The Goldbergs
Episode 2.17 “The Adam Bomb”
Created by Adam F. Goldberg
Directed by Lew Schneider
Written by Chris Bishop
Starring Wendi McLendon-Covey, Jeff Garlin, Sean Giambrone, Troy Gentile, Hayley Orrantia, George Segal
ABC
Air date: April 1, 2015, 8:30pm

Happy April Fool’s Day! The Goldbergs 2.17 “The Adam Bomb” review has a few spoilers, if you haven’t seen the episode yet, but it’s a half hour comedy where the problem is always resolved in 23 minutes, so how much can I really spoil anyway?

It is April 1st, 1980-something as we visit our favorite 80’s family on April Fool’s Day. Adam (Sean Giambrone) compared his and Barry’s (Troy Gentile) relationship to the Cold War – Reagan vs Gorbachev and Rocky vs “that ‘roided out monster that killed Apollo Creed.” So Adam decides to play the greatest April’s Fool prank ever. He took Barry’s prize possession, the one thing he was “never to touch with my human oils.” And pretended to destroy it in the dryer.

Hello, My Name Is Doris
Director: Michael Showalter
Screenwriter: Michael Showalter, Laura Terruso
Cast: Sally Field, Max Greenfield, Beth Behrs, Wendi Mclendon-Covey, Stephen Root, Elizabeth Reaser, Jack Antonoff, Natasha Lyonne, Tyne Daly
Release date: March 14, 2015 (SXSW)

In Hello, My Name Is Doris, Doris (Sally Field, The Amazing Spider-Man) is a sixty-something woman experiencing a life crisis. Inspired by a motivational speaker, Doris attempts to woo a much younger man, and finds herself embraced by the Brooklyn hipster scene in the process.

Having missed out on living for the first sixty years of her life, Doris is equal parts innocent and lustful; desperate to experience life before it’s too late. Screenwriter Laura Terruso‘s juxtaposition of “vintage-obsessed hipster” culture and “cooky cat-lady hoarder” is brilliant, lending itself to endless situational comedy. Field is perfect in the role of Doris. Funny, vulnerable, sexy, and cute, often all at the same time.

Bridesmaids
Directed by Paul Feig
Starring: Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph, Rose Byrne, Chris O’Dowd, Wendi McLendon-Covey, Ellie Kemper, Melissa McCarthy, Jon Hamm
Release Date: May 13, 2011

Hollywood finally thought that a movie about women having fun should get made, and that this novel perception could be adequately funny. What a great idea! Not a pampered fun, though, the girls in Sex and the City have been relishing. Not even a subdued fun the girls in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants had. Let’s try for a fun that is manly, demeaning, and vulgar. Maybe this is the kind of comedy women will flock to see. Geez, such wishful thinking. Maybe the bulk of moviegoers fantasize about the deconstruction of the ideal beauty women rightly and proudly possessed for decades and millenniums. Truthfully, what’s not to admire when a woman bears striking resemblance to a character that Jonah Hill or Seth Rogen played? It is about time Hollywood let women experience the glitz and glamor not of Gucci or Vera Wang, but of the films Judd Apatow has had some influence on.

Striving for justice in a comedic world littered with uninspiring material that poses as comedy may seem like a daunting task. Genuineness is inapplicable in most comedies and the streak, sadly, continues with director Paul Feig‘s Bridesmaids, scripted by co-stars Kristen Wiig, of Saturday Night Live fame, and Annie Mumolo. The script has no abundance of humor. It is scarce and limited. Scenes desperately seeking that elusive, original idea that permits and encourages the audience to revel in its inventiveness are nowhere to be found.