[9.2/10] My sweet lord is this episode funny. Michael/Lucille is probably my favorite pairing in the show, and so a story that not only forces Michael to deal with pretty much every member of his family looking for a handout, which tends to bring out their most comic awfulness, but it anchors it in the mildly sweet but endlessly dysfunctional relationship between Michael and his mom is right up my alley. Everything from Michael’s ill-advised whistles, to him dealing with the would-be whistleblower, to his even more ill-advised lemon grove purchase and coming to his mom for help is hilarious. Plus Lucille is in rare form here, between her confusing hugs, her ability to clean-up messes, and the way she turns the sweet mom-appreciation vibe into joining the board. (Plus her reaction to Oscar’s song is amazing!) It’s a great main story and a great duo.
Speaking of which, it’s our first time pairing GOB and Tobias, which is a rare but potent twosome. The two of them forming “Gobias” industries, awkwardly shuffling past Michael in the coffee shop, and trying to wrangle a check makes for great comic stuff in the little bits we gets.
Plus it’s the first appearance of Oscar! Maeby and George Michael thinking Pop Pop has escaped (based on George Sr.’s “give me your hair” comment and sightings of Oscar around the pier) is a good mini-mystery, and the fact that it’s actually their uncle, a hippie, song-writing, lemonade salesman who carries a torch for Lucille and Joan Baez called “the shallowest man” in the folk scene, is the icing on the cake.
The only part of the episode I didn’t really love is Lindsey trying to protest her hairdresser going off to war. There’s some solid social commentary in Lindsey’s ignorance of the second gulf war until it affects her, and a bit of blunt political commentary in the free speech cage. But it feels like a pretty thin excuse to have Portia Di Rossi dance. That said, at least it’s set up amusingly earlier in the episode, and Lucille seeing her from afar in a passing car and declaring that she could have used a mother is a good bit.
Overall, a wonderfully-constructed, and uproariously funny episode that brings out the best in Michael and Lucille.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-06-18T16:49:14Z
[9.2/10] My sweet lord is this episode funny. Michael/Lucille is probably my favorite pairing in the show, and so a story that not only forces Michael to deal with pretty much every member of his family looking for a handout, which tends to bring out their most comic awfulness, but it anchors it in the mildly sweet but endlessly dysfunctional relationship between Michael and his mom is right up my alley. Everything from Michael’s ill-advised whistles, to him dealing with the would-be whistleblower, to his even more ill-advised lemon grove purchase and coming to his mom for help is hilarious. Plus Lucille is in rare form here, between her confusing hugs, her ability to clean-up messes, and the way she turns the sweet mom-appreciation vibe into joining the board. (Plus her reaction to Oscar’s song is amazing!) It’s a great main story and a great duo.
Speaking of which, it’s our first time pairing GOB and Tobias, which is a rare but potent twosome. The two of them forming “Gobias” industries, awkwardly shuffling past Michael in the coffee shop, and trying to wrangle a check makes for great comic stuff in the little bits we gets.
Plus it’s the first appearance of Oscar! Maeby and George Michael thinking Pop Pop has escaped (based on George Sr.’s “give me your hair” comment and sightings of Oscar around the pier) is a good mini-mystery, and the fact that it’s actually their uncle, a hippie, song-writing, lemonade salesman who carries a torch for Lucille and Joan Baez called “the shallowest man” in the folk scene, is the icing on the cake.
The only part of the episode I didn’t really love is Lindsey trying to protest her hairdresser going off to war. There’s some solid social commentary in Lindsey’s ignorance of the second gulf war until it affects her, and a bit of blunt political commentary in the free speech cage. But it feels like a pretty thin excuse to have Portia Di Rossi dance. That said, at least it’s set up amusingly earlier in the episode, and Lucille seeing her from afar in a passing car and declaring that she could have used a mother is a good bit.
Overall, a wonderfully-constructed, and uproariously funny episode that brings out the best in Michael and Lucille.