7.7/10. Again, an unexpectly good, more or less regular episode of the show! It kind of loses the plot (in the figurative sense) at the end of the episode, but still! Arguing about whether some is a "stamp tramp" with their stamp of approval is one of those perfect HIMYM premises, where it feels like an actual conversation you'd have with your friends at a bar, but the show takes in exaggerated directions that wring out the comedy from it.
The main story, with Marshall's midwestern niceness prompting him to offer his stamp of approval too readily worked well. Having him put his neck out for Brad, despite Brad's obvious shortcomings was a nice way to dramatize that idea. The slovenly friend making you look bad in front of your jerk boss is a sitcom cliche, but Segel makes it work with his boyish exuberance. And the way, with an assist from Ted, Lily coaches him through gradually gaining credibility again is a nice button to put on things. I'm not a big fan of the twist that Brad was faking being a slob the whole time for corporate espionage purposes, but whatever.
But man, the highlight was Ted desperately trying to find something to prove that he was not a "stamp piggybacker." Lily and Ted is frequently a great pairing, and him going through his old college video diaries to try to prove he turned the group onto something, only to find that his every idea and recommendation was put forward by someone else first (usually Lily) was hilarious. When the show is self-aware of how ridiculous Ted can be and makes fun of him for it, it's almost always good for a laugh. Plus, the revelation that back in the day, he gave Lily his stamp of approval is, perhaps, a little easy, but works 100%, and the "bang a few chicks" capper to it keeps the moment from becoming too saccharine.
Robin as Barney's strip club agent was probably the weakest part of the episode, but even it had a fair number of good moments. It's mostly easy gags, but they come fast and furiously which smooths out the rough edges, and Robin finding herself surprisingly into the job is a nice comedic beat as well. It goes off the rails in the end, though. Robin skimming off the "swag" is pretty silly, and the LeBron James "Decision" parody seems really dated now. Of course, there's the kiss, but we'll have time to talk about that later. Suffice it to say, it feels a little strained as we again continue drawing out the whole Barney-Robin thing.
But overall, a very enjoyable episode with a lot of laughs.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2016-08-18T14:55:38Z
7.7/10. Again, an unexpectly good, more or less regular episode of the show! It kind of loses the plot (in the figurative sense) at the end of the episode, but still! Arguing about whether some is a "stamp tramp" with their stamp of approval is one of those perfect HIMYM premises, where it feels like an actual conversation you'd have with your friends at a bar, but the show takes in exaggerated directions that wring out the comedy from it.
The main story, with Marshall's midwestern niceness prompting him to offer his stamp of approval too readily worked well. Having him put his neck out for Brad, despite Brad's obvious shortcomings was a nice way to dramatize that idea. The slovenly friend making you look bad in front of your jerk boss is a sitcom cliche, but Segel makes it work with his boyish exuberance. And the way, with an assist from Ted, Lily coaches him through gradually gaining credibility again is a nice button to put on things. I'm not a big fan of the twist that Brad was faking being a slob the whole time for corporate espionage purposes, but whatever.
But man, the highlight was Ted desperately trying to find something to prove that he was not a "stamp piggybacker." Lily and Ted is frequently a great pairing, and him going through his old college video diaries to try to prove he turned the group onto something, only to find that his every idea and recommendation was put forward by someone else first (usually Lily) was hilarious. When the show is self-aware of how ridiculous Ted can be and makes fun of him for it, it's almost always good for a laugh. Plus, the revelation that back in the day, he gave Lily his stamp of approval is, perhaps, a little easy, but works 100%, and the "bang a few chicks" capper to it keeps the moment from becoming too saccharine.
Robin as Barney's strip club agent was probably the weakest part of the episode, but even it had a fair number of good moments. It's mostly easy gags, but they come fast and furiously which smooths out the rough edges, and Robin finding herself surprisingly into the job is a nice comedic beat as well. It goes off the rails in the end, though. Robin skimming off the "swag" is pretty silly, and the LeBron James "Decision" parody seems really dated now. Of course, there's the kiss, but we'll have time to talk about that later. Suffice it to say, it feels a little strained as we again continue drawing out the whole Barney-Robin thing.
But overall, a very enjoyable episode with a lot of laughs.