Review: 'New Girl' - 'Jess and Julia': That thing you do
Lizzy Caplan continues her guest stint as Nick's uptight girlfriend
Lizzy Caplan and Zooey Deschanel on "New Girl."
A quick review of tonight's "New Girl" coming up just as soon as I use sculpting chutney...
I was worried for a minute or two there that "Jess and Julia" was going to be all about Julia being convinced that Jess was trying to sabotage her so she could have Nick all for herself, and Jess denying it vehemently, and only realizing her true feelings for Nick just as she had made his relationship with Julia more solid than ever. And there were certainly aspects of that trite rom-com formula in there, but the episode wound up being more about the kinds of miscommunications that arise with two people with personalities. Julia is about as far apart in temperament from Jess as possible for someone of the same age, gender, etc. At some point, I think we all know "New Girl" is going to try a Jess/Nick relationship (which may or may not be a good story; all will depend on execution), but there's no need to rush it, and I'd rather enjoy Lizzy Caplan's presence — and her very un-adorkable energy — while she's here, rather than let her get wrapped up in some trite love triangle nonsense. I enjoy seeing Nick and Julia prove that likes can attract on TV just as well as opposites can, and the moment where Jess discovered that both of them were crying in their respective bathrooms (therefore leaving Jess with no refuge for her own tears but a corner of the hallway) was one of several laugh-out-loud moments of this episode.
I'm also glad to see Jess' world expand a little bit, even if her lesbian gynecologist friend Sadie (played by June Diane Raphael, who was Ken Marino's sort-of love interest in "Party Down" season 2) was introduced more or less out of the blue. Allowing for both the demands of a TV show and for the more overwhelming aspects of Jess' personality, I'm okay with her not having a lot of friends outside of the roommates, but it's nice to know it wasn't basically her and Cece versus the world before this, and Sadie gave Schmidt a new personality to bounce his various annoying/funny Schdmit-y qualities against.
Good Schmidt episode in general (he provided me with a half-dozen good potential intro lines, including "just as soon as my towel is next to my Irish walking cape"), particularly his horrified reaction at the end to the many ways in which Nick is obliviously unhygienic. The Winston subplot, on the other hand, suggests the writers are still scrambling to figure out what to do with Lamorne Morris. It almost feels like a commentary on the character that a number of his stories this season have been about how he doesn't know what to do with himself now that he's no longer playing basketball in Latvia.
Good outing overall, though, as Caplan worked very well with both Zooey Deschanel and Jake Johnson.
What did everybody else think?
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January 31, 2012 at 10:36PM EST Reply to CommentStopped watching show early on, but holy F what's Lizzy Caplan doing on this show? She's too good and too hot for it.
S I too stopped watching early on but decided to check up on it again. At first I was cursing the universe for putting me in a situation where i had to pick between Caplan and Deschanel but I'm glad the episode moved away from the direction. I hope Caplan becomes permanent or gets her own show because she's so damn awesome.
January 31, 2012 at 10:48PM ESTS I too stopped watching early on but decided to check up on it again. At first I was cursing the universe for putting me in a situation where i had to pick between Caplan and Deschanel but I'm glad the episode moved away from the direction. I hope Caplan becomes permanent or gets her own show because she's so damn awesome.
January 31, 2012 at 10:48PM ESTBrian Bearcouch: If you stopped watching early on, how do you know that Lizzy Caplan is too good for it. Like many shows, New Girl found its way after a few episodes, and is now one of the more solid comedies on television.
February 1, 2012 at 4:28PM ESTJenny @Brian
February 2, 2012 at 1:29AM ESTNot really. I just think New Girl is a mess. Sometimes it's funny, sometimes it's corny, and sometimes it's just not terrible.
Dennis Marsh
January 31, 2012 at 10:42PM EST Reply to CommentA very good episode that I laughed at often especially the ending. I also enjoyed the tampon in the apron.
Stuart If you load a tampon in the first Act...
January 31, 2012 at 10:51PM ESTJoseph I enjoyed the episode as a whole, but was cracking up at the ending as well! Not sure why I found that so funny - I think Nick really killed it when he was talking about wearing other guys' underwear. Also, love Lizzy Caplan, hope she stays on for a while.
February 1, 2012 at 2:46PM EST
January 31, 2012 at 10:53PM EST Reply to CommentI laugh at this show, and generally enjoy it, a LOT more than Happy Endings, which feels far more forced to me. Some of these characters may seem a tad unrealistic, but they feel like real people more than the nonstop joke machines on Happy Endings. The marketig's initial focus on Zooey did the show a disservice; her roommates get as much play as she does. In fact, the more there is of them - Winston's issues notwithstanding - the better the show is.
klg19
January 31, 2012 at 11:09PM EST Reply to Comment"...abd my checks have baby farm animals on them, BITCH.'
There were so many really great laugh lines--especially that whole ending sequence with the towels--but that one, and Deschanel's delivery, was just priceless.
John
January 31, 2012 at 11:12PM EST Reply to CommentI liked the convo between Jess and Julia on the sofa where your "thing" was dropped. OTOH, I was less impressed with Julia crotcheting by the end of the episode. I did like Schmidt's talk in the apron. Poor Max Greenfield won't be able to eat dessert for as long as this show runs.
JJ
January 31, 2012 at 11:31PM EST Reply to CommentJune Diane Raphael is also hilarious in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" - she and Jason Segel were very funny together (in what was obviously a small role for her).
The NV
February 1, 2012 at 12:31AM EST Reply to CommentSchmidt might be the funniest character on a non-NBC network comedy. His character is just plain comedy perfection.
AM7
February 1, 2012 at 12:43AM EST Reply to CommentThe Teddy Ruxpin line killed me.
Sliksmiley HAHA yes! 2nd best comment of the night
February 1, 2012 at 12:47AM ESTSliksmiley
February 1, 2012 at 12:44AM EST Reply to CommentEverything about this show is full of win. So many laugh out loud moments this week. Jess to Schmidty "So you really are Jewish" as he is grasping for the apron was my fav. Great ensemble cast though I do wish Lizzy Caplan was on this show full time. Glad they didn't go with the Jess/Nick romance angle and instead went with the female passive/aggressive friendship thing. As a female I totally relate (as do multiple friends I was texting during this ep).
Sliksmiley
February 1, 2012 at 12:45AM EST Reply to CommentEverything about this show is full of win. So many laugh out loud moments this week. Jess to Schmidty "So you really are Jewish" as he is grasping for the apron was my fav. Great ensemble cast though I do wish Lizzy Caplan was on this show full time. Glad they didn't go with the Jess/Nick romance angle and instead went with the female passive/aggressive friendship thing. As a female I totally relate (as do multiple friends I was texting during this ep).
ChampSkins
February 1, 2012 at 1:11AM EST Reply to CommentI don't know if its a good thing that I enjoy their guest stars more than most the actors on the show. From Lizzy Caplan, Lake Bell, Justin Long, Natasha Lyonne, etc etc etc...
toonsterwu
February 1, 2012 at 3:22AM EST Reply to CommentI'm glad that they stopped going to the well with the douche jar (they had that one scene at the end of an episode ... 2 or 3 eps back, filled with Schmidt jar issues), but this felt like a great episode to use it.
All in all, the show is progressing nicely and finding it's voice. I'm mildly curious when they will attempt this Nick and Jess thing - part of me thinks it's better off for them to push it at least another season down the road, and have these two come closer simply because of their dynamic (but it runs the risk of having them come too close that the two of them dating would feel ... awkward).
There really isn't that much for Winston to do, and there's only marginally more for Cece. I'm not sure if they are missing much with Lamorne, but it feels like a lot more could be done with Cece, being Jess' main girlfriend.
Col Bat Guano I love Schmidt's interactions with Cece. His "I will never give up!" to her at the end made me laugh. I was expecting something far cruder and the restraint worked for me.
February 1, 2012 at 3:52AM ESTW
February 1, 2012 at 9:50AM EST Reply to CommentI felt like I was being bludgeoned with Zoey's answer to critics of her 'adorkable' style the entire episode.
maria Same here. I was completely on Julia's side in this episode and thought Jess was annoying as usual and also wrong to tell Nick that Julia asked about other women. I was especially annoyed that they framed it as if Julia was supposed to apologize to Jess for not appreciating her adorkable wonderfulness. Yuck.
February 1, 2012 at 1:55PM ESTOther than that, I still love the rest of the cast and Schmidt in particular is hilarious.
Stormshadow4life
February 1, 2012 at 10:16AM EST Reply to CommentReally enjoyed the episode. I hope the show can keep this kind of quality up. Laughed out loud quite a few times
lelolai
February 1, 2012 at 10:24AM EST Reply to CommentCan someone please explain to me how/why they have a public bathroom (like in a dorm) in their APARTMENT? I know it makes it easier to stage scenes with multiple people, but it makes no sense at all.
MDK They really don't have a public bathroom, it's just a large bathroom with one sink, one shower, one toilet. It's just larger than usual to accommodate the interactions between the characters.
February 1, 2012 at 11:57AM ESTsepinwall I talked to one of the writers about this at press tour, and he said the idea is that the apartment is a converted industrial space, and this was the bathroom that a bunch of factory workers once used.
February 1, 2012 at 12:04PM ESTCol Bat Guano I thought it might be a converted school.
February 1, 2012 at 8:36PM ESTRay Yet another thing about the show that is half-formed, at least as far as what makes it in the actual show goes. Like Jess's new friend, dropped in without introduction whatsoever.
February 2, 2012 at 10:56AM ESTI'm not sure if this is a deliberate style choice, just sloppiness or what. Also not sure if I like it but I'm willing to overlook it.
lelolai
February 1, 2012 at 10:29AM EST Reply to CommentCan someone please explain to me how/why they have a public bathroom (like in a dorm) in their APARTMENT? I know it makes it easier to stage scenes with multiple people, but it makes no sense at all.
Haynie
February 1, 2012 at 12:24PM EST Reply to CommentSchmidt's sudden appearance and invested interest at the mention of "lesbian community" was my LOL moment. It played on a major cliche but it shows how good the actor is that it didn't come off as old hat.
BigTed
February 1, 2012 at 2:59PM EST Reply to CommentI found this a very "meta" episode -- Julia's problems with Jess' preciousness were obviously meant to echo a segment of the public's problems with Zooey herself.
But I think it would have been better if the conflict had continued, based on the two characters just not liking each other's personalities. Instead, it became about Julia's issues over her relationship with Nick, and was resolved with just a tiny bit of female bonding.
jennyh
February 1, 2012 at 3:52PM EST Reply to CommentGreat episode with lots of laugh-out-loud moments. Character driven comedies are always better in this regard than comedies where the characters are just delivery vehicles for the "clever" jokes the writers cook up (2 Broke Girls is the prime current example of this).
That bar bathroom sequence was perfection in this regard, and for that matter so was the apartment bathroom sequence. A standard sitcom would've had the Nick and Schmidt equally grossed out that they had been using the same towel -- it's way funnier that Schmidt is freaked out and it turns out that Nick doesn't really care and in fact doesn't understand the concept of washing towels at all. Just... amazing.
JedyKnight
February 1, 2012 at 7:20PM EST Reply to CommentLiked the Ep very much.. specially the Schmidt tid bits and the main plot with Jess and Julia.. the Winston subplot was really weak.. and the non-intro of the new obgyn really threw me off, but i just shrugged it off as maybe an out of order ep.
the last towel joke really caused me to laugh out loud, because i once shared a bathroom with my brother and cousin and we used to have those kind of discussions over people sharing un-shareable bathroom items.. lol
srpad
February 1, 2012 at 8:47PM EST Reply to CommentThe whole towel talk at the end was by far the funniest part. "I don't wash a towel; the towel washes me!" More of that please.
Slushy Agreed. Definitely lol'd for reals.
February 2, 2012 at 3:12AM ESTblinky
February 1, 2012 at 9:59PM EST Reply to CommentI thought that actress exploded in Cloverfield. I guess she is better now.
Too bad Zooey is still a 3rd rate actress, no better than her performance in Tin Man and The Happening. But being cute overcomes all, I suppose....
fresser28
February 2, 2012 at 3:12AM EST Reply to CommentCaplan was very good as the Anti-Jess and much, much better than she ever was on True Blood. Her presence almost makes the utterly annoying Nick palatable. As with Justin Long's brief appearance, I appreciated Caplan's Julia much more for being another Obstacle to the inevitable, really boring Jess/Nick pairing. Bleh.
Still, this episode had a lesbian gynecologist, chutney as hair product, Cece wearing the Ribbon Hat of Solidarity and Jess defending her inalienable right to be as girly as she wants. Brava!
erika_herzog
February 2, 2012 at 10:31AM EST Reply to Commentthis was about the most muted and subdued i've ever seen lizzy caplan, and that's not a good thing.
there's something missing in this character that i hope comes back, a lizzy caplan-esqueness that is just completely absent.
plus i kept looking at her and thinking she should eat a sandwich.
i enjoy this show and SUBURGATORY and HOT IN CLEVELAND cause there are a lot of funny lines but i wonder how long the adorkableness will last. at least NEW GIRL is cognizant enough of the meta to refer to Zooey's strangely beautiful eyes and pokes fun at the way she dresses..... thank god.
Allen
February 2, 2012 at 5:39PM EST Reply to CommentI particularly enjoyed seeing Jess with her friends. It was nice to know that she wasn't completely socially challenged and could interact with people on a more adult level. It seems difficult to develop Jess's character more without changing her "adorkable" appeal, so I think these moments with her friends are a nice way to see her growth.
I'm guessing the lesbian friend might have been introduced in another episode but FOX decided to air the episodes out of order. Either way, I think she's a great addition to the show, if only because of her hilarious interactions with Schmidt.
Justin
February 2, 2012 at 9:35PM EST Reply to CommentGreat episode, still pulling for a good Winston subplot ... And I was betting on "...just as soon as I monopolize the crying area"
belinda
February 3, 2012 at 4:43AM EST Reply to CommentLizzy Caplan needs to become a regular or stay on the show for a good while. She and Deschanel have excellent chemistry, and their scenes are hilarious.
And I love that the real reason for Schmidt's rant isn't that he's sharing a bathroom with all these girls, but that he's sharing a bathroom with Nick, the most unhygienic roommate ever. Love his want-to-hurl face.