Rules of Engagement – Jeff’s the funny one hands down

Is it just me, or has Rules of Engagement begun to slide into a new comfort zone of late? I don’t know that I can articulate how exactly, but there does seem to be something different going on.

First there’s the obvious: Russell’s no more than a walking one-liner machine these days. I realize that he was never far from that, but at times he could spin a decent plot, like as Audrey’s theater partner, or as the boss from hell to Timmy’s naive assistant. Now there’s hardly a thing that comes out of his mouth that doesn’t cause me to roll my eyes. Last night was no exception, as he spent most of his time making fun of the ridiculous costume he gave Timmy to wear.

But he still retains his skills as a great set-up man. It’s Russell’s natural instinct to be this mean, but I loved how he stuffed Adam’s coupons to Jen into random stockings at the office. The innuendo at the end was overdone, but it was great fun watching Adam suffer through retrieving all of the coupons by redeeming them. I expected something more along the lines of Jen questioning why her gift was used, but regardless of the ending I enjoyed the funny plot.

Then there are the Binghams. It was interesting that something as mundane as Jeff and Audrey attending a holiday party was so much fun … then again, I’ve always enjoyed Jeff at a party. Remember that time they went to Audrey’s boss’ party and he yelled at someone for telling him the hockey score?

Last night Audrey was trying to prove that she is the funny one in their relationship. That she carries them at parties isn’t surprising, but as funny as Audrey is, she’s no match for Jeff. The competition started early at the coffee shop, and it didn’t let up one bit.

Okay, so that’s the long and short of last night, and nothing in particular seems to stand out as being different. And yet something is. I’m not saying the show is heading in a new direction, but the balance has definitely settled into a more comfortable groove than it’s been in since Timmy joined the cast.

When Timmy came along Russell became somewhat redundant. He existed mainly to make Timmy’s life miserable, but the two of them lived in their own universe. Even when Timmy started tagging along with the group the jokes at his expense were more as an extension of Russell. Still, I do love Jeff going at it with Timmy.

But since then Russell’s never fit back into the group. Which would be fine if there wasn’t a continued insistence to shoehorn him (and Timmy) in with everyone else. Last night Timmy and Russell (and Adam) were in one world, while Audrey and Jeff were in another (and lucky for everyone Jen was mainly MIA). Something about that balance worked, and it enhanced things when the two groups did meet up at the beginning and again at the end of the episode.

Sounds like a lot of dissection for a simple sitcom, but I say why not give credit where credit’s due. Something’s working, and I’m laughing at Rules of Engagement again. What’s wrong with that?

Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Dec 14, 2010 @ 12:45 EST5EDT