[7.7/10] This is an episode that moved me, and even gave me a small change of heart when I watched it originally as a kid. There is a real sweetness between Wally and Gus here. The show often devolves into the two of them as a punchline, but the sincerity pays off here. They get to be human beings, in love with one another, with that love turning something that used to be a great shame into a joyous reminder of how lucky they are.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s a tribute to classic film either! I’d be lying if I said my heart didn’t swell three sizes when Kevin realized that Midnight Cowboy was sad in a different way than Armageddon, and how he got a movie like 2001: A Space Odyssey even when his nerd buddies were revolting against it. It warms my heart to see Wally introducing Kevin to the world of classic film, and the ol’ Grubermeister taking to it like a fish to water.
And hey, on a personal note, I revisited this one because I just watched Plan 9 from Outer Space, the Ed Wood film this episode is spoofing. And man, it’s a pitch-perfect spoof, better than I realized when I first saw it! The set-dressing, the awkward line reads, the messaging, and especially Gus as the Brobdingnagian-yet-acting-challenged brute is all right on point. Mission Hill gets the tone and the little things right in its take-off here, and it earns the “howlingly bad” reaction from the audience Kevin assembles.
But what I love about this episode is how Kevin returns the favor to Wally. There’s a clockwork quality to the writing here. Wally teaches Kevin to really see cinema, and appreciate the personal vision at play in any movie. When he uses that skill on Wally’s movie, he sees it too for it is: a valentine to the man Wally loves. Kevin seeing the movie with those fresh, well-trained eyes helps Wally to see it with new eyes too, and appreciate the message he unwittingly sent with the movie that brought a lot of people joy, albeit not in the way Wally imagined.
It’s a message that Wally would trade every piece of his big Hollywood dreams for a life with Gus. Wally’s story of losing his big break when he casts his beau instead of soon-to-be big name stars is heartbreaking. But when you hear him tell the gang that he’d do it all again, because he loves Gus and their life together, it’s incredibly heartening.
I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the sweetness of Wally coming home, kissing his partner goodnight, and smiling as he reflects on his work and his life. It’s not an easy path, and one not without its troubles, but also one that fulfills him. The way he helps Kevin to see the beauty of film, and Kevin helps him to see the beauty of his film, is the sort of poetry and humanity fit for the silver screen.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2021-10-10T22:45:54Z
[7.7/10] This is an episode that moved me, and even gave me a small change of heart when I watched it originally as a kid. There is a real sweetness between Wally and Gus here. The show often devolves into the two of them as a punchline, but the sincerity pays off here. They get to be human beings, in love with one another, with that love turning something that used to be a great shame into a joyous reminder of how lucky they are.
It doesn’t hurt that it’s a tribute to classic film either! I’d be lying if I said my heart didn’t swell three sizes when Kevin realized that Midnight Cowboy was sad in a different way than Armageddon, and how he got a movie like 2001: A Space Odyssey even when his nerd buddies were revolting against it. It warms my heart to see Wally introducing Kevin to the world of classic film, and the ol’ Grubermeister taking to it like a fish to water.
And hey, on a personal note, I revisited this one because I just watched Plan 9 from Outer Space, the Ed Wood film this episode is spoofing. And man, it’s a pitch-perfect spoof, better than I realized when I first saw it! The set-dressing, the awkward line reads, the messaging, and especially Gus as the Brobdingnagian-yet-acting-challenged brute is all right on point. Mission Hill gets the tone and the little things right in its take-off here, and it earns the “howlingly bad” reaction from the audience Kevin assembles.
But what I love about this episode is how Kevin returns the favor to Wally. There’s a clockwork quality to the writing here. Wally teaches Kevin to really see cinema, and appreciate the personal vision at play in any movie. When he uses that skill on Wally’s movie, he sees it too for it is: a valentine to the man Wally loves. Kevin seeing the movie with those fresh, well-trained eyes helps Wally to see it with new eyes too, and appreciate the message he unwittingly sent with the movie that brought a lot of people joy, albeit not in the way Wally imagined.
It’s a message that Wally would trade every piece of his big Hollywood dreams for a life with Gus. Wally’s story of losing his big break when he casts his beau instead of soon-to-be big name stars is heartbreaking. But when you hear him tell the gang that he’d do it all again, because he loves Gus and their life together, it’s incredibly heartening.
I’m not sure I’ll ever forget the sweetness of Wally coming home, kissing his partner goodnight, and smiling as he reflects on his work and his life. It’s not an easy path, and one not without its troubles, but also one that fulfills him. The way he helps Kevin to see the beauty of film, and Kevin helps him to see the beauty of his film, is the sort of poetry and humanity fit for the silver screen.