Finally! It took far too long but the broke girls of 2 Broke Girls finally got rid of the ridiculous horse that they’ve been hiding next to their ground floor New York apartment. It was one of the dumber ideas a sitcom writer ever came up with, at least for a non-farm based sitcom, and thankfully it’s now over with.
Now, let’s get on with getting rid of the supporting cast, the restaurant and about 70% of the sex jokes and we’d have a show worth watching every week.
2 Broke Girls “And the Reality Check” finds Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs) finally facing the fact that they can’t keep Caroline’s horse Chestnut in the courtyard of their apartment anymore. Was it the fact that they’re broke and couldn’t possibly afford to feed a horse? Was it that a neighbor finally noticed a giant horse, and likely, a giant pile of manure, in the courtyard? No, it was the weather.
So much for the ‘Reality Check.’ Yes, winter in New York means Chestnut has to go. Are the girls selling the horse and putting the money toward opening their dream business? No, of course not, that would make too much sense.
Caroline’s notion is to give the horse to a guy who rents horses out for commercials (“Chestnut could be War Horse 2″). When that doesn’t pan out Max has the back-up plan: give the horse to her babysitting boss, Peaches (Olesya Grushko).
Peaches is an infrequent guest star on 2 Broke Girls whom the writers use as an occasional send-up of the Real Housewives of New York/Jersey/Beverly Hills etc. “And the Reality Check” found Peaches actually trying to break in as one of the reality star-wannabes and she uses Chestnut and Caroline as her way of getting on the show.
This actually wasn’t that bad an idea for a 2 Broke Girls plot. I really enjoyed watching Beth Behrs get her rich on and the delight Max took and watching Caroline be so fake was funny as well. It’s moments like the reality show sequence that, ever so briefly, show the potential that’s always been there with 2 Broke Girls.
As I am being generous with the show at the moment I will extend that generosity to the show’s closing moments. Kat Dennings is a terrific actress and we know that from her honestly loving goodbye to Chestnut after she and Caroline dropped the horse at Peaches’ stables.
It takes real talent to sell something this ludicrous and Kat Dennings showed every inch of her acting chops selling this turkey of a story as an honestly emotional moment. I can only dream of what she will bring to the future scene of the diner burning to the ground. (That’s only wishful thinking on my part, not a spoiler.)
Of course, this wouldn’t be 2 Broke Girls if the writers didn’t find ways to make the show almost unwatchable. This week it was an endless series of ever more unnecessarily graphic sex jokes. Has there ever been a sitcom airing this early in the primetime lineup with this many jokes about ejaculation? There are porn stars who don’t discuss ejaculation as much as Max does.
Random Notes:
- Bye, Chestnut!
- Every other episode or so of 2 Broke Girls I mention the lesbian vibe that the show cultivates on and off between Max and Caroline. This week, as I researched this recap/review, I stumbled across AfterEllen.com which has been after this potentially sapphic story from the beginning. Check out Dorothy Snarker’s 2 Broke Girls recap at AfterEllen.com and the Gay Girl’s Goggles Blog.