[7.5/10] Definitely the best episode of this young season, and an encouraging start to a multi-episode arc. A firm dose of Dee’s wild lunacy and the usual numbskullery from the rest of The Gang back at the bar makes for a winner.
Admittedly, I have mixed feelings about the plot of the male contingent of the group interacting with a monkey at Paddy’s. The monkey material is pretty tepid, despite the fact that the CGI is surprisingly good for a basic cable comedy. The idea that their new primate “employee” is the offspring of showbiz animals who only knows scams now is pretty weak, and the payoff where the guys get robbed and sexually assualted by the monkey is lowest common denominator without any of the show’s typical cleverness.
But the interactions between Ddennis and the rest of the group are just too damn funny. The simple idea of the guys trying to plan a vacation, with the remaining three being too dumb to figure out how or where they would go, is fantastic. One of my favorite modes of comedy is a relatively intelligent, albeit somewhat uptight dude having to deal with blissful morons. (Pinky and the Brain, Squidward and SpongeBob, even Bert and Ernie.) So watching Dennis grow more and more frustrated as his counterparts offer colors instead of possible destinations, or can’t put two and two together between their ideal vacation spot and Ireland, is a hoot.
Likewise, Charlie’s inability to understand that other cities can exist within the same state, and Frank and Mac’s support for his unimaginative possible getaways bring the laughs.
Dee’s plot is superb too. Her deciding to run a scam of her own, by opening a cheap explotivie acting school after she fails to get the [art for the umpeenth time, is a stellar premise. The notion that Dee gives the exact opposite/terrible advice on acting to all her students is amusing for anyone who’s done an acting class, and her advice to constantly go bigger and louder is a chuckle-worthy takedown of her own acting style. Plus, ironically, Kaitlin Oslon does some outstanding acting in this part of the episode, showing the many shades of Dee when she realizes that being an acting teacher gives her great power over her students’ moods and dreams.
Overall, this is a big improvement on what IASIP’s delivered so far in season 15, and I hope it’s a sign of even better things to come.
Another great one! Can't wait for the Ireland episodes.
Where are the laughs? Feels uninspired
somewhere along the way I noticed I wasn't laughing a lot at this episode but the ending scene really won me over (not a fan of the monkey sexual assault though, somehow I expect slightly smarter humor from IASIP) so I'll give it an 8 but it's more of a 7.5
The guys' interactions at the bar were quite funny characterization-wise, Dee's career as a failed actress then-turned phony acting coach had some great moments and the CG monkey was pretty visually appealing for a TV sitcom but it all wasn't coming together for me till the end... anyway: purple
Shout by Dreadlock UnicornVIP 3BlockedParent2022-03-27T05:57:16Z
Thats the coolest monkey or the best CGI monkey I’ve ever seen. The concept was funny on its own