"A Night of Possibilities"
Is it 1994? I think it must be, because lately Tia Carrere is popping up everywhere - well, if not everywhere, at least on two shows I cover, and I only cover three, so if she shows up on
Friday Night Lights, I know something's up. Between her hanging out with Larry David (cocreator of
Seinfeld, coincidentally on in 1994) and Kelsey Grammer (
Frasier, also on in 1994) in recent weeks, I just have to wonder if I've been witness to a time warp. She did a cute job tonight, playing a woman - not a hooker, apparently - who almost managed to seduce Chuck, so it's a shame she was rather underutilized.
Of course, had she actually managed to "take a ride on the Chuck wagon," as Montana so delicately put it, we wouldn't have been able to see that Chuck is, at heart, a decent guy. Sure, he only took Ryan out to dinner to prove to Kelly that he didn't donate the rude gene to Gracie, and yes, he did repeatedly try to hurry up and ditch this dinner to be with Carrere's unnamed hottie, but he did take Ryan back to his hotel room to let him shower up (after falling over drunk and depressed in the restaurant) and bond a little. Let's say it all together now: "Aw."
Montana and Kelly's girls' night didn't work out quite as well. Turns out that Kelly's rigidity wasn't as easy to shake as Chuck's rigidity. She couldn't quite bring herself to go out clubbing, which was probably for the best if she thinks "Mambo No. 5" is a danceable song. However, it was sweet to watch the two of them act like eighth-graders with regards to Kelly's once and possibly future crush on Chuck ("Oh my god! You're totally hot for him!"). On a somewhat related note, I'm glad that they've backed off from the Chuck-Gracie storyline a bit. It's being handled in a much subtler way now, which really allows Kelly and Chuck's chemistry to shine as it did tonight. Obviously Gracie will always be a focal point of the show, but if a discussion about her is used as a launch point for some good adult back-and-forth, it'll be a much lighter and funnier show.
Speaking of light and funny, can I just say how much I love Gary and Marsh together? Gary didn't even have much to say tonight, but his facial expressions were brilliant. I think we all know a driver like Marsh ("The only reason he's still alive is because the Grim Reaper's afraid to get in the car with him"), but then the conversation's probably never been as interesting ("I don't know what the hell she shaved with my razor but it's dull as a popsicle stick").
All three of tonight's segments were funny, and the pacing was great, so it's a shame that we'll be breaking the momentum over the next couple of weeks due to baseball (though if the Red Sox are involved next week, I won't be complaining). Ah, well, until then, I'm going to be looking for a club called "Pajamas" that serves free drinks when I show up in my sweats.
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