The Good:
- Mike O'Malley. Did Mike O'Malley win an Emmy for this role? If not, he definitely deserves one. If so, he deserves another. I love the way Mike plays Burt as such a reasonable, honest, understanding father. How many dads are baking souffles with their sons on a Saturday morning or having an open conversation about sexuality? I think Kurt's contempt is totally unwarranted. Burt truly deserves a Father of the Year award.
- Kurt. I still love Chris Colfer, but Kurt really gets on my nerves when he turns into a spoiled diva. It's reminiscent of the days in season one when his unrequited love toward Finn led to many a whine-fests, but I thought he had grown up a bit since then. Apparently not. His disapproval of Blaine's "experiment" with Rachel obviously stemmed more out of jealousy than a genuine concern for his friend. And he had the gall to play the gay card with his dad when he was scolded (mildly, at that) for having a boy sleep over. It's like Burt said -- he would never let Finn have a girl sleep over in his bed. Homophobia has nothing to do with it. Though I think storylines like this can help make Kurt a more well-rounded character, I wish well-rounded meant that he changed and developed rather than literally going around in circles.
- The music. Was there even one decent musical number in this entire episode? We might as well have heard a bunch of songs about Rachel's accessories, because there was nothing exciting or new about any of the performances this week. Although Figgins' pronunciation of Ke$ha was funny, it didn't make sitting through another tired version of a played-out song worthwhile.
- Rachel's dress at the house party.
- Glee's moral code. This is where I may begin to alienate people, but I hate it when Glee tries to tackle big moral issues like religion or drinking, mostly because I'm strongly inclined to disagree with their point of view. I have always seen Glee as an hour-l
ong episode of Full House, where everything wraps up so neat and tidy at the end, but the problem with that is you end up with watered-down takes on serious issues. There's a few reasons that the "giggle juice" episode bothered me, so, in order to make it easier on myself, I'll give you a nice bulleted list that you can choose to either read or vigorously scroll through with a frown on your face. - Reason #1: Bad drunk acting. Matthew Morrison played one of the worst drunks I have ever seen. Lea Michele was a close second. Episodes about drinking in shows with actors of questionable talent are unfortunate if for no other reason than having to sit through the overacting.
- Reason #2: The implication that alcohol fuels creativity. First we have Lady Gaga's assertion that she smokes a lot of weed and drinks a lot of whiskey when she writes. But if her message didn't make it loud and clear to the masses, well, now we have Glee to reinforce it. Granted, they threw in one line at the end with Rachel saying that alcohol didn't help her songwriting, but the overarching theme was one that drinking is a perfectly good way to take your talent to the next level.
- Reason #3: Tiny excuses for bigger problems. Apparently if Finn is labeled a designated driver and Kurt stays sober to impress his crush, that's a fair representation of the portion of kids who may choose to stay above the influence. No matter that Finn must drive a school bus if he's the only DD for all of the kids at the party. I feel like Glee throws in these little quips here and there to appear like they're presenting a fair and balanced view of the issue, when in reality, they're only doing the bare minimum.
- Reason #4: And this is the biggie. The moral of this Glee story, as Beiste came right out and said, was that you can't just lecture kids. The best you can do is make them aware of the dangers and hope they're smart enough to make the right decision. This sounds to me a lot like those parents in high school who let teenagers drink at their house because "they're going to do it regardless, so I'd rather have them do it at my home." Sorry, Beiste and irresponsible high-school parents, but there's a lot more you can do beyond just crossing your fingers that your moronic teenage children will somehow make a wise choice. First of all, you can put off attending the Rosie O'Donnell cruise until your daughter and her peer-pressuring friends are out of the house. Second, you can make it a little more difficult for them to obtain alcohol -- a locked liquor cabinet is no obstacle for a seasoned high-school drunk. Third, you can set a good example. Will's millisecond of concern about being a role model went out the window as soon as he stepped into Rosalita's Roadhouse. Kids listen to what you do, not what you say. Will is an adult and while it's legal for him to drink, it's obviously not the best example for his impressionable flock of singing chickadees. Again, we had a brief revelation at the end of the show when Will passed out his pledge forms, but there was still no strong conviction that underage drinking is unacceptable. "Put it off till after nationals," he says, "but even then, feel free to break your promise and call me if you get in a jam." There's no question that underage drinking is a touchy subject, but this is why I'd prefer that Glee stay far away from these kinds of issues entirely. There's just no way they can do them justice.
- I enjoyed Becky and her xylophone as a throwback to "Greas
e." - How funny is it that Beiste brings an entire rotisserie chicken for lunch?
- I don't like the running gag with Sue calling Emma the wrong name. Arrested Development did it first, and they did it better.
- "Unfortunately, Kitty Dukakis could not be here because of disinterest."
1 comment:
I don't know anything about Glee, other than they sing a lot and that funny cheerleading coach or whatever. But I do know about songwriting, as witnessed by the gold record hanging on my wall. And I can say that, whether I am stoned or sober, I definitely need to be in an altered state of consciousness to produce my best material.
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