2 Broke Girls ‘And Hoarder Culture’: The Tired Formula

2 Broke Girls continues to do very well ratings-wise… although I’m not sure why. The show CBS raves is ‘smart and edgy’ just comes across as lazy and offensive, and through eight episodes to this point, I’ve but a handful of times where a smile has crossed my face.

Why? Last night’s episode is a perfect example (although to this point, all the episodes are pretty much the same) of the show’s tiresome formula that beats the same eight or nine jokes over your head multiple times a scene. Most commonly, the joke is told in one scene, repeated twice within that scene, and then twice more throughout the episode. Look at the only lines Oleg has in ‘And Hoarder Culture’. The episode opens with the 69 joke. Max makes a 69 joke, and Oleg makes another 69 joke. A scene midway through the episode makes the same 69 joke we opened with, and then near the end, we have Oleg again repeating his desire to have sex with Max and/or Caroline. (I must also note these are the ONLY lines Oleg has had in the eight episodes of the show to this point.)

This repeats in this episode with the hoarder jokes, and the Johnny jokes…. and the rape jokes, and the addiction jokes, and the Max’s constant need to perpetuate herself as a skeevy, morally absent female (Obviously, I’m not asking for a show with Christian ideals, but her complete lack of conscience in every sentence and action is overbearing). The obvious repetition, and the need of the show to make light of topics like inner-city rape and Katrina are clear signs of a show trying too hard to be edgy, and instead coming off cheap and insensitive.

I’ve seen some discussion that suggests Han grew out of his stereotypes in his episode; that’s an opinion which I’d disagree with greatly. Throughout this show, Han has only existed to push offensive Asian stereotypes, and ‘And Hoarder Culture’ was another ripe example. Han is obsessed with sex, Han likes to poorly imitate turn of the century frat boy douchebag sayings, Han likes karaoke, Han can’t high five because he’s short… after two months of episodes, it would be nice for the show to back off the horribly offensive racial stereotypes.

(this includes Earl, who is portrayed as the old black men whose greatest accomplishments in life were the 70s when he did a lot of drugs and had sex with white women. So cheaply done.)

If all your jokes fall flat – like the joke two weeks ago Caroline made about ‘wads in the face’, which really was just degrading to women – the only thing left to save the show is the chemistry of your stars. But the tired cliches and redundant mannerisms of the stars only further degrades this show into useless drivel. Max is so self-deprecating towards herself and everyone around her, it’s honestly just depressing. And we get it: Caroline is just another Paris Hilton clone. Maybe get her a work dress that would be realistically appropriate and when she goes to clean a house, don’t have them BOTH dress like little play dolls going to a fun time. If this is a show about women being individuals and paving their own way, the writers of this show are doing quite a poor job of making them interesting and likable… mostly, they are just offensive portrayals of the ‘annoying woman’. And poorly done ones at that.

Honestly, there’s no point in me writing about this show anymore, because I can’t guarantee I’ll make it through another episode. I can’t take all the bad writing and blatant racism and sexism. Let’s remember, this show is co-created by Michael Patrick King, an openly gay men who has made a career writing weak, material-minded women who constantly question and think negatively of themselves on shows like Sex and the City and Will and Grace. It’s safe to say this show has no chance of ever being good, although that hasn’t stopped CBS from keeping shows like Rules of Engagement and 2 and a Half Man from being terrible for years and years. Enjoy this show while it lasts: I’m off this one for good.