Review: 'New Girl' - 'Bully': Hi, this is Nick, leaving a message
A very funny all-around episode
Lamorne Morris, Zooey Deschanel and Max Greenfield in "New Girl."
A review of last night's "New Girl" coming up just as soon as I look like a Gypsy courtesan...
"Bully" was one of the top-to-bottom funniest episodes "New Girl" has done so far, one that made good use of all 5 members of the ensemble (and members of the extended family like Julia and Tanya).
Though I'm disappointed that Julia is gone already, I recognize that Lizzy Caplan has other work out there, and the disintegration of that relationship gave Jake Johnson a lot to work with. We already know from the break-up of his last relationship that Nick has a tendency to overreact horribly, and boy did he bring the amusing crazy last night, from re-creating the most cringe-inducing scene in the history of the cinema (Jon Favreau leaving message after message for Nicki in "Swingers") to being so excited to learn about what's inside a pumpkin.
Cece trying to reconcile her disgust with and attraction to Schmidt was also a lot of fun, and also gave the writers a chance to write Schmidt at his most disgusting ("Did you get my junk mail?") and douchey (doing parkour and push-ups after announcing their relationship to the old people at the restaurant). There can be a danger in pushing that side of him too far, but in a storyline that's all about a woman being drawn to him despite his more horrible side, it was absolutely perfect.
The title story was probably the weakest of the bunch, if only because even by sitcom logic, it feels like Jess would get into a lot more trouble for breaking the robot arm (and for bringing Nick and Winston to cause trouble at the science fair). But I did like that her ultimate revenge on Brianna was to force her to sing a song, because I like when Jess is conscious of how the rest of the world feels about her shiny happiness. In this case, she wasn't above realizing that something she finds fun would be viewed as a punishment for someone else, and she took advantage of that.
Rather than try to force Winston into his own story and then cut it drastically to make time, which happened last week, this one wisely just had Winston commenting on everyone else's silliness (and occasionally reviving his "Brown lightning" catchphrase), and that worked out well for him. (And Jess' laughter at the suggestion that Winston might have better to do both fit his lack of employment and his generally tangential nature within the show nicely.)
What did everybody else think?
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupLbsammills51
February 22, 2012 at 1:11PM EST Reply to CommentThe voicemail sequence was great but yes I'm very sad Lizzy Caplan is gone already. I really liked her on the show.
Greg
February 22, 2012 at 1:25PM EST Reply to CommentWhy did Lizzy Caplan needed to go? I just loved her. Her interactions with Jess were always funny.
I think New Girl is becoming increasingly steady as time passes. Back in the fall there were three or four episodes I actually hated. But since the show got back from hiatus, I think I pretty much liked everything I've seen
Jobin Lizzy Caplan is too good to settle for being just a non-regular castmember on a sitcom.
February 22, 2012 at 1:34PM ESTPresumably she just had free time in her schedule to do a multi-episode arc on the show, just like Justin Long had.
Brad Lizzy Caplan's Julia well awesome was just a distraction character until the inevitable Jess, Nick hook-up.
February 22, 2012 at 1:49PM ESTErika Herzog i have loved Lizzy Caplan since MEAN GIRLS, then really became a fan from the Jason Ritter sitcom, THE CLASS -- guilty pleasure of a sitcom that had a pretty great cast actually (please someone give Heather Goldenhersh a role!).
February 22, 2012 at 9:39PM ESTthat said, i don't think that Lizzy is "too good" to "settle" (?!?) for a sitcom. she should be on a Jason Katims show, something really well written and meaty, but i have really enjoyed her as part of an ensemble (PARTY DOWN!) just as much as in other roles.
that said, this role was pretty underwritten and thankless. i was sort of bored of her character.
...
Ken Raining @ Erika: the key phrase Jobin used was "non-regular cast member". She is too good for that.
February 23, 2012 at 12:05AM ESTJobin
February 22, 2012 at 1:31PM EST Reply to CommentNo one is going to touch the comedy of Troy crying on Community, but Nick's crying is pretty high up there.
Overall a great episode, and like everyone else, sad to see Lizzy Caplan go.
fresser28 Troy crying: cool, funny guy disintegrating due to insane fears or excess emotion. Nick crying: wimpy douchebag being tiresome.
February 22, 2012 at 10:35PM ESTReally, Nick is the most annoying of the foursome, and his crying jags are a huge part of that.
klg19
February 22, 2012 at 1:38PM EST Reply to CommentWithout question one of the strongest episodes yet. I was so happy I'd DVRd it, because I didn't want to have to wait through the commercials to get to the next bit.
Schmidt's tiny kimono will never not be funny to me.
February 22, 2012 at 5:59PM ESTBlitzMark
February 22, 2012 at 1:46PM EST Reply to CommentI thought it was yawner. I agree that the title story was weak, so I'm confused as to why Alan liked the episode as a whole.
tvvinny I totally agree with you. I have been waiting for this program to live up to its potential and this was not an episode that did it for me. When I watch a comedy that causes me to laugh loud (like consistently The Big Bang Theory or The Middle) I say a comedy is great - so far this show has not been proved great to me.
February 23, 2012 at 3:18AM ESTHeisenberg
February 22, 2012 at 2:19PM EST Reply to CommentThe Schmidt-Cece story was great and featured Schmidt's all time best line: "I'm like a sexual snowflake..."
The Nick storyline was strong as well, though I'm sad to see Julia go.
I can't agree with Alan that this was an all around funny episode because I didn't like the Jess story at all.
Definitely an improvement over last week's though.
February 22, 2012 at 6:01PM ESTThe tired ole trope of Jess the quirky naive new girl was the weakest part of the show (by far, imo) so I'm glad to see they are doing something else with that character
EF
February 22, 2012 at 3:19PM EST Reply to CommentAm I the only one that thinks Jess might be the weakest part of the show (or at least tied with Winston)? Schmidt and Nick make this show.
Parkour!
February 22, 2012 at 3:43PM EST
February 22, 2012 at 3:48PM ESTCol Bat Guano I like the show, but isn't it a bit of a problem when the lead character is consistently the weakest part of each episode? I'm hoping we're looking at a Cougar Town scenario where the title of the show doesn't relate to the actual content.
February 22, 2012 at 4:26PM EST
February 22, 2012 at 6:01PM ESTCol Bat Guano How else is Cougar Town analogous except as another show where the original concept proved unlikable and was highly watered down? Courtney Cox is still the "star", but not in the way the creators envisioned. I have a feeling the same is going to happen to Zooey.
February 22, 2012 at 8:39PM ESTjennyh I don't think Zooey/Jess is the weakest part of the show, but I do think her workplace storylines would be more effective if they showed her being more capable at her job. Watching Jess get outsmarted by 11-year-olds continually doesn't do much to endear her to the audience -- we like Jess for her weirdness, but if she's so weird she can't teach Grade 5, that's pushing it.
February 22, 2012 at 9:41PM ESTWhat I've liked as the season progresses is that each of roommate characters have been shown to be not unlike Jess, in certain ways. Schmidt is at LEAST as quirky as she is, Nick is more sensitive than she is, and Winston -- well, Jess wasn't the only one who fell for the "It's a crescent moon tonight!" diversion.
aamadis Actually, I find Nick to be rather weak as well. Or rather, annoying. I didn't laugh at any of his story.
February 22, 2012 at 10:55PM ESTTrue Believer
February 22, 2012 at 4:07PM EST Reply to CommentWinston had the best line of the episode. "And I think I speak for the entire human race when I say that girl should not be making robots."
Slushy agreed.
February 22, 2012 at 5:55PM ESTMathute
February 22, 2012 at 6:51PM EST Reply to CommentI don't know why, but I didn't really like this episode. Funny Schmidt, lame Jess story and so-so Nick (not a really good "bye-bye" for Lizzy Caplan).
"People like her shouldn't be making robots" was a funny quote, though.
Erika Herzog i completely agree. i was sort of meh over the same things you described. and i was disappointed in the goodbye and the dumb cactus. (is that what a cactus means?!?)
February 22, 2012 at 9:45PM ESTsome spottily funn quotes but not my favorite episode either.
...
Jon88
February 22, 2012 at 10:31PM EST Reply to CommentNot just old people in the restaurant, but, I think, non-English-speaking people.
The Noble Robot
February 23, 2012 at 5:24AM EST Reply to CommentLizzy Caplan is the best, streets ahead even, but I won't miss her on this show. She belongs in something where she's in the main credits.
I liked this episode, too, but agree that Jess' plot was weak and trope-y. The "bully" in the episode started insulting Jess at a 10th-grade level for seemingly no reason, after being set up as a teacher's pet type. And the fact that it surprised Jess made even less sense. How long has she been teaching this kid? If it was longer than one week, than I think she'd have known that she was a "mean girl" by now.
I'm sorry, but kids doing adult-ish things isn't funny all by itself, there needs to be some justification. Not just when it's established, but as it goes on. The kid continues being a jerk to Jess, but it's not really explained what her motivation to act on her dislike of Jess is, (nor is it explained how she developed Taiwanese-level 3D animation skills), especially if she's a type-A high-achieving student (why would anyone risk a bad grade by insulting your teacher's sex life, even if you truly hated them?)
And her parents add nothing to the story (other than being lesbians, which isn't even a one-note joke anymore). They exist basically to gasp, but they stop just short of actually reacting to anything in a way that effects the story (or even any of the scenes they are in).
wjmtv Well, they affected the story in that they showed (me, at least) where the little girl gets her bitchiness. While I applaud them for daring to show us homosexual characters in a less-than-holy light, all three of them were pretty unappealing.
February 24, 2012 at 9:16AM ESTAnd I totally agree that no high-achiever would treat a teacher that way.
February 24, 2012 at 11:08PM ESTBecause you're an entitled little jerk-off who has never had to face any real consequences for your jerk-o-sity? But, yeah, I do agree with you that precociously bratty sit-com kids get very tired very quickly. (Seriously, wanting to load up on chunky rings and punch a child in the face is 1. All kind of horrible wrongness, and, 2. Not really getting you in the mood to laugh.)
sheed
February 23, 2012 at 1:21PM EST Reply to CommentWinston saying he's gonna live on a crescent moon one day had me rolling.
wjmtv
February 24, 2012 at 9:18AM EST Reply to CommentI thought Nick's bare-chested, phone-message-leaving night was pretty funny, but the highlight for me was Schmidt and his three red eyes.
And this was the ep that made me realize, in her own exotic way, CeCe is every bit as big a douche as Schmidt. Those two are great together.