Go On - Season 1 Episode 7 - Recap and Review - Any Given Birthday
Go On broaches the subject of Ryan's first birthday since his wife, Janie (Christine Woods), was killed in a car accident. Except it's not so much about Ryan's latent angst, but instead about the fact that Ryan (Matthew Perry) is actually kind of a jerk. Well, maybe "jerk" is a bit strong. But he does prefer to be left to his own devices, which is part of the conflict of the show: surrounding a relatively crabby guy with people who unconditionally love him, for whatever reason. It's this central conceit that gives "Any Given Birthday" its strength.
The episode follows the group plotting a birthday scavenger hunt for Ryan, something for which Ryan has no interest, since he's always hated the big, elaborate activities Janie used to plan for his birthdays, and is actually looking forward to being free to do nothing, for once. But the gang, particularly Lauren (Laura Benanti), won't hear of it. She claims that he's pushing away people who love him, and that he doesn't even try to embrace a more positive attitude. Ryan eventually agrees to play along and pretend to enjoy the hunt, with Lauren hoping that by faking it, Ryan will eventually learn to loosen up. It appears to work, although Ryan is resistant to the change in his attitude, even with Danny (Seth Morris) and Mr. K (Brett Gelman) streaking across a college campus in a recreation of one of Ryan's bolder college moments. The scavenger hunt culminates in the discovery that Janie planned one last birthday surprise for Ryan: a romantic hotel getaway. The gang attempts to hide this fact from Ryan, but their attempts fail, and Ryan is forced to confront his loneliness again, with yet another appearance by Janie's ghost to help ease the transition. I'm still not totally sold on Janie's ghost as a plot device, but it works here, owing to Christine Woods' very natural performance. Her advice to Ryan not to look back is fittingly poignant, as he returns inside to be with the group of friends who've essentially taken over for her, loving him in lieu of the love she provided.
The scavenger hunt offers plenty of strong moments for the ensemble, such as Anne (Julie White) and Mr. K bonding over their mutual love of movie musicals, particularly those of legendary actress/dancer Cyd Charisse (and I suppose it speaks to my musical-centric upbringing that I both knew who she was, and knew how to spell her name without thinking. Because I can't even front on the one-two punch of cinematic excellence known as Singin' In The Rain and Brigadoon). Their subplot provides a very sweet payoff, when they share a dance together in Janie's fancy hotel room. Also, in strange, random pairing territory, Ryan assigns Sonia (Sarah Baker) the task of watching over a gassed-up Steven (John Cho), still loopy after his colonoscopy. It's such an out-of-left field pairing that it works almost in spite of itself. Sonia still isn't over her ex-boyfriend, and seeing constant updates on Facebook about his new relationship aren't helping her move on. And so she adopts a surrogate boyfriend in the drugged up Steven, who's so high on anesthetic that he essentially becomes like the silly, dumb ex she's trying to move past. This leads to shopping. Lots and lots of shopping. Again, this storyline probably shouldn't have worked at all, but it absolutely did, from John Cho's cartoonish slow-motion jump, to his horror at having spent $2000 on a pair of cigarette pants. Much like the Anne/Mr. K business, it was more cute than anything else, but I like that the ensemble is being given moments to shine independently of their lives around Ryan.
"Any Given Birthday" is a strong episode precisely because it uses its ensemble to its potential, and also builds on the show's history, such as Ryan's alleged resemblance to Rachel Maddow, and the assumption that Mr. K has no shame. In addition, the episode briefly teased the possibility of a Ryan/Lauren relationship when Lauren pretends to try and seduce him, in a ridiculous bit that builds character while providing laughs. Go On isn't all the way there yet, but it's becoming a very strong show. The more they utilize their ensemble as a unit that exists independently from Ryan every bit as much as with him, the stronger the show will be. There's heart here, and that's hard for a comedy to nail down, particularly when it's as early in its run as Go On. Let's hope it continues.
