Make Them Non-Kosher. Review: 2 Broke Girls - "And the Kosher Cupcakes"

2 Broke Girls, S1, E17 – “And the Kosher Cupcakes”

Air date: Monday, February 20, 2012, 8:30/7:30 c on CBS

Rating: ★★★★★★

What a train wreck of an episode. Seeing two young boys who just made their bar mitzvahs acting like ghetto pimps is ill inducing. The writers poke fun at stereotypes in “And the Kosher Cupcakes” but these two boys? I just wanted to punch them. Too over the top, even for 2 Broke Girls.

Make Them Non-Kosher. Review: 2 Broke Girls - "And the Kosher Cupcakes" 1

Caroline (Beth Behrs) and Max (Kat Dennings) bring their kosher cupcakes to Esther Rachael (Mary Testa)

The episode isn’t saved by this storyline, but I did get a kick out of Sophie’s (Jennifer Coolidge) new boyfriend Sergiusz (Matt Winston), whom she meets online through a Polish dating site. Predictably, Chef Oleg (Jonathan Kite) is jealous. The fact that Sophie is unaware of Sergiusz’s homosexuality is strange, because he’s flamboyantly gay, expressing pleasant shock at her “orange traffic cones.” Why she’s not offended by this comment is also strange. Is it only Oleg she has distaste for? At least he brings her flowers and chocolates and makes his intentions clear every time he sees her. Sophie’s reasoning for wanting to be with Sergiusz is ridiculous. I wonder if she really means she’d prefer a toy over the real thing. To me, it comes off as disingenuous, meant merely to garner a laugh. OK, I admit I laughed, but it was more out of incredulity than anything.

When Caroline (Beth Behrs) falls ill with the flu, Han Lee (Matthew Moy) sends her to a clinic in a Jewish enclave. The really annoying thing about Caroline is how she overdoes it with the Jewish shtick when she meets the Jewish receptionist, Esther Rachael (Mary Testa), the mother of the nasty aforementioned bar mitzvah boys. At least, Max (Kat Dennings) balances out Caroline’s over eagerness to please with her own pallid indifference to the potential money-making gig. I was further irked, though, by Max’s blatant disregard at the direction to make kosher cupcakes. At least Caroline has the wherewithal to point out you shouldn’t mess with tradition.

Make Them Non-Kosher. Review: 2 Broke Girls - "And the Kosher Cupcakes" 2

Sofi (Jennifer Coolidge) enters the diner to meet Sergiusz, her new boyfriend

What’s also quizzical is the fawning treatment Max gets from Esther, simply because she has dark hair and light skin. Why all this attention on someone who doesn’t give a crap about being paid for this gig? Must Caroline always be the conscience in this duo? Where does Max get off being so apathetic about her business? She really annoys me here. Caroline does, too, but at least she focuses on the job and tries to get things done, with no help from Max. It’s further maddening when Max is treated to a big bowl of matzo ball soup when she herself falls ill, leaving Caroline in the kitchen to fend off those two lecherous boys.

Thank goodness this show is only 30 minutes long. I was nearly tearing my hair out by the end!

Watch 2 Broke Girls Mondays at 8:30/7:30c, only on CBS.

Visit the show’s official website at http://www.cbs.com/shows/2_broke_girls/.