The Other Two (Comedy Central)-Chase Goes to a High School Dance-In the sense
that one of the morals of “People vs OJ Simpson” is that O.J. Simpson (possibly
mentally ill from concussions) is the least important character in the story, I’m starting to get the
sense that Chase is a meaningless node by which all the other cogs work
around in the wheel that is his support system. It’s a solid concept and the four others cogs—the overly eager manager
(Ken Marino), the menopausal mom seeking her positivity (Molly Shannon), and
the two flailing adult siblings (Helene Yorke and Drew Tarver)—are all interesting
enough combinations of comedy and pathos to carry the load. The first three
episodes were strong enough to have me thinking this show had “30 Rock”
potential in terms of comic flow. Credit here goes to the interplay with the image
consultant (Wanda Sykes) and Cary as they keep flip-flopping on whether gay is
good or not.
This episode is a bit of a step back. The idea of Streeter
forming a boy band is a long-range joke that loses steam by the time it gets to
the punchline, because it carries over to a second scene. Considering it’s
obvious that the children would never want to leave a school dance to go to a
library just so they can listen to an extremely inappropriate man tell them
something they’re going to reject anyway, why not just let the joke be how
creepily Streeter comes off? Another problem with the episode is even if Chase
is not a dynamic character, the absurdity of his situation isn’t put to much
use here. This is due to reduced screen time on Chase which is a balancing act.
One of the main brick jokes of the show (a less generous
term might be “gimmick”; a more generous term might be hook or calling card) is
that the two siblings are living parallel lives as evidenced through the split
screen of their similar activities that open and close the episodes. But it’s a bit more complex than that: Brooke is more
unformed on a surface level; Cary seems visibly more capable of passing as an
adult on the inside but he has now shown an ugliness on the inside.
At least
that’s the way the two are diverging. Brooke’s cardinal sin at the beginning of
the show was sloth. She was initially too lazy to take a job but as Chase’s
assistant, she was on her feet diligently playing damage control to Chase’s
double Lorraine (Jackie Hoffman) and out-Streetering Streeter. In contrast,
Cary has gone from being understandably frustrated that he has to answer
questions as “the gay guy” by his boss to cruelly backstabbing a gay kid at the
school dance and not thinking twice about it. In the last episode (I watched)
Cary deals with the awkwardness of getting it on with his sexually confused
roommate by chastising his roommate not only for his lack of honesty but from
everything from his taste in TV to how he looks with a shirt off. It’s petty
but the problem is it’s inseperable from the fabric of the show because his Seinfeld-like
detachment is an antipathy. Who knows if the show is even aware of how ugly
Cary comes off? Nonetheless, it’s a little
early to tell if this is a definitive thesis for what’s happening or what will
come.
The show did have a few high points: Mainly Lorraine causing
trouble by doing the exact opposite of what she was supposed to do. If there
was ever an occasion for a great one-off guest star to shake things up, this
would be it.
Still have faith in this show. On to next week.
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