Once more, we find an episode of The Critic about Jay Sherman finding love, this time, a crazed fan. While this episode may not be the most original (it’s a parody of Misery) I honestly loved it, the humor is among the best in the show and it features one of the most known jokes from the whole series. Free from set up, this episode knows how to keep the story going without stopping to explain the roles of every character we see, which is the biggest step up it does from the last episode.
Starting the episode out we get a bunch of cute gags showing how pathetic Jay’s love life is compared to everyone else’s love lives. The montage of lovers include a very funny bit involving two undocumented immigrants (well done), but sadly culminates with a punchline that feels a bit transphobic (not cool, but it’s tame compared to other jokes of this kind from the time... hooray?). This is all set up of course, as the plot truly gets going when Jay encounters a mysterious woman in the projector booth, staring at him, soon making silent love to him. Being the loser he is, the red flags don’t matter, even when he realizes she’s unhinged he just takes it as a quirk of hers, desperation really does lower the bar.
Obviously I laughed a lot, but one gag stood out more than it ever has before, ahead of its time, or maybe our problems just never change, but it’s definitely a darker joke these days. Jeremy, who shines a lot more in this episode, becomes Jay’s hero by the end, while the chase is a bit strange (how did our villain realize he knew what was going on?) the way he gets his gun feels like a dark piece of satire from now. Presented as a silly joke where a vending machine sells guns for cheap, these days it can be believed we’re headed there if things remain the same. Again, maybe the issues were more similar than I expect, but considering how common shootings are now, it definitely is a darker joke these days.
If you’ve yet to see this show, what are you waiting for? Especially if you’re a film geek, this is one you won’t regret. Some jokes don’t age well, that’s standard for anything, but some of these jokes are much stronger these days. This episode in particular is a stand out for the show.
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Written by Octaviano Macias
Support me on Patreon
Written by Octaviano Macias
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