It all comes down to Florida, the penis of America, folks.
30 Rock is at his whimsical best when it demonstrates how current it can be – half the later seasons’ plots have been ripped right from real-world headlines and even Alec Baldwin’s character serves as a reminder of the tongue-in-cheek attitude the writers strive for in dealing with modern-day politics. But that ironic lambasting of the world’s news has always served as a fun backdrop in which to develop the show’s strong characters and their relationships with one another and to earn cheap laughs. Little political asides and meta humor bring viewers in on the joke and generally skewering government is about as simple as defeating a bayonet-led army. (See! Political humor!) But this week’s entry into the 30 Rock oeuvre allows the political grandstanding to take center stage, tossing aside the cartoonish humor the show’s made its own for a politically-charged statement. While the show’s kept up the funny, “Unwindulax,” the first of a two-parter, is taking 30 Rock down a road I’m not sure it can salvage.
The show begins ordinarily enough, though, in media res, as flocks of Jimmy Buffett-heads – the fun-loving, relaxed, aging hippies led by very game Amy Sedaris and Gary Cole – are crowding the streets of New York, making Frank walk an entire extra block. Turns out Jenna’s ode to the Florida-bred, island escapist legions of Buffet-heads, the unfortunately literal “Catching Crabs in Paradise,” has become a hit, and she’s become a goddess to the adoring personified Hawaiian shirts that compose Buffet’s fan base. Reinvigorated, Jenna is quick to begin marketing, unleashing crab hats to the writers’ room, which leads to perhaps the funniest bit of the episode, as Tracy single-handedly comes to terms with his fledgling own crab experiences. “Please, I’ve had a crab on my head for free.” Then, later, “I’m lying.” And, to close the scene, “I’ve never seen a crab. I’m sorry.” Tracy’s mostly relegated to the sideline this week, save those lines and a stirring final speech, but he wrings all the humor out of crab-hats that can possibly be wrung.
Jenna’s happiness can’t last, obviously, as Frank, Toopher and Lutz realize how hypocritical the playful tunes coming from wound-up psychopath Jenna are. They go into full-on scheming mode, which, while hackneyed after all these years, is still strong enough to garner some laughs. They hurl insults at her in public, knowing that her legions of chill-brah middle-aged folk would abandon an uptight, yelling Jenna. She’s able to absorb the blows, albeit not with aplomb, as she soaks in the love from the Floridians. The plot is largely a second thought until the conclusion, though, as the real thrust of the episode is the political back-and-forth between Liz and Jack.
Jack invites Liz to a Republican fundraiser as his “chum.” Liz happily accepts, as she’s always happy to be his companion and, hey, shrimp! But as Liz is wont to do, she can’t withhold her liberal ideals around the most insufferable capitalists who ever pulled themselves up by their bootstraps. Jack, always one step ahead, uses her outburst to his advantage; he brought her along to personify the enemy. The liberal, health care-loving shrimpaholic who doesn’t quite know what she’s talking about but knows she hates the men she’s with is an easy target for the wealthy to pick apart. And knowing that if Obama is reelected, the Liz Lemons of the world will prevail, Mitt Romney’s pockets quickly deepen.
The political differences of Liz and Jack are rarely spelled out so explicitly. While entertaining to watch, it trends towards preaching rather than honest debate. Or, for that matter, it’s far more akin to sermonizing than it is to humor. While the jokes are still flowing, many don’t land, and you have to wonder where 30 Rock’s true intention with this plot lies.
Liz takes to TGS to battle Jack and his cronies, offering sketches that aim to help Obama. Unfortunately for her, she enlists the help of Twilight heartthrob and Lutz grand-nephew Kellan Lutz (whom I had proudly never heard of). Lutz is screamed off stage, as the armies of tweens won’t let his sketch begin without shrilly alerting everyone involved that Kellan Lutz is present.
Jack, meanwhile, is just as unsuccessful with his stunts to attract black voters to Romney. Don Cheadle, in absolutely hilarious fashion, does take after take of a pro-Romney ad, unable to keep a straight face. He’s paid $10 million for the spot though, so he continually airs his forced words, backed only by the racist Transformers car, apparently the only other “black” character Jack could rope up. Needless to say, the black vote stays at 100 percent Obama, much to Jack’s chagrin.
Jenna’s and Jack and Liz’s plots intertwine seamlessly with the show’s ambitious if risky conclusion. Going state by state, Jack, dictating to his associates, and Tracy, who’s done stand-up in every state, explains the dynamics of the upcoming election. Jack and Tracy are cut back and forth in breathless fashion, and Tracy, who’s not even granted a “C” story this week due to the meat of the two dominant plots, is in top form. They’re in accord on each swing state except for one: Florida. The conservative Cubans and the liberal serial killers balance out, leaving the lean of the state – and the outcome of the election – to the same people partying outside their offices; the same people playing a drinking game called “drink when someone says something!” The balance of the election, in other words, is in the hands of Jenna Maroney.
Tidbits:
–“You look like a condom that’s been dropped on the floor of a barbershop.”
–“Ed Begley Jr. wasn’t available because the sail on his car broke.”
–“I guess that’s why they call me Mitt,” says Jenna, as her face pokes out of an obnoxiously large baseball mitt. It’s the Arrested Development-esque simple cutaway gag, executed so quickly and dryly that 30 Rock does so well without actually taking a political stance.
–“Gentlemen. Token silent lady.”
–“If you ever want to pick your ball color at a putt-putt course, or have your alligator euthanized humanely or fly on Delta, you will back off. Or the Crab Catchers will come for you. Just as soon as it’s cool for them to drive.”
–Seriously, go watch Don Cheadle do that Romney ad again. He’s about as enjoyable a celebrity guest as the show’s ever had.
–Holy crap that otter looks just like Tracy.
–“Don’t give up. That’s not the Lisa Loeb I know.”
–“Florida, the penis of America.” The Arabian Peninsula’s much bigger. I’m just sayin’.
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