Don’t Trust The B—- In Apartment 23 ‘It’s Just Sex…’: You Don’t Play Birmingham Twice

Now that Don’t Trust the B is part of ABC’s fall 2012 line-up, the last six episodes of its first production order are going to be moved to the beginning of season 2, leaving ‘It’s Just Sex’ as the penultimate episode of its stunted first season run. Thankfully, it’s the best episode yet, taking a sitcom story line we’re all familiar with, and putting their own funky, modern twist on it. In 22 minutes, Apt 23 not only cemented itself as one of the best new shows of the year, and puts to rest any remaining debate about whether this, or its more popular CBS counterpart, is the better show.

‘It’s Just Sex’ is wall to wall sex jokes: from the beginning tub scene with Chloe interrupting June’s masturbation session to the JVDB sex tape b-plot, every scene and every joke is about sex. It’s essentially the formula 2 Broke Girls uses, but here, it’s handled with so much more nuance and plausibility, creating humor organically through great writing and acting, instead of relying on an amplified laugh track and forced deliveries to remind us its a joke.

Look at the aforementioned tub scene: on 2 Broke Girls, the show would’ve had Max walk in on Caroline in the tub, and pound us all over the head with lazy metaphors and gross references to herself and/or her vagina. But not here: on Apt 23, there is a little bit of class, even when low-brow humor is involved. The tub scene doesn’t even feature anything remotely PG-13, but throws together a fast-paced, jumpcut sequence that says everything silently, relying on the actresses comedic talents and trusting the audience to have half a brain cell. But I don’t want to spend the whole review shitting on 2BG (did enough in my final thoughts for the season), so let’s get back to this great episode.

‘It’s Just Sex’ takes a well-worn topic for sitcoms: casual sex, and how certain characters are either well-equipped, or ill-equipped for it. And on most shows, the writers and audience would be satisfied with odd one-night experiences being just that, and moving onto the next episode, forgetting about the one-off crazy female characters we were introduced to. But this is obviously a show written by a woman, because June and Chloe’s experiences in ‘It’s Just Sex’ are vehicles to express some of the changes they’re both going through, as a result of living together.

I really liked how June didn’t freak out after her first one-night stand – like the rest of her first-time experiences or challenges since she’s moved to the city, June’s really displayed herself to be both confident and enthusiastic, despite some of the awful things she’s dealt with in the weeks leading up (and following) the events of the pilot. Some Catholic mothers might take offense, but for those of us living in reality, it’s good to see a show handle a topic like young, attractive women having casual sex and not being insane about it.

This is all paralleled by what Chloe realizes when trying to re-enact the sex tape she recorded with JVDB back in 2006 (which subsequently leaked when June donated it to her Korean church). While June needs to stop caring so much about everything that happens to everyone else, her caring ways are humanizing Chloe a bit – a necessary direction the show needs to take for long-term success. Most sitcoms start with outlandish personalities as the writers get more confident and texture their characters to suit the actors ‘s strengths, and it’s a good sign Apt 23 is starting to move away from its more caricaturish portrayals.

Even the background characters I’ve been so annoyed with in recent weeks are toned down a bit, with only a few lines that are actually funny. Instead of having super weird, obsessive Robin, she’s actually gets to deliver a funny – and important – joke about JVDB’s behavior during sex, and we get Eli, who makes the great point that homemade sex tapes are like amateur welders picking up blowtorches and filming themselves. By keeping their interactions minimal, their one-noted characters can actually be funny, without having to take up a lot of screen time with awkward, predictable lines while the writers try to work out the kinks.

Apt 23 has been pretty consistent to this point – especially when it comes to the batshit twists that happen at the halfway point of each episode, all of which have been pretty hilarious at this point. It’s too bad we’re only getting one more episode before it goes away for the fall; Don’t Trust the B is quickly becoming one of my favorite comedies to watch on the Big 4.

Grade: A-

Other thoughts/observations:

– so many funny jokes in the episode. Here’s a quick collection: strumming a lady harp, ex-boyfriends who are iPod DJ’s, Chloe ironing her hair, Chloe sleeping with the French president and writing the Sopranos finale, Jeff Goldblum love letters, vagina purses…. the list goes on and on.

– best line of the episode (besides the one in the post title) wasn’t even on screen. “That’s not what I should be using my tongue for.” – JVDB

– speaking of The Beek, he’s really been the big surprise of the show, feeling less and less of a gimmick each week, and more and more a part of the gang. Him chilling with Robin (and her not bugging out) was a nice moment to build towards him feeling less of a celebrity, and more of a real character on the show.

– ok, it’s a Van Der Trifecta of James comments: how funny is that June’s mom is his other adviser?

– the Korean church returns, but without the racist jokes this time! Yay!

– I demand to know why there was no sign of Luther in this episode. Shameful.

What did you think of ‘It’s Just Sex’? Feel free to leave your thoughts/comments below!