After last week’s raucous New Girl featuring Jess’ girlfriend Cece, The Powers That Be over at FOX decided to turn the tables on us and give things a little spin. Quite a few spins, truth be told.
Not only was Jess the main feature in this episode, but things turned sugar sweet and cutesy. Too cutesy for my taste. Luckily, the syrupy overload my palate was experiencing was offset by some equally smart writing, something indicative of the series from the get-go. It’s one of the things that makes New Girl so attractive.
Was there any doubt when Jess invited Paul (Justin Long) — a fellow teacher she’s had a big crush on for a while — over for dinner that hijinks would ensue? Toss in a boatload of banter and awkward situations and that’s what New Girl was all about this time around. A turkey being thawed in a dryer … revelation of more of Schmidt’s personal hang ups (this time excessive cleanliness) … Jess’ pleadings with Nick to be nice to her new beau. All of it adorable and perky. And I have to admit: Jess and her quirks became a bit annoying for the first time since I’ve set upon this series. That hasn’t happened with the first five episodes … but it did this time.
And that’s why I continue to praise the writers, for their ability to take a direction I’m not completely comfortable with and quickly, sharply and snappily ward off the cutesy-ness that could otherwise spiral into something akin to full-fledged cat video delight. The character interaction is timely and plays without seeming forced. Things like the quotes below save the day. Everybody is thrusting on all cylinders most of the time.
Right now, New Girl is happily and comfortably chugging along at 22 minutes of good stuff per week.
Quotes:
“We are just gonna watch football, drink beer and then we are going to Best Buy for Black Friday.” — Nick
“Or as I like to call it … Friday.” — Winston
“I wanna take him down to Chinatown and slice him off a piece of this pumpkin pie. I wanna do it standing up and sitting down. And half up and half down. And the wiggly one and the bear attack and the claws and the head and the one that figure skaters do. And the ‘What’s for lunch?’ … and the ‘Give Me That Hat’ … ” — Jess talking to Nick about Paul
Clacked by Michael Noble 
on Nov 16, 2011 @ 07:20 EST5EDT
