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“Are these scrotum shaped pancakes?” Review: The Big C “Bundle of Joy”

Review: The Big C, Season 3, Ep. 303 – “Bundle of Joy”

Air Date: Sunday, April 22, 2012 9:30 PM E/P on Showtime

Rating: ★★★★★

It’s Valentine’s Day and nothing says love like a weekend getaway…right? Cathy (Laura Linney) gifts Paul (Oliver Platt) with what is supposed to be an enlightening weekend to meet resident “joyologist” Joy Kleinman (guest star Susan Saradon) and possibly to have “hotel sex,” but things don’t quite go according to plan.

“Bundle of Joy” is so much more than meeting another cancer survivor. Despite it being the main title, my joy is rooted in the hysterical antics of Sean (John Hickey) and his newfound calling – a gay sex phone operator.

Funny moments/lines:

Sean explains to Cathy that he's not gay after she walks in on an interesting phone conversation.

When Cathy comes (no pun intended) bearing heart-shaped pancakes for Sean, she gets an earful, as well as an eyeful, watching and listening to Sean work his mojo on the phone. After he faux-blows a guy and uses syrup as a sound prop, the look on Cathy’s face had me cracking up.

Cathy: “Did you just orgasm with my syrup?”

***

Sean: “Are these scrotum shaped pancakes?”

Cathy (appalled): “No. They’re hearts.”

Sean: “Oh, sorry; long day at the orifice.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Sean has some of the absolute best dialogue in The Big C ! Hickey is amazing at making his portrayal of Sean seem so effortless. He wholly embodies Sean, making you believe he truly is Sean. The only thing I don’t want the writers to do is to make him too much of a conformist. I mean, it wasn’t too long ago that Sean was living outside and dumpster diving for his daily meals. I don’t want this medicated Sean to forget himself. And now with him working two jobs, I don’t want the money to go to his head.

Observations:

Adam seems more interested in Jesse than the bible group.

Adam (Gabriel Basso) is slowly immersing himself into the bible group but seems to be attracted to the cute girl, Jesse (Kailie Torres). Is Adam more interested in the bible group or Jesse? Will Adam stray from his longtime girlfriend, Mia (Alexandra Socha)? With him getting an erection and trying to hide it at the Christian rock concert, it seems his other head may be doing the thinking for him.

Andrea (Gabourey Sidibe) is still trying to get over the heartbreak of her failed relationship with Ukrainian thief Myk (Boyd Holbrook), and Sean, of course, is coping with Rebecca (Cynthia Nixon) losing the baby and then walking out. So to celebrate being single on Valentine’s Day, they go to a restaurant where everything, from the main course to dessert, is garlic-themed. When they see two non-garlic chocolate mousse cups, they steal one to share but what a surprise they get! I wonder what the proposal means. Is it just a ruse to cover up the stolen a chocolate mousse, or are Sean and Andrea headed toward something more…meaningful? I have a feeling Andrea may start developing feelings for Sean, mistaking his kindness and friendship for something more romantic. And could Sean be feeling something more for Andrea as well? Stranger things have happened.

I think we all knew Cathy would be “calling bullshit” at the seminar with Joy. I mean, lugging around backpacks full of rocks and having nothing to eat except some hideous looking, greenish, purple smoothies can take a toll on anyone. How telling is it that Cathy thinks of Adam as a baby while doing an exercise to think of a happy moment in her life? Does Cathy really want to have another baby? After Paul reveals his joyful moment, I think I would question wanting to have another child with someone  whose train of thought is about becoming the most successful and getting more Twitter followers. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be successful but when asked to think about a truly joyful moment in your life, Paul thinks back to high school and winning an award, while Cathy thinks of the joy she felt being a mother.

Cathy and Paul attend a weekend seminar to see joyologist Joy Kleinman (guest star Susan Sarandon)

“Bundle of Joy” is a fun and entertaining episode. Sarandon is phenomenal.  She looks absolutely amazing and completely sells her character as being a “joyologist.” At times I thought, “Is this woman for real?” But if you’ve never been to a seminar of this kind, it’s hard to understand there are many people who want to believe in something so desperately just because it gives them hope and purpose. I can only hope Joy really isn’t full of it and truly wants to help people.

Tune in to The Big C, Sundays at 9:30pm ET/PT only on Showtime.

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Photos © 2012 Showtime Networks, a CBS Broadcasting, Inc. company. All rights reserved.

 

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.