It’s been over a week, I know, but it’s still hard for me to get past the fact that Eric Andre aka Deke Bromberg aka Max’s boyfriend who literally lived in a dumpster is no longer with us. With the way the show revolves around its two female leads it probably would’ve been detrimental for either of them to settle down with a guy, and I can accept that. What I can’t accept is how poorly it was done. Continue reading
Posted in Comedy, relationships, review, television, writing
Tagged 2 Broke Girls, And the New Lease on Life, Beth Behrs, breakup, Caroline, Cast, CBS, Current Total, Deke, Eric Andre, Hal Linden, Kat Dennings, lease, Lester Donovan, Max, maxoline, old people, relationship, review, S3E22, Sophie, television, TV
This is the second cover in a row to show Kamala Khan decked out in her superhero getup, and it’s nothing like the silhouette that was #2. This is Ms. Marvel bold and heroic, an image fully supporting my assertion that this issue we’d see her don her crimefighting costume.
Why do you make a liar out of me, G. Willow Wilson et al.?
So no, we do not in fact get to see Kamala don the beautiful McKelvie-designed outfit, but we do get yet another rock solid issue. At this point I honestly don’t see this falling flat on its face any time soon [much like the little boy running on the 15th comic page]. It’s storytelling that’s in absolutely no rush, and it’s hard to complain when the view is so gorgeous. Continue reading
Posted in comics, Islam, religion, review
Tagged 3, Aamir, Adrian Alphona, art, Bruno, comics, costume, diversity, G. Willow Wilson, hypocrisy, Ian Herring, immigrant literature, Islam, Islamic Masjid of Jersey City, Joe Caramagna, Kamala Khan, Marvel, minority, Mosque, Ms. Marvel, Muslim, Pakistani, Quran, review, Sana Amanat, Saturday youth lecture, Sheikh Abdullah, support, teenager, the Inventor, Vick, villain, visual gag, writing
I had written this entire intro prior to watching this episode about how we should probably start readying ourselves to bid Deke adieu. The show had been moving towards him and Max breaking it off with no hope of reconciliation for some time. That and the fact that Eric Andre’s joining FX’s upcoming comedy Man Seeking Woman as one of the main cast. Altogether it seemed to point towards us not having much longer to enjoy the presence of one of my favourite Blewish [that’s half-Black half-Jewish] comedians.
This is literally the last time I’m going to bring up the rom-com narrative style that has permeated the show basically ever since Deke showed up [first mentioned back in Episode 13]. He and Max have had their ups and downs, but it all came to a head last week when his parents decided to cut him off completely. When last we saw our heroines they were on a mission to push Deke’s dumpster house clear across the city in order to reconcile him with his folks, trading his relationship with Max for financial stability and overall a better life. Continue reading
Posted in celebrity, Comedy, relationships, review, television
Tagged 2 Broke Girls, And the Cake Cake Cake, Beth Behrs, Bridezilla, Caroline, Cast, CBS, conclusion, Current Total, dance, Deke, Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23, Eric Andre, Flo, Kat Dennings, Lindsay Lohan, Mario Kart Love Song, Max, maxoline, progressive, relationship, review, S3E21, Sam Hart, scrubs, song, television, TV, wedding
Here’s something regular review readers don’t get from me very often: I wish this episode had been longer. After what was basically a filler issue last week [and one that seriously had me picking apart Han’s place on the show] this Monday night had us returning to the narrative that this half of the season has built itself around: the pastry school and Max’s relationship with Deke.
That’s right, Eric Andre is back after his character had the flu and went on a skiing trip. Every move this show has made so far, including the mild inconvenience that was Max finding out he was wealthy, has pointed towards him sticking around. She’s not one for relationships or even trusting others, and the way they’ve grown closer has made it seem like nothing short of death/something truly dramatic could break them apart. So this week the two girls meet Mr. and Mrs. Bromberg [as in the Bromberg Elevators, the ones that are in every building in the city, as in the Bromberg Colo-Rectal Centre at the New York Hospital].
Posted in Comedy, money, race, review, television
Tagged 2 Broke Girls, And the Not Broke Parents, Beth Behrs, Brombergs, Caroline, Cast, CBS, characters, Current Total, dancer, David, Deke, from the block, Genet, Jeff Garlin, Kat Dennings, Max, money, pastry school, poor, review, rich, S3E20, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Stripper, television, Todd VanDerWerff, TV, wealthy
Kamala Khan ain’t your average superheroine, and this is an idea that G. Willow Wilson et al. continue to push in the second ever installment of the brand new Ms. Marvel.
Yes, she’s a teenager with problems and responsibilities à la Peter Parker, but one of the many places where she and the New Yorker differ is how much her faith and culture influence her heroic narrative. The webslinger’s path is marred by loss as well as the modern day adage from his dying uncle that “With great power comes great responsibility.” While this is a lesson Kamala will certainly have to learn for herself, the words that spur her on to heroic feats are rooted in a certain religious text.
When she’s faced with the opportunity to save someone she’s reminded by a passage her father likes to quote from the Quran, Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:32- Continue reading
Posted in comics, Islam, race, religion, review
Tagged 2, Adrian Alphona, art, comics, diversity, G. Willow Wilson, Ian Herring, immigrant literature, Islam, it is as if he has killed all of mankind, it is as if he has saved all of mankind, Joe Caramagna, Kamala Khan, Marvel, minority, Ms. Marvel, Muslim, Pakistani, Quran, review, Sana Amanat, Surah Al-Ma’idah 5:32, teenager, visual gag, Whoever kills one person, whoever saves one person, with great power comes great responsibility, writing, Zoe
Right at the end of 2011 Todd VanDerWerff, who I unofficially inherited these reviews from after Pilot Viruet passed the torch, wrote an article on the AV Club discussing how some shows on TV existed as “Nice places to visit”.
While the initial focus was on dramas he turns to sitcoms and describes how he divides them into two categories: “shows that aim for greatness and try to push the boundaries of the form, and shows that just want to create a bunch of characters that are fun to hang out with.” Happy Endings is my personal benchmark for the latter, with Parks and Recreation coming a close second. It’s not to say that neither show exhibits good writing [both do, in their own ways], more that they’re half hours of television in which viewers can relax, content to spend time with characters who are familiar and comfortable to them.
2 Broke Girls appears to want to be one of these shows. Continue reading
Posted in Comedy, review, television, writing
Tagged 2 Broke Girls, And the Kilt Trip, Beth Behrs, Blarney Bill, Caroline, Cast, CBS, characters, Current Total, Deke, Earl, Garrett Morris, Han, hang-out show, hang-out sitcom, Happy Endings, How I Met Your Mother, Kat Dennings, kilt, Matthew Moy, Max, Oleg, review, S3E19, St. Patrick's Day, television, Todd VanDerWerff, TV
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