'How I Met Your Mother' - 'Canning Randy': We've got another bleeder
Will Forte makes an unfortunate return appearance in an episode as cartoonish as his character
The guys welcome Robin back from Halloween festivities on "How I Met Your Mother."
A quick review of last night's "How I Met Your Mother" coming up just as soon as I go to the office Tu B'Shevat pajammie jam...
I like Will Forte. I think he was one of the few bright spots on what's been a mostly dismal stretch of "SNL" the last few years. Even when his sketches weren't funny, they tended to be memorably weird. But his first "HIMYM" appearance back in season three led to one of my least favorite episodes of that year. Randy felt too broad and artificial to fit into this world (even in a subplot where he was paired with Barney), and I was hoping not to see that character again. Then when I heard he was coming back, I hoped the writers had figured out how to use him better. Unfortunately, it was the same ol' dumb, ridiculous Randy, and "Canning Randy" overall was one of the weakest episodes we've had in season six.
There were, as always, some small bright spots, like Barney dressed as Johnny Lawrence from "The Karate Kid" (a callback(*) to his theory that Johnny is the real hero of that movie), or the guys' post-Halloween Walk of Shame-watching ritual, or Ted and Robin dueting on the car alarm, but all the stories seemed to operate on the same cartoon logic that allows Randy to exist in that world.
(*) Not all callbacks are funny. Stop trying to make "Where's the poop?" happen, "HIMYM" writers. It somehow gets more annoying every time you try.
I was particularly bothered by the payoff to the Robin subplot, which sold her out as an excuse for a pretty cheap laugh. Robin starts the episode jealous of how much more popular Becky is, and how Becky is so at ease with having no integrity, and Robin's response is to get herself cast in a commercial that's destined to humiliate her? Maybe if there was some set-up about Robin having money troubles, or if Becky had starred in a similar commercial and somehow came out of it seeming sexy (as opposed to a boat show ad, where the whole point of her is to be sexy), it might possibly have worked. But as is? Lame. When people ask me what I mean when I call a joke on a sitcom "too sitcom-y," this is what I mean: going for a mediocre laugh at the expense of plot logic, consistent characterization, etc.
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November 2, 2010 at 8:52AM EST Reply to CommentI miss Better Off Ted, too.
I also miss How I Met Your Mother. I don't know what the hell this show is, but it's sure not the show I used to love.
Kudos to you, Alan, for perfectly articulating the plot-based flaws with Robin's commercial. I could barely get past the aesthetic flaws, myself.
Justin I miss How I Met Your Mother also...
November 7, 2010 at 2:25AM ESTseason 1 was the tits.
Danny
November 2, 2010 at 9:15AM EST Reply to CommentThis episode to me felt like the poorest of poor man's version of Slap Bet: a Robin plot shrouded in mystery that ends with a twist and a video payoff. Except this video could not have been LESS funny, in character, or enjoyable. I didn't laugh once, and especially not at the "hilarious" visual of Robin peeing her pants. Who approved this script!? Sometimes I have to wonder.
Joe G.
November 2, 2010 at 9:16AM EST Reply to CommentThe whole episode made no sense. Why didn't Ted kick out Zoey if she's an intrusive outsider in his class? Did she enroll in college in a day? Couldn't Randy just work at GNB, save his money, and quit at some point? Why would Robin do such a humiliating ad?
Chrissy Absolutely. Would Randy even get severance if he was fired for cause (cause being - he's a flipping crazy person?) Really bad episode, with only a few minor hints of goodness. And I am usually pretty easy on HIMYM.
November 2, 2010 at 11:42PM ESTSloshkosh I'm with both of you. As soon as Crazy Zoey came into class I told my girlfriend, "Just kick her out." And I was equally confused as to how trashing your bosses office, repeatedly screwing up, and TRYING to get fired would allow you to get severance. Randy must be in one hell of a union!
November 3, 2010 at 11:12AM ESTBrendan D
November 2, 2010 at 9:38AM EST Reply to CommentAfter taking most of last year off from HIMYM (so great was my rage at the handling of the Barney-Robin plot), I returned today to finally give it the second chance Seasons 1, 2, and half of 3 earned it. Whoops. Guess I couldn't have come back at a worse time. I'm not with you, Alan, on Forte (I find him to be one grimace after another, sort of like what Will Ferrell used to be like, only not funny); but I ADORE Jennifer Morrison. And Ted hit it right on the head about her character: she's cute, but that's about it. There's nothing to her but a stereotypical angry college protester, which is rather unbecoming.
But what's really disheartening, as KLG put it so well, is that this doesn't really appear to be the same show from its glory days. I don't mean that the quality has degraded (that much is obvious); most shows go through what I call a "Will-and-Gracification" of their characters, particularly sit-coms that go on for too long. But NOTHING seems the same on HIMYM: the characters (namely Robin) are doing things that several years ago would have been completely out of character, and we haven't been shown the kind of character growth that would lead the characters to do out-of-character things; the shenanigans have gotten more latter-day Simpsons than early-day Simpsons; and the plots have gone from being "Friends" done right to a pale imitation of the American version of "Coupling." Most importantly, I simply don't care about any of them anymore. I don't care if Ted finds the mother, or who she is; I don't care if Lily and Marshall have a baby; I don't care if Robin and Barney ever find true love, with each other or with others. After Season 2, I thought I'd never have to say that. It's just... disappointing.
Dwayne Mendoza HIMYM used to be built on plots that began with a plausible notion. The characters were well-defined (even when nutty) and appealing. The humor flowed logically out of mixing both elements.
November 3, 2010 at 5:49PM ESTNow, the show does whatever they hope will get laughs, not caring what damage it does to the logic of the story or characters.
So you have Lily, who used to be appalled by violence of any kind, ripping the head off a student's toy horse. Robin, whose goal was to be credible, pees on camera and grins.
The Arcadia Hotel goes from a dump to a major piece of architecture and back again. This makes Ted (whose only endearing quality was an earnest, cloddish desire to do right by the universe) into a yutz.
And that turns Jennifer Morrison (whom audiences think of as caring, serious, smart and sexy) into a shrill twirp.
Worst of all, the stuff isn't funny. I tolerate the exploitation Two And A Half Men pulls because the writers are good enough to make me laugh (even when I feel ashamed by it).
These guys can't even make Bob Odenkirk funny. And that's worse than making Morrison unlikable.
Dan
November 2, 2010 at 9:39AM EST Reply to CommentThe warm piss joke pay-off was terrible. The episode wasn't funny. The main storyline has been non-existent for a few seasons now and feels like it's going nowhere. I've committed this much time and 22 minutes out of my week isn't too much to give up, but the show is falling apart.
Dave
November 2, 2010 at 9:45AM EST Reply to CommentI was thinking the same thing, and how the Homer Simpsonization of rational characters on this show has made it less enjoyable. I can get she would do a commercial, but how would a sane person think that a commercial like that would gain her anything but ridicule, especially someone who was embarrassed by completely innocent Robin Sparkles music video?
The Lily plot was also troubling, don't you think the kid would tell his parents and would get her fired on the spot for something like that? Still enjoy the show and I know the writers promised Alan a better season that last year, but like the adult diapers Robin was advertising, I'm not buying what they're selling.
Sloshkosh I work at a K-8 school in Wisconsin and I laugh each time I see Lily's "class." Maybe this school district I'm in is weird, but no kindergarten classroom is ever half as calm as her "crazy" class is. Only having one kid running around on a stuffed horse while being disruptive? That is a dream come true!
November 3, 2010 at 11:15AM ESTM
November 2, 2010 at 9:49AM EST Reply to Comment"One of the weakest episodes we've had in season six." Really? Where exactly were the strong episodes?? It baffles me how you continue to champion this show even though it's been awful for ages and shows no signs of improvement whatsoever.
jphenr Haha - I don't think Alan is championing the show anymore. He's openly a critic more than a fan of it these days, and he's as frustrated as the rest of us cause he knows what potential it has. As for "Canning Randy," it was bad but I thought "The Architect of Destruction was much, much worse": http://joshiswatching.blogspot.com/2010/10/himym-architect-of-destruction.html
November 3, 2010 at 10:31AM ESTBryan
November 2, 2010 at 9:54AM EST Reply to CommentNot very good, again. I disagree though that this was the weakest ep of the season, the whole season's been just awful. This ep at least had the walk of shame which I thought was more like old HIMYM. That commercial though - my God- that may be one of the lamest things I've EVER seen on a sticom.
I think I've figured it out - the kids are getting really bored with the story so future Ted's trying to dumb it down for them and make the comedy a bit more juvenile so they'll be more intereste. That's the only explanation I can come up with for this completely terrible turn of this show.
Patti
November 2, 2010 at 10:07AM EST Reply to CommentI deleted this from TiVo last night without watching and have now deleted the Season Pass. Done.
Zach L
November 2, 2010 at 11:01AM EST Reply to CommentYeah they need to stop the "where's the poop" gag and stop it now. I didn't mind the ep as much, though after reading the comments I too now wonder why Ted didn't just kick her out of class. Still holding out hope for a bounce back though
LJA
November 2, 2010 at 11:54AM EST Reply to CommentA damn near unwatchable episode.
dan
November 2, 2010 at 12:10PM EST Reply to Comment"Where's the poop?" isn't gonna happen and neither is Zoey. It's one thing to introduce a new female character and not have Ted fall madly in love with her and prompt all of the "Is this the Mother" nattering, but you can develop an antagonist relationship that's fueled by obvious chemistry between the actors or the characters. Radnor and Morrison have no chemistry and the characters have no chemistry and Zoey is an obnoxious pill. They'll reverse engineer the character and she'll suddenly become sweet and flirty at some point, but thus far that introduction has been a complete failure, so much so that I cringed with Jennifer Morrison first popped up in the episode. Jennifer Morrison should never make me cringe, darnit!
-Daniel
Hannah Lee
November 2, 2010 at 7:01PM EST Reply to CommentWow, this was such a bad episode. Randy was nowhere near the worst part of it either.
Ted has completed his transformation into a poor man's Ross Geller. And Zoey seems to be modeled as an unfunny, uninteresting Britta Perry.
It's very sad what they have done with the character that used to be Robin (remember what she was like in Season 1 and 2?).
HIMYM used to be one of my favorite shows. Recently I've been watching out of a combination of hope/obligation. I think last night's episode may have cured me of that.
rosengje I had never thought of it that way, but Zoey is totally what a bad version of Britta would have been if the Community writers hadn't made her away of her own tendency to be a killjoy.
November 2, 2010 at 11:27PM ESTJesse Yeah, you nailed it. Everyone on that show is quickly becoming unlikable, but Robin and Lily are moving faster than everyone else in that direction.
November 4, 2010 at 5:36PM EST
November 2, 2010 at 11:24PM EST Reply to CommentThe Better Off Ted rip was obvious to me, and pretty lame in execution. I highly doubt anyone that has watched both shows could possibly have preferred HIMYM's version.
Chris I'm pretty sure that the GNB Cares thing was supposed to be a nod to the BP Cares campaign rather than a Better Off Ted rip off. At least i hope so because this video doesn't compare very well to the genius that was the Veridian Dynamics videos ("We love our employees. Unless they cross us, then we'll hunt them down, because that's love too."
November 3, 2010 at 1:27PM ESTChris
November 3, 2010 at 1:28PM EST Reply to CommentHey Alan, can you give me a link to the interview you did this summer with the HIMYM creators? I missed it when it came out, but keep thinking about it when reading each review. Thanks!
sepinwall http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/how-i-met-your-mother-creators-promise-a-return-to-emotion-and-romance
November 3, 2010 at 1:57PM ESTNoah Body
November 3, 2010 at 2:39PM EST Reply to CommentAt this point, I think Alan and I are in exact and total disagreement about every single episode of HIMYM this season. Very weird. I cannot remember that ever happening before. But I found this episode pleasantly amusing, and a couple of times actually funny.
qrter Not just Alan, just about everybody else who is watching this show will be in disagreement with you.
November 4, 2010 at 2:09AM ESTWes Lian
November 5, 2010 at 9:44PM EST Reply to CommentWorst episode ever.
Richard
November 8, 2010 at 10:55AM EST Reply to CommentI actually thought the episode was solid. It definitely wasn't the show's best, but I thought the "Walk of Shame" tradition was classic.
Unfortunately, too many people's idea of what the show should be, and what the show is causes it to be underappreciated. Much like Entourage in its time, once the show became popular, people too often felt that every episode had to blow them away. The viewers memory of past episodes were skewed towards the great moments/episodes and the bad ones were forgotten. Expectations became unreasonable. It's a half hour comedy. Just take it for what its worth. A few good one-liners, and seeing the progression of characters we've followed for years.
Of course they are going to take some television leap of faith. If you want reality, walk outside. If you want some entertainment, turn on your TV to escape that reality.