Crazy weird episode of Rules of Engagement this week. It wasn’t really out-of-character for the show to be so random, but I felt as if this was the first time in a long time (or possibly ever) that I didn’t enjoy it so much.
Where was Adam? I’m not a Jennifer fan, nor am I fan of dim-witted Adam, but Jeff zinging him is always worth a laugh or two. And once upon a time Russell zinging him was good for something as well, but those days have passed. Still, Adam and Jeff!
And what’s going on with Russell? His entire plot was crying on an airplane because he hates to fly? He was never such a deep character, but let me paint you a little picture: season three premiere, Audrey discovers that Russell loves musicals. The two become pals for an episode and attend the theater regularly. At the end Jeff finds out and makes fun of Russell, until the threesome come across Adam dancing with a man and begin to make fun of him.
Now back to the airplane. Russell spilled his champagne all over Timmy when he jumped on him, and then he proceeded to throw up in Timmy’s bagged lunch. Sure I enjoyed it when Russell made Timmy sing him show tunes, but those kinds of moments are few-and-far-between from the little blond guy these days.
And then there were Jeff and Audrey … whose plot centered around the fact that Jeff masturbates really fast and all the time. That’s the chestnut the writers socked away for Patrick Warburton. I mean, he can still deliver the funny and he had some good lines, but for the most part it was his job to tell Audrey “Too late.”
And what about Audrey? That’s the “A” team we’re talking about, and there she was reduced to discussing Lindsey Vaughn fantasies, and calculating how long the trip down to the lobby and back took in the elevator. I cry foul.
While that brings me back to my long-standing complaint that the show lacks sensible story lines, I’d be willing to knock it down a level and call for solid story lines. This week’s two plots highlighted the fact that there can very easily be something fundamental lacking even when a show produces a relatively funny episode (something this episode wasn’t necessarily). A lot of the stories are just lacking. Whether you want to argue that sitcoms don’t need substance, there’s still a difference between “dumb” and dumb, the former having more in common with uncomplicated than stupid.
These guys can do great comedy. Once upon a time the entire cast (save for Jennifer) was delivering solid comedy on a weekly basis. Interestingly I feel as if it’s more since they started to incorporate a broader plot (Jeff and Audrey trying to get pregnant) that the episodes in between the baby ones have been softer. It’s almost as if the writers feel the need to counterbalance overarching themes with simplicity.
It’s just not necessary. If you’re in the camp that believes that sitcoms need have no ties from week to week, so be it … at least admit that the weekly stand-alone plots should be good.
“Hey Jill.” – Jeff
“It’s Tracy.” – Tracy (Jill)
“Oh, did you get married?” – Jeff
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Oct 14, 2010 @ 12:00 EST5EDT
