I was fully prepared to write a review of last week’s episode of Rules of Engagement, entitled “Play Ball.” But as I sat down to think about what had happened in the episode, I found myself at a loss. Not only was it an uninteresting episode, but it also wasn’t very good. Audrey playing softball on Jeff’s team could have been fun, but aside from the expected cluelessness it just flopped.
This week, on the other hand, did a lot better. Why? Well, it wasn’t because of Adam and Jennifer, who smoked a really old stash of weed that Adam found hidden in a Santa bank from his childhood. Their munchies played into the enjoyable plot, but them … not so much.
Russell and Timmy continue to bother me. Timmy’s girlfriend gets way too much time (on screen and off) and Russell has absolutely nothing going on anymore outside of Timmy. Timmy as one of the guys? That’s not the way we like him.
Once again it was Jeff and Audrey that saved the day. The Binghams are rock stars, and whenever they get the opportunity to delve into a meaty comedic plot, they excel.
Audrey was a bit annoying at the beginning of the episode. Based on what else we know of her, she might be antsy at being unemployed, but I don’t see her running through a laundry list of chores in a day. It’s just not her. Jeff played as expected as the annoyed husband.
But once Audrey hooked into the baking idea, they took off. I admit I found myself wondering why she would have had all of those cooling racks and serving pieces for baked goods in the kitchen, but it didn’t matter once we saw the look on Jeff’s face.
And the bakery idea was great. Not that I think the idea is so great (do you know how much it costs to rent/buy commercial ovens, stovetops, etc?) but for Audrey, and for the show, it’s fantastic.
A Bingham-owned bakery could open up a world of opportunity for the entire gang. The characters professional lives have never really been at the center of the show, even as we’ve seen everyone at work in some capacity. A character owned food store could involve work mishaps, as well as provide a new setting for the gang to hang out. And talk about synergy and collaboration — Jeff’s in finance, Russell (and Adam?) are in real estate, and Jen does marketing (Timmy can be mistaken for an undocumented worker!). Might we have ourselves a brain trust the likes of which haven’t been seen since Weeds season one?
When Audrey first mentioned the idea (and certainly the name) I groaned, but the truth is that a bakery could reinvent a show that at times feels old and tired. Of course, knowing the series there’s a good chance that this will never be mentioned again, but there has to be some reason that Audrey quit her job and the writers continued that plot through to a second episode. Could this be a jolt in the making?
What do you think? Do you see the bakery plot meaning anything in the grand scheme? Regardless, do you think that the show needs some new blood?
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Oct 26, 2010 @ 15:30 EST5EDT
