup of water offered to them.  She just couldn't predict that Penny's seemingly bumbling moves (like walking straight through a glass wall) were just a ploy to get a good price.

At the very end, I also like how coolly she interacted with the "Car Czar."  Who walks around with not just your salary offer, but your counteroffer to someone rejecting your salary offer?  Damn!  She still manages to surprise me with how insanely prepared she is.  She just can't be beat.  But I wonder if she really is going to go work for that guy, or was that just a gag at the end?

I thought that Max taking Brad around for the day was cute, but not entirely funny.  Them going to random meetings for free food was pretty good, but the best part of that story was when Max had a substitute for Brad's running trainer.  I loved seeing Max slap a pretzel out of a guy's hand and punch him in the face before running off.  That takes balls and insanity.  I respect that Max may be a bum, but at least he's not a coward.  Also, he did that for Brad, so he's not afraid to get the shit beat out of him for someone he loves.

Alex and Dave...   I feel like a broken record, but they just suck.  I was already bored by the idea of them moving in together, but I was just angry to see them wasting a real estate agent's time by coming up with the worst excuses ever to reject every good apartment that she had shown them.  They were being assholes.  Indecisive assholes.  Luckily, that lady tore them a new one when they tried one last time to make up a reason not to take the apartment.  I had hoped they would come clean with their feelings about being committed to each other, but they just took the place anyway.  Ugh.  Maybe if they had done the right thing and were honest, I could have hated them a little less.  Now I have to watch them pretend they are loving living together when they're already miserable.  Not excited to see all that.

I will mention a few lines that were pretty good in this episode.  The first was from Max when he was tasting the brunch food Jane made:

You go, girl! [tastes the food and spits it out] You go to hell, girl!

 The other that I thought was memorable was when Jane was for the second time trying to appeal to Penny's love of teen fantasy novels to motivate her:

[Jane] Must be strong. Like Hermione in the Harry Potter books.
[Penny] You read those?
[Jane] Dorks.

This one I'd actually like to use on someone because I'd enjoy teasing them (I'm not much of a Harry Potter fan).

Lastly, I sort of liked their group costume.  I mean, it was original, at least.  And sort of cute.  It was just sad that they couldn't get out the damn door.  But still, it's a lot better than some of the costumes I've seen for other Halloween stories lately.

Again, I wasn't too thrilled with this episode, but I do feel like there's some hope for me to get pumped about this show again.  Maybe if Dave and Alex get their act together, I'll be able to remember how I love the others again and just be enjoying the laughs.  I'm tired already of groaning at the two of them as things are now.

Four Yawns And An Eyebrow Raise

Happy Endings, S02E21

It's already the season finale of this show!  What?  It really feels like it flew by.  I have to say that I wasn't too impressed by the second season, especially when the first one was so funny.  Anyway, this time the gang went to Derrick and Eric's wedding.  Penny tried to hook up with a guy via Skype after looking forward to having a real date at a wedding for the first time that didn't pan out.  Brad lost his job and hesitated telling Jane while she was covering Eric's ass for not having enough money to cover the reception.  Max was reluctant to join his old Madonna cover band because he was worried about how much he had changed physically since his singing heyday.  Penny wondered if she had unrealized feelings for Dave, which led to a possible return of Dave and Alex's relationship somehow.

For someone as interesting as Derrick, his wedding was sure boring.  I did like the wedding party's matching suits (even if Jane looked awkward in her yellow one), but beyond that, I was disappointed the six weren't involved in an event that would let loose all of their crazy and funny tendencies.  I would say that everyone behaved well, and there wasn't much drama (insert Derrick's voice) at all.  Even Max was just sitting around feeling sorry for himself.  What a shame.  If there wasn't a shortage of food at the reception, I would have liked to see him stuffing his face in a ridiculous way at least once (I only got to see him licking a cake wrapper or something).  What a waste.

Does anyone really care about Penny dating someone?  I don't think even her friends do since they were betting how long it would take her to mention the new guy she had met.  Speaking of the beginning of the episode, the pace of their conversation led me to believe that it would just get funnier from there.  Major let down.  Instead of finding Penny's seat at the Skype table and her later dance with a laptop to be amusing, I just felt pity for her.  She's really sad.

Jane wasn't even that aggressive when she tried to get into the wedding party.  Basically, all she had to do was "poison" the person who matched her height, and she was in.  I would have enjoyed her trying slip in there after many failed, underhanded attempts.  Disappointing.  And when she was a part of it all and had to get creative with the food, her innovations (such as the napkin as the brie) weren't that great.  I at least wanted to see someone catching onto what she was doing, and Jane running in to remedy that in some outlandish way.  Things just went smoothly for the most part.

I don't know why Penny was exploring the possibility of liking Dave.  I can't imagine a worse couple.  Even though she has suggested she might have something for him, it hasn't crossed my mind since then.  What do they have in common?  And there's no attraction between them.  There was such a connection once between Alex and Dave (it feels so long since they were almost walking down the aisle together), but even with them having slept together a few episodes ago, I have no desire to see them rekindle that flame.  But since they had a few suggestive moments and were seen holding hands, I guess next season they will be back to old tricks.  Ugh.  Good thing I won't have to see that headache for a good while.

If I had to pick my favorite thing in the story (and I have to really scrap the bottom of the bowl here), I would say that I liked when Max was performing on stage and suddenly Brad was there dancing next to him.  That was a little cute and random.  I could see Brad a part of that band too (maybe he wouldn't be as "pitchy" as Pete).  Brad and Max scenes are great.  Wish they had more this season.

I don't know if I'll want to watch this show as much next season.  The first season was so good, I couldn't wait for it to start again, but the stories certainly haven't been as consistently on point as they used to be.  I definitely will want to watch so I can see what Max's up to, but if they don't do a little better next time, I don't know if even he can continue to carry the show for me.  Let's step it up a notch in the fall (providing they are picked up again)!

Max Misses Grant... Aww!

Happy Endings, S02E17

After the "cliffhanger" in the previous episode, Happy Endings starts off this one with the continuation of Dave and Alex's hookup.  Um, I would have been fine if they just brushed that off.  Instead, Dave and Brad try hard to prove that the night actually happened, unlike Alex and Jane claim it didn't.  I would have disliked this story more if Jane wasn't so ridiculously meticulous in covering it up.  The other story, about Max and Penny competing in Rosalita's Run, was also pretty good due to Max finding ways to see Grant in everything they did.

No surprise that Jane was the mastermind behind the coverup since Alex is the kind of girl who thinks the TV and computer are friends.  My favorite part in this story was when Brad and Dave keep saying "A-ha!" to disprove all the details Jane made up.  Jane was prepared with all the evidence needed to support the story, including a popcorn husk in Brad's teeth (eww!).  I loved when Jane seemed to teleport across the room to another chair, while holding a cat.  Not only did she freak them out, but she looked like a villain.

Regarding the Rosalita's Run story, I think Max is so cute in the way that he turned anything back into a memory of Grant.  One of my favorites was when they got the clue for Risky Business, and Max said it reminded him of Grant because he owned a business and rode a bike to his business, which was very risky.  I actually didn't think they would show much of how Grant's disappearance affected him.  I'm glad they did because you really get to see a sweet side of Max.  I also like how Max said he couldn't even enjoy bacon, which Penny told him he would have to snap out of it because bacon would come up a lot with him.   This leads to a funny line as Max is pushing Penny in the shopping cart for the win:

Bacon!  I should have eaten more bacon!

I guess it's the bacon that makes Max go.  I was amazed he went as fast as he did.  Someone as lazy as Max doesn't look like the type that would fast, unless it had to do with food.

Max was pretty cute, too, when he asked the cashier to beep his card again because he liked the sound.  He laughed like a delighted child and then went right back to the sad face.  Aww.  But I'm sure that their winnning the Rosalita's Run will get Max back to normal and possibly into some entertaining scheme.

Thankfully, this episode didn't signify the restart of Dave and Alex together.  I think they make a boring couple anyway.  That, even with Max being so adorably forlorn, was probably the best thing about this episode of all.  They could have spared us the story of whether they would stay friends or not, but I'll not nitpick since it was done in a way funnier than I would have predicted.  I'm ready to stop focusing on that wreck of a relationship and get back to the "Crazy Max and His Ideas" show.

Surprise Laugh, Surprise Break-Up

Happy Endings, S02E16

I was pretty surprised on Wednesday night.  I was prepared for a story about Penny or Dave with few promises that I would be laughing my ass off.  Things were also looking very good for team Grant-Max, who even had an adorable T-shirt made to celebrate their love:

But the story about Dave haunting their dreams had a very unexpected hilarious moment.  Jane likens the horrible sex dreams to a popular horror character:

Dave is Freddy Krueger-ing us in our dreams...with sex.

That didn't really do anything for me humor-wise until Dave came into the place looking like this:

OMG.  That was hilarious!  And with Dave's horrible choice in fashion, it makes perfect sense he would suddenly roll up in there in such an outfit.  Brad's girlish scream was the best of all, and he is more or less a man.

So I was satisfied with the story just because of that great moment.  The second thing that surprised me was that Max found out that he wanted kids.  I guess it's not huge surprise since he found out that he liked his niece and nephew more than he thought he would, but still...  I never thought he would take a break with Grant over an issue like that!  Nooooo!  I like them together.  I suppose I can be glad it wasn't because of anything stupid Max did to sabotage their relationship, but I won't like him dating anyone else besides Grant.  I mean, I miss Max flirting with guys and whatnot, but that pales in comparison of him being in a happy couple.  Speaking of Max and this surprising break-up, he had a wonderful line he used to illustrate how one cannot be certain of things in the future:

This morning I didn't want frittatas. Now if you told me I could never have one again, I'd kill you in cold bold. Assassin style.

Max has wonderful lines about food.  Anyone who can say something like "Oo! Floor bacon!" has a special place in my heart.  I wouldn't eat something like that, but I love that a little dirt doesn't deter him.

I won't even get into the cleansing thing going on with Penny and Alex, as that story was pretty boring except for the food flying everywhere in Penny's room.  Anytime Alex is going off in one of her obsessions, my eyes start to wander.

Not sure what I'll be expecting for next week, but hopefully there will be more Max now that he's done being lovey-dovey.  Maybe seeing that, I will get over my disappointment about Grant and Max (4eva!!).

Dave Tries to Get Leslie And Tom Tries To Get Ann

Parks and Recreation, S04E15

Good episode!  We had Leslie stuck in an awkward love triangle with her ex and current boyfriend, we had Andy trying to compose the best campaign song ever, and we had Tom trying to get together with Ann.  Also, Ron was trying to hide his secret persona, Duke Silver.  All interesting stories.

I'll start first with the campaign team at the recording studio with Andy.  I liked how intense Andy was getting, who is known for being laid back about pretty much everything.  He was pretty much acting like a tyrant, not accepting anything less than perfect singing.  The worst singing of all (or at least the only that they let us hear) was Chris' version of "Take Me Out To The Ball Game."  Not only were the words wrong (I think), but he was singing too deliberately.  I expected him to be a little better, but at least it matched his over-the-top personality.  Surprisingly, Andy gave him the thumbs up during a time when he was being the hardest on everyone ever.  April seemed to enjoy his demand for perfection, especially when he told the band to play the song each time perfectly:

God, that was hot nonsense.

Andy got frustrated about the quality of the song, but good ol' Ron came to the rescue!  He sent Andy to clear his head and then added his own sax track to the song.  Andy was blown away and no one (except Jerry who got his eardrums incapacitated by some cymbals) knew of Duke Silver's existence.

While they were all practicing in the studio, Tom was trying to get Ann to be his sweetheart.  Back at the office Tom had several horrible nicknames for her, despite that they had only went on one date.  These included "Cookie Tush," "Annberry Sauce," and "Tommy's Girl."  I felt bad for him, even though he was jumping the gun; his cutesy voice saying, "I  feel like you're embarrassed of me," made me want to just hug him.  Aziz Ansari is a pro at playing a character like Tom where the guy is repulsive, yet adorable at the same time.  He's like a hamster trying to throw lame pickup lines at you.  You have to admire his tenacity from changing his Facebook status to "it's complicated" to waiting out in the rain for Ann and getting the "sniffies."

I thought Tom wouldn't have a shot in hell until he was real with Ann (and stopped acting crazy like texting everyone about them dating) for about five seconds.  But after Tom starts singing this ridiculously cute and dorky song, Ann is finally worn down.

The only thing I'm wondering about now besides how Tom will manage to keep Ann is why Chris needed to "adjust" to the information that Tom is "dating" Ann now.  So his improved positive attitude is related to Ann?  If he's going to fight Tom one day for Ann, that's going to be such a great episode.  They're such different people, so I wouldn't know who she would choose.  They're equally crazy in their own way and attractive guys in their own ways.  I guess since Ann is a beautiful girl it's not a stretch at all that at least 2 men would be after her.

Leslie, too, is had problems with 2 men: Dave and Ben.  Not that Ben is really a problem beyond his irrational fear of police.  He really needs to shut that trap when he's talking to one of them!  Anyway, Dave's return to this show is awkward from the very second he gets on the screen until the end.  I love it.  After he tells them that he'll enjoy a frozen burrito from a gas station, Leslie blurts out a dinner invitation to him.  Ben isn't very threatened beyond the fact that Dave is a cop.  In fact, the two seem to get along pretty well at dinner until Dave blurts out his love for Leslie (a lot of that going on) and ruins the good thing they had going.  Ben was none the wiser of how much Dave wanted to get Leslie back until he handcuffs him to the urinal!  I loved that!  It was especially good when Leslie found out and Dave had to explain himself.  Dave just reminds me of someone who's never had a girlfriend before and is too confused to know how to woo a girl.  He was pretty cute in that scene.

Before Dave traps Ben in the bathroom, I really like the complicated conversation they all have about talking to each other in private.  It was so confusingly funny.

Later at the retirement part for the police chief, Dave and Leslie have a heart-to-heart and he understands that the "shrimpy" Ben is a good guy for her after all.  I wonder if he's going to stay on the show for a little while as the new police chief.  I'd love for him to keep picking on Ben.

The best picking-on-Ben moment was when these 2 police officers offered him a beer.  One was saying it was polite to have one because it was a retirement party, but the other was warning him not to break up the law and drink if he was going to drive.  Ben was so hopeless and begged them to just tell him which answer was correct in that situation.  Poor awkward Ben!

Lastly, I just want to say how I loved Andy's version of honey and tea, which was nothing but a cup of honey.  So gross, but it was funny.

Freaking love this show!

Grant, The New Cool Guy In The Gang

Happy Endings, S02E14

This episode was all about Grant.  From the gang spying on Max and Grant, you can see that their relationship is going pretty well.  Yay!  Max is understandably worried about the success of his longest, healthy relationship (2 weeks), but he is most concerned about his friends liking Grant.  We all know that they rarely like anyone and famously root for others' relationships to fail.  I like that Penny tries to turn the attention upon herself about her new bo, Shawn, but Max thankfully puts a cap on her "yapping."  It's nice to have the focus on Max's love life, especially when his brand of romance involves a "sexy fist bump."

Instead of the gang all finding something that they hate about Grant, they all fall in love with him.  And of course, since it's these five crazy people, their approval of him goes beyond just enjoying Grant's company.  They all get obsessive and ridiculously clingy.  And by "they" I mean everyone except Dave, who feels threatened by Grant's coolness.  Somehow he thought he was the "cool guy" in the group.  I don't know how he could have thought that with all of the V-neck shirts (and practically any other top) he wears.

Thanks to everyone loving Grant too much, Max starts to feel neglected and intimidated by him.  Dave's pointless attempt to prove he is cool with his sunglasses, scarf, and new motto of "chillax" doesn't help him.  In fact, when Dave tries to tell Max to calm down about the others monopolizing on his boyfriend, Max returns with a great line:

 The guy in the scarf telling me to chillax?

Dave's scarf is further deemed a failure when Brad (with Jane and Penny) comes to question about Grant, but gets a look at Dave's new look:

Is that an indoor scarf?

Despite that Dave is being a major dork, he still sets up others for good lines.  I was less worried about him figuring out that he is the group doofus and more about Max thinking he should break up with Grant!  It was a good thing that when he was freaking out he went to the friend most convinced that true love exists, Alex.  Although, for a girl who dumped Dave on their wedding day to date another loser that she didn't even like that much, it's a wonder that she is such a believer.  She ultimately convinces him to rethink the breakup after they spend some alone time together away from the meddling of their gang.  Max doesn't listen, but we get another great exchange of lines from them in this scene:

[Max] I know I may be tough on the outside--
[Alex] Not really. 
[Max] --but I'm actually very fragile on the inside. 
[Alex] And on the outside too.
[Max] And I have to be brave for everybody else. 
[Alex] You love to play the victim.

It's funny that when Max and Grant do get a second of alone time, Max is having a one-sided breakup conversation with him.  I'm glad that Grant doesn't know what the hell he is talking about, nor has time to consider it before all of their friends show up.  Penny is determined to steal Grant (and Max as an afterthought) away from Jane and Brad.  Poor Shawn is just along for the crazy ride, not realizing the huge battle that they have joined.  Dave is uselessly again trying to show up Grant, but no one is paying him mind.  Before Max can make another roundabout comment that he wants to break up with Grant at dinner, Dave has his only good line when Alex says that they can learn a lot of facts from Grant:

[Dave] Yeah, well, I got a bunch of facts too, so...
[Grant] Hey, I love learning new facts--hit me.
[Dave] You know what, Guy, you keep your facts, and I'll keep mine.

Finally, Grant comes clean that he was merely sucking up to everyone when they reach the height of their Grant obsession.  I love that Max is so happy to find out that he is needy, and Grant thinks that Max is wonderful because he doesn't care about anything.  Aww--they're a great match!  I'm surprised that no one is offended that he was just trying to be liked by them and probably hates them more than he let on.  But who really cares about that when Max is now comfortable enough to keep dating Grant.

One more thing, I didn't think that Grant's shirtless form was so sexy.  He was all right, but he wasn't anything that Penny needed to throw soda on.  Maybe it just shows how desperate these girls are to have a semi-good looking guy around.  And in that sense, I can say that Grant fits the bill.  Though I think Max is pretty cute when he's not walking around like the slob he is.

Glad things turned out so well in this episode.  I wonder if Dave is going to abandon his competition with Grant or will that continue on.  I'm pretty sure by the next episode the gang will be focused on some other crazy thing and their "best friend" Grant will just be another face in their crowd.