Review: 2 Broke Girls ‘And the Bear Truth’ – I Was Getting To You

I’ll admit it; for a few patches here and there, ‘And the Bear Truth’ actually surprised me. There were moments where characterizations made sense for once… and there were even moments where I cracked smile! Of course, those pockets of enjoyment were surrounded by the usual tasteless humor and terribly stereotypical minor characters, but for once, I wasn’t checking the running time over and over to see if the ending was near yet, a massive accomplishment for the mostly painful experience that is 2 Broke Girls.

‘And the Bear Truth’ is really about Andy and Caroline breaking up – which comes out of left field when its first introduced, but then gradually begins to make sense thinking about the season as a whole. For a new boyfriend, Andy was mostly left out of the weekly hijinks, appearing on the fringes of the episode (save for ‘Three Boys With Wood’), something I just assumed was merely coincidental. But it turns out Andy is a character with some feelings: after a messy three-person (that was supposed to be two) trip to a cabin courtesy of Han holding a giveaway at the restaurant, Andy shows up at the cupcake shop and breaks up with Caroline: “You’re ambitious… which I admire… but I can’t be someone you eventually get to.”

It’s a character note that actually makes sense for once: of the two girls, Caroline’s constant obsessions over the shop are in stark contrast to go-with-the-flow Max, who exudes an ignorant confidence when it comes to the success of their business. And for a girl with a new boyfriend, she did spend a lot of on-screen time at her new job. Unfortunately, that cupcake shop doesn’t bring us good relationship dynamics on a regular basis; it brings us loads of fat bride jokes, as seen in the opening and closing scenes of tonight’s episode.

There are the requisite wince-inducing moments in the episode, of course – highlighted by Max making joke of the starvation in India (Caroline says something about sex being better on an empty stomach, and Max replies “so that’s why there’s so many people in India”). But thankfully, the supporting characters largely out of the episode (save for the opening diner scene, which has another unnecessary round of cheering when Sophie appears in somethign disgusting), and the only people they run into at the cabin is the owner (who doesn’t say much beside “Ohm shanti”), and two gay hairy dudes the girls refer to as bears.

Of course, the other moments I enjoyed were mostly throwaway jokes – Max and Caroline’s behavior during I Spy, Max having to hear uncomfortable sex drought stories from every couple – but the (clearly inevitable) breakup between Caroline and Andy hit a chord I didn’t realize this show was capable of finding – and one they didn’t just stumble upon, taking the one consistent trait of Caroline – her persistence and dedication – and using it against her in her relationship with Andy. More importantly, 2 Broke Girls will not be the worst half-hour I spend watching TV this week (for once)… time for a celebration, bitches!

Grade: B-

Other thoughts/observations:

– one line actually made me laugh, and it came from the cabin’s manager: “Here’s two entrees, two soups, and two salads… hope you three enjoy your dinner.” The deadpan delivery of the line was absolutely spot-on.

– a close second (TWO FUNNY LINES IN AN EPISODE, IT’S A RECORD!!!) came from Max upon learning the cabin only had one room: “We should’ve known Han’s package was going to be smaller than he said it would be.”

– 2 Broke Girls still has no concept of reality: Caroline tells the ‘bears’ they can’t even afford lipstick… although Max has her usual pounds of make up  right next to her, including lipstick so dark red, it was purple.

– Oleg’s two lines in the episode brought the episode back to earth: one involved being “pulled” twice by Sophie, and the other was quoting “Hey Ya”.

– where did they get $800 from? The BS brides? I really can’t stand that fucking money counter at the end. So pointless, with arbitrary numbers being tossed around every week.