[7.7/10] I think I’m just going to have to get used to the fact that IASIP is going to make me uncomfortable but also be so good at it that it makes me laugh. Case in point, the perception of trans people has come along way in the ten years since this episode aired, and it makes the tone of Mac’s relationship with a trans woman feel a bit retrograde here in the far off distant future of 2017. Still, the joke is on Mac for being a jerk, and the premise of the show is that these are all terrible, ridiculous people so it works.
There’s also a sense of clockwork comedy to the proceedings that helps a lot too. For one thing, Frank and Charlie acting as though they’re on conflicting sides of a murder case is pretty glorious. Frank’s fascination with the chainsaw is an absurd comic beat, and I just love Charlie trying his best to be a lawyer after watching a few episodes of Law & Order. It’s the character at his loony best, and his conversations with Mac where neither of them are on the same page are pretty damn hilarious.
In addition, I got a big kick out of Dennis and Dee trying to get in the mind of a serial killer by acting like ones and stalking The Waitress. It’s such an insane thing to do that it fits the heightened reality of the show perfectly, and the way the pair of them, in their serial killer getups, are shot when chasing after her definitely adds to the horror homage and humor of it all. The fact that all three stories comes together in the end, and the gang inadvertently stumbles upon the real serial killer is the perfect ending for all this madness.
Overall, some ugly stuff (with the transwoman, the pimp, and the gang trashing Dee), but some very well-written, absurd comedy too.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-08-21T22:00:53Z
[7.7/10] I think I’m just going to have to get used to the fact that IASIP is going to make me uncomfortable but also be so good at it that it makes me laugh. Case in point, the perception of trans people has come along way in the ten years since this episode aired, and it makes the tone of Mac’s relationship with a trans woman feel a bit retrograde here in the far off distant future of 2017. Still, the joke is on Mac for being a jerk, and the premise of the show is that these are all terrible, ridiculous people so it works.
There’s also a sense of clockwork comedy to the proceedings that helps a lot too. For one thing, Frank and Charlie acting as though they’re on conflicting sides of a murder case is pretty glorious. Frank’s fascination with the chainsaw is an absurd comic beat, and I just love Charlie trying his best to be a lawyer after watching a few episodes of Law & Order. It’s the character at his loony best, and his conversations with Mac where neither of them are on the same page are pretty damn hilarious.
In addition, I got a big kick out of Dennis and Dee trying to get in the mind of a serial killer by acting like ones and stalking The Waitress. It’s such an insane thing to do that it fits the heightened reality of the show perfectly, and the way the pair of them, in their serial killer getups, are shot when chasing after her definitely adds to the horror homage and humor of it all. The fact that all three stories comes together in the end, and the gang inadvertently stumbles upon the real serial killer is the perfect ending for all this madness.
Overall, some ugly stuff (with the transwoman, the pimp, and the gang trashing Dee), but some very well-written, absurd comedy too.