2 Broke Girls, S3E3 “And the Kitty Kitty Spank Spank”: A TV Review

Last week I mentioned how what originally drew me to 2 Broke Girls was its premise, that of two girls down on their luck, doing anything they can to get by. This week I’m faced with the fact that they’ve pretty much thrown it out the window, and that I just may be okay with that.

This isn’t a show that is ever going to be laugh-out-loud funny, at least to me, but this episode made me grin a number of times, and didn’t even mention money once. You don’t have to search much further for criticism about a show “forgetting its purpose” than one hour earlier on CBS. How I Met Your Mother has a very distinct goal, and one they’re finally getting around to in the ninth and final season, and while we complained about how long they were taking we also got more than a few hilarious episodes out of the seasons leading up to what will be the finale. When a premise has been so clearly stated [in the title, no less], can we forgive a show for setting it aside to make us laugh?

Because Han is short, remember?

We start things off with Max tricking Han into saying “the plain, the plain!” to great amounts of laughter. I had to look up what it was even referencing, which was apparently the TV show Fantasy Island, which ran from 1977-1984. I guess that gives us some insight into their target demographic. Oh, and it’s funny because the character on the TV show who says the line is played by Hervé Villechaize, a midget [I say this because Wikipedia tells me that he didn’t want to be called a “little person.”]

If you couldn’t tell by the title, this episode is about a stray cat that keeps yowling outside of their window. They make it out to be like it’s really adorable, like it’s saying “hello,” but I know for a fact that that’s what cats sound like when they’re in heat, and couldn’t stop being grossed out by that.

Max wants it, Caroline doesn’t, Sophie [and the Polish in general] believe that it and all other cats are the reincarnated souls of people who die outside. They try to give it to a woman who turns out to be insane, and then end up White Fang-ing it in Park Slope, “the Beverly Hills of Brooklyn.”

Much, much less dramatic than when Schmidt tried to White Fang Cece, but, y’know-

Then a woman shows up who was looking for it and they find it and return it to her but Caroline gets it back for Max because they love each other so much the end.

But really, there are some great comedic bits in there.

Caroline [MVP second time in a row?] does this impression of a woman on Animal Cops which involves the line: “Don’t take my babies; these 27 angels is all I got.” The woman with 31 cats has a hilarious off-screen quarrel with the one named Gina, who “is bipolar and refuses to take her meds.” Han is spanked earlier in the episode and caps the episode off by spanking Max [to uproarious laughter and applause that was for once more or less justified] and trying to get her to reciprocate.

If anything, that last gag should have been carried on throughout the entire episode. Weird sex things are always pretty funny, but Matthew Moy really sells it with his innocent, boyish desperation.

Special mention, which I give its own paragraph because I enjoyed it so much, was a man who Max shadily mumbles “Hey, wanna cat?” to. After ascertaining that she did not say “crack” he responds, very matter of factly: “Well why would I want a cat? I’m a crackhead.”

To stop before this all gets out of control, yes, I thought this episode was pretty good, humour-wise, to which you might respond with [especially having read my past reviews]:

Like I’ve said before, though, I don’t come to this show bearing high expectations. Not only that, but I won’t refuse to be amused just because it’s never been anything great. As a sitcom one of the 2 Broke Girls‘ missions [and some may argue the most important one] is to make people laugh, and this time around the show got that done.

As far as characterization goes, things still have a way to go. It continues to be revealed to us that Max and Caroline love and care about each other, which we should certainly be aware of by now. The former’s warm affectionate centre which belies her aggressive exterior is nice to see, especially when it came to the cat, but her aforementioned friendship with her best [only?] friend is a constant reminder that she’s not that much of a bitter, jaded person.

At the end of the day, maybe it would be better to just take this show for what it is, accepting the laughs [or grins, they’ll take what they can get] for what they are. I’d be totally fine with that, if only they would do away with what appears after the final scene of every episode with a ka-ching.

Current Total: $1,010.

New Total: $1,310 [judging from this episode, as well as the last, the girls are banking around $300 per week].

The Title Refers To: Their kitty, spanking [of said kitty and others], and a play on words on the title of a 1968 British musical film loosely based on an Ian Fleming novel.

Stray Observations:

• Today’s Special: Fresh Minestrone Soup and a Plain Bagel [$5.95]
• Earl does not like cats because they steal his weed.
• Oleg has seen Cats a total of 9 times.
• Some of the cats in that apartment were most definitely CGI’d in.
• They do this one wide shot of Park Slope that was really surprising, revealing a huge set with actual sunlight and everything.
• Honourable mention [and worthy of being a recurring gag] is Caroline apparently never having gone to sex ed: “Max, you can’t get pregnant doggy style.”

• There is a subplot of sorts that involves their kitty being Nancy, the reincarnation of one of Sophie’s friends. I didn’t care to mention it ’til now.

• Max’s joke that made me feel legitimately uncomfortable [new feature?]: “I don’t even remember the name of the guy I lost my virginity to! Best I can do is ‘Coach Something.'”
• 2 Broke Girls Cheesecake Menu: Caroline in her bedtime attire [it includes hot pants] will always make this list. Below are a few gifs that make it on as well-