Irrelevant But Awesome

Chris:  Alexa hit it on the head about this episode, there’s a satisfying amount of resolution but there’s still that implosion so it feels like there’s plenty of meat to enjoy in season two. There’s been enough character growth with Jimmy and Gretchen where you feel like something has been accomplished but there’s still feels like there’s plenty of messed up things wrong with them so it won’t feel inorganic once there is some sort of conflict in season two. What this episode accomplishes is it opens up the backup characters some more. We got a pretty good look into Edgar but with Lindsay, this episode solidifies her character’s depth (or lack thereof) and shows the audience that her troubles with Paul and their divorce is a situation that will be dealt with in more detail in the future. There’s also the introduction of Edgar’s growing infatuation with Lindsay which just feels like a massive disaster and I remember hating that when I first watched this episode because I viewed...

Chris:  The first season seems a little early to do a flashback episode but it works mainly to give the audience context of where the ring came from that Gretchen found as well as give overall context of where all the main characters were and what led them to get to the present day. And in both Gretchen and Jimmy, we see a desperate attempt to go back to who they were before their relationship. Jimmy becomes hopeful that this breakup will ignite his creative juices like it did after his relationship with Becca but is met with nothing. Gretchen tries to be the carefree little-effort person that can pick up and move to New York but quickly realizes that she’s grown out of it and feels out of place. It’s two people that are trying to fool themselves that their relationship wasn’t a big deal and didn’t affect them in any way. However, after seeing the flashbacks and who they are now, the relationship was a bigger deal than either are willing to admit. Alexa: Chris is right - m...

Chris:  We all act differently, for the most part, when your parents are around compared to hanging out with your friends and then there’s Gretchen, who is a completely different person. As established in the last episode, Gretchen will go to great lengths to avoid emotions or, in the scenario, difficult discussions because that’s ultimately why Gretchen has created this false person for her parents, it’s not out of embarrassment of Jimmy, she wants to avoid having the discussion with her parents over who she really is and risk their disappointment. So all in all, in her mind, it’s easier to lie and as we saw with her quickness to do so in the museum, she has clearly had years of experience lying. Jimmy doesn’t help as he does what an insane person does and tries to blow up Gretchen’s situation with her parents rather than simply discussing it with her once he finds out what exactly she’s doing. Again, he believes she’s embarrassed of him but really it’s Gretchen’s desire to a...

Chris:  Jimmy puts up a front that nothing affects him but, as you can see, he’s desperately wanting to discuss his feelings about his father while still avoiding any notion of actually dealing with those feelings. Jimmy unloads all his feelings and once he realizes Gretchen isn’t listening, he focuses on something else like heckling at a book signing (this is also the birth of Jimmy’s disguise that pops up every once in a while). Gretchen also shows off her inability to properly deal with anyone’s emotions but still desires to make Jimmy feel better. Of course, Gretchen only wants to make Jimmy feel better so she won’t have to deal with his emotions anymore but intent is irrelevant as long as you get the desired end-result, right? The selflessness ends there as both Jimmy and Gretchen flake on Edgar and Lindsay but it’s to our benefit as their chemistry takes off even further with their realization that they’re sidekicks. The irony of that realization is that this marks the m...

Alexa:  Words cannot adequately describe how much I love “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” I’ve seen it so many times I’ve lost count, and every time I watch it, I laugh just as hard and have just as much fun as the first viewing. “Scott Pilgrim” is Edgar Wright at his best. The jokes are as fast and furious as his signature editing style. The script is immensely clever. The vibrant production design captures the energy of the comic books and video games the film draws so much inspiration from. Wright has made a host of truly great films, but I think “Scott Pilgrim” is his best and most underrated. It’s developed a bit of a cult following since tanking at the box office, but I still don’t think it gets the recognition it deserves. Granted, its offbeat humor is pretty niche, but that doesn’t make it any less brilliant. “Scott Pilgrim” is also one of the best cast films in recent memory. It was a who’s who of talented young up-and-comers like Kieran Culkin, Alison Pill, Anna Kendri...

Chris:  I enjoyed the final moments of the episode because it’s a true sober look at just how toxic Jimmy and Gretchen can be to the people they come in contact with which is a surprising thing for a comedy show to do. For the first time in the show, the episode’s ending doesn’t look at their quirks in a humorous way but depicts how little Jimmy and Gretchen care about how their actions affect others in their trivial game of trying to get even with each other. We’ve got Edgar, who is essentially YTW’s innocent puppy at this point, stressed over what he should do when he thinks Jimmy is secretly cheated on Gretchen behind her back, poor Venti loses his job after ditching his post for Gretchen, the actress’ career is dragged through the mud and finally, both Lindsay and Becca seem to have revelations about their respective marriages because of all this. I won’t include the bouncer in the list because he seemed pretty alright with how everything turned out, he might miss Gretchen...

Alexa:  For a movie buff, I have a few pretty glaring holes in my film-watching history. Until this viewing, one them was “The Shining.” Naturally I’ve seen some of its most famous sequences referenced in other things, but beyond the fact that there are creepy twins and “Here’s Johnny” and red rum is murder spelled backward, I knew relatively little about the story. There is a lot to unpack in this film and I’m still processing it. I already know a repeat viewing will be essential to fully appreciating it and understanding it, but I can say with certainty that “The Shining” is a stellar piece of filmmaking. Stanley Kubrick has a knack for creating a strong sense of place, and he uses every sensory element at his disposal to achieve that here. The set design for the Overlook Hotel makes the resort look cozy and mancing at once, both cavernous and claustrophobic. I was most struck by the effectiveness of the sound design. The music is certainly haunting, but every noise feels un...