[8.7/10] This one was a blast. The very premise of a carpet whose static electricity creates Freaky Friday-like situations is a good one. But Gravity Falls, as usual, has the maximum amount of fun you can have with the idea, and anchors it around something relatable.
Brothers and sisters not getting along is a tale as old as time. Watching Dipper bristle at Mabel hosting a very girly sleepover or Mabel balk at Dipper reading his Hardy Boys knockoff novel provides a shortcut to understanding their conflict. (Not to mention leads to all sorts of great gags spilling out of Mabel’s party.) The fact that they’re at loggerheads over the issues, to the point that they’re ready to sleep in different rooms, sets the stakes well.
It als dovetails nicely with the bodyswap humor. Mabel and Dipper each have a chance to walk a ile in one another’s shoes. I like where that ends up a hell of a lot. Mabel learns that it’s tough to be a preteen boy, feeling sweaty and awkward all the time, and having to endure a birds and the bees talk from Grunkle Stan. Dipper, having experienced all the girly stuff eh was trying to avoid earlier when he’s stuck in Mabel’s body, admits that it wasn’t about the noise or the hijinks for him; it was that it felt like Mabel growing up and having her own friends impinged on their fun time together. (And their game of “stuff in the attic mini-golf” was very cute.) They understand each other better, and it’s sweet that after everything, they still want to hold onto their bond, having their own “sleepover” together. For an episode that starts with disgruntlement among brother and sister, it ends by reaffirming their connection.
And in the middle, the episode is a laugh riot. Dipper’s annoyance at the wild, boycrazy antics of the sleepover had me dying. Mabel-as-Dipper lamenting having to hear The Talk from Grunkle Stan and Dipper-as-Mabel being subjected to the girly shtick he was so desperate to escape was side-splitting. Grunkle Stan’s obsession with fights, briefly giving his lemonade a voice, and supervising a “Who can suck up the most?” game is peak Stan. And Soos changing bodies with a pig, each going on their own Being There-style adventures was a laugh riot. Honestly, all of the body-swapping escapades were uproariously funny, especially as the switches got more and more outlandish.
Overall, this is a definite high-water mark, with some extraordinarily funny bits, and an embrace and bolstering of the show’s core relationship amid all the great humor and fanciful core concept.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2022-08-07T22:21:50Z
[8.7/10] This one was a blast. The very premise of a carpet whose static electricity creates Freaky Friday-like situations is a good one. But Gravity Falls, as usual, has the maximum amount of fun you can have with the idea, and anchors it around something relatable.
Brothers and sisters not getting along is a tale as old as time. Watching Dipper bristle at Mabel hosting a very girly sleepover or Mabel balk at Dipper reading his Hardy Boys knockoff novel provides a shortcut to understanding their conflict. (Not to mention leads to all sorts of great gags spilling out of Mabel’s party.) The fact that they’re at loggerheads over the issues, to the point that they’re ready to sleep in different rooms, sets the stakes well.
It als dovetails nicely with the bodyswap humor. Mabel and Dipper each have a chance to walk a ile in one another’s shoes. I like where that ends up a hell of a lot. Mabel learns that it’s tough to be a preteen boy, feeling sweaty and awkward all the time, and having to endure a birds and the bees talk from Grunkle Stan. Dipper, having experienced all the girly stuff eh was trying to avoid earlier when he’s stuck in Mabel’s body, admits that it wasn’t about the noise or the hijinks for him; it was that it felt like Mabel growing up and having her own friends impinged on their fun time together. (And their game of “stuff in the attic mini-golf” was very cute.) They understand each other better, and it’s sweet that after everything, they still want to hold onto their bond, having their own “sleepover” together. For an episode that starts with disgruntlement among brother and sister, it ends by reaffirming their connection.
And in the middle, the episode is a laugh riot. Dipper’s annoyance at the wild, boycrazy antics of the sleepover had me dying. Mabel-as-Dipper lamenting having to hear The Talk from Grunkle Stan and Dipper-as-Mabel being subjected to the girly shtick he was so desperate to escape was side-splitting. Grunkle Stan’s obsession with fights, briefly giving his lemonade a voice, and supervising a “Who can suck up the most?” game is peak Stan. And Soos changing bodies with a pig, each going on their own Being There-style adventures was a laugh riot. Honestly, all of the body-swapping escapades were uproariously funny, especially as the switches got more and more outlandish.
Overall, this is a definite high-water mark, with some extraordinarily funny bits, and an embrace and bolstering of the show’s core relationship amid all the great humor and fanciful core concept.