Happy Endings - Season Premiere - Recap and Review - Cazsh Dummy Spillionaires
Happy Endings is one of TV's most underappreciated comedies, and episodes like tonight's premiere, "Cazsh Dummy Spillionaries," illustrates why. Essentially, it's How I Met Your Mother, without all the soap opera sensibilities that tend to take the place of simply being funny. Not a whole lot ever changes on Happy Endings between our core group of thirtysomethings trying to find their way in life, but the show thrives on its inertia. Brad (Damon Wayans, Jr.) and Jane (Eliza Coupe) will never break up, they'll simply have an increasingly ridiculous series of episode-long fights. And that's okay, because we don't want that dynamic to ever become something that holds any kind of dramatic weight. Dave (Zachary Knighton) is always going to be a lovable tool, Max (Adam Pally) will always be a "skeez," and Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) will always be that goofy, adorable dork, while Penny (Casey Wilson) will always be equal parts go-getter and self-effacing sweetheart. These characterizations allow for the show to breezily engage in one ridiculous plot after another, without having to really address any long-standing storyline issues. Even when the series is addressing such issues, it doesn't feel like we should be getting all that hung up on it. Happy Endings is comfort food, and I'm more than happy to just relax with a frozen pint of it every Tuesday night.
It's a bit strange, thinking about it, to start off the review talking about how things never really change on this show, since "Cazsh Dummy Spillionaires" kicks us off with two potentially dynamic-changing reveals: Brad is already back to work after being laid off in last season's finale, and he has to hide this fact from Jane, who's been reveling in having a stay-at-home hubby; however, in the night's bigger development, Dave and Alex have decided to get back together, opting for a casual approach to dating instead of diving headlong back into a serious relationship. Dave and Alex have always been a strange pairing, in that the series began with Alex jilting Dave at the altar, immediately pigeonholing Alex as a selfish, flaky character, and Dave as a sad sack. It took the series nearly all of its two seasons to overcome those characterizations, and it's to the show's credit that it not only made the Alex/Dave pairing make sense with their personalities, but also made it feel ideal. That's probably why their reunion doesn't feel as random a plot device as it might have otherwise (also, last season's finale closed on a tease that they might give their relationship another try, so it was really just a logical segue from that point). It certainly helps that it's a funny storyline, first and foremost.
Alex and Dave have some pretty great exchanges, particularly the trade-off of "bro"-related puns ("Bro v. Wade" and "Bro-lin, comma James" were aces). Both parties insist that things are casual, with Alex even going so far as to set him up with a hot bartender to prove that their revived relationship isn't serious. Of course, this only leads to Alex becoming jealous and bringing along a date of her own, which forces the issue of the very real feelings the two have for one another. Though Alex and Dave's decision to move in together could have potentially been a big reveal at the end of the episode, it's really just a throwaway line in the episode's tag, with the gang rolling their eyes at what a bad idea it is, in one of the episode's funniest moments. It's refreshing that a show doesn't treat every relationship milestone with so much melodramatic gravitas.
Max and Penny's storyline also delivers solid laughs. Penny wimps out on basejumping with Chris (Brian Austin Green) the thrillseeker she met at the Skype table in last season's finale, but winds up falling down several flights of stairs, horribly injuring herself anyway. She spends the rest of the episode confined to an arms-raising body cast, with Max as her uncharacteristically helpful male nurse. Of course, we find out he's only in it for all the gift bags...and also for Penny's hot physical therapist, Kent (Matthew Del Negro). The storyline works mostly off of the sight gags created by Penny's cast, such as her fidgeting with her room's busted doorknob without the use of her arms. Also great: the return of Max's creepy, Vincent Price-esque voice, as he reveals he drugged Penny with sleepy tea in order to have alone time with Kent. Max is the polar opposite of a gay stereotype, which is why the portrayal is so refreshing. And Adam Pally just kills it in every scene. The storyline also hints at Penny's vague, possible attraction to Dave, a lingering plot thread from last season, but it doesn't really advance or curtail the issue, which is a wise decision.
Lastly, Brad is struggling to hide from Jane the fact that he's been working for the past three weeks, and has merely been pretending to be at home when she calls, with help from a little photo backdrop trickery. Naturally, Jane decides to surprise Brad with a couples bubble bath, leading to a naked Jane storming into the bathroom while Brad hides in a bubble bath, fully dressed in his business attire. It's another great sight gag in a night full of them. However, my favorite bit of the episode involved "SinBrad," a ventriloquist dummy version of Brad with a 90s sensibility. “That girl so whack, her first name should be nick nack patty" is enough to win the episode, for me. The tandem performance of "Ebony and Ivory" in the episode's tag, with new lyrics that reference the gang, sends it over the top, as does Alex getting into a dinner argument with the dummy as though he were a real person. Just exceptional, from top to bottom.
Happy Endings is among TV's funniest half-hours, and I'm just glad to have it back, even if nothing of any dramatic substance ever happens. These characters are note-perfect, just the way they are.
