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Review: Rescue Me, S7, E2 – “Menses” (Payback’s a bitch, baby!)

  • By

  • July 20, 2011

  • 6 mins to read

Airdate: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 at 10:00 pm ET/PT

Rating: ★★★★★

I feel sorry for Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary). After a lifetime of always being in control, calling the shots, the women in his life have taken over and he’s been reduced to doing their bidding. Payback’s a bitch, baby!

Kelly (Maura Tierney) helps Tommy out at the pharmacy

Tommy freaks out when he finds a news crew in the firehouse setting up to shoot a memorial piece on 9/11 that highlights the men who died. At Engine 99, it’s all about Tommy’s cousin Jimmy (James McCaffrey). We all know Tommy thinks the whole world revolves around him, but this is a little much. I’m not sure I understand why Tommy is so adamant the piece not be shot though. Is it his lingering anger over 9/11? Or is it the guilt over sleeping with Jimmy’s wife? If my cousin died a hero, I’d certainly want everyone to know about him and what he did.

I love that Janet (Andrea Roth) and Sheila (Callie Thorne) have become besties and gang up on Tommy whenever he’s around. If you think about it – wife and ex-mistress – it’s rather outrageous. They’re so cute as they sit together, giggling and sharing stories about him. I love how they turn the water works on when Tommy tells them he’s the boss!

It’s not easy to deal with that many hormones under one roof as Tommy discovers when Janet, Sheila, Colleen (Natalie Distler) and Katy (Olivia Crocicchia) all come down on him for trying to stop the piece about Jimmy. Even worse is the major blunder Tommy makes when Colleen complains she’s too fat as she’s stuffing her face.  “You wanna de-blimp? Go sit next to your mother; that oughta put things in perspective.” Oh Tommy, how could you? Have you learned nothing about women these past six seasons? You’ve certainly had your fair share.

There are two storylines in “Menses” that are hysterically funny. First, all four women in Tommy’s life are having their menses at the same time (aka “cycling”). They give him a list of feminine products they need and I about laughed my ass off at Tommy’s reaction.

“So why don’t you get Lance Armstrong to go to the god damned pharmacy for you? I’ll tell you something right now – I’m not going. I’m not going to the vagina aisle!”

You know he’s going, right? Especially after the look they give him!

While there, Tommy meets a past love interest, Kelly McPhee (Maura Tierney), who is now a breast cancer survivor and they end up going for coffee after he loses a bet where he is supposed to guess which breast is real. With Tommy being so self-absorbed all the time, it’s amazing to see him being so sincere and empathetic when discussing life, cancer and legacies with Kelly. Actually, it’s quite surprising as Tommy doesn’t have a sincere bone in his body. It must have been very difficult for the all-male writing crew to tackle the subject of a woman with breast cancer. But, not only is the writing sharp and probing, it’s witty as well. It’s so real I could actually picture myself having a similar conversation with a long lost friend about my Crohn’s Disease. The real commendation, though, goes to Tierney for this role. How hard it must be for her to play the role of cancer survivor when in real life, that’s exactly what she is. She had to relive everything she went through and I’m sure that was no easy feat.

Rescue Me does a wonderful job of taking a serious subject and treating it so irreverently, you just have to laugh. In addition to doing that with Kelly’s storyline, it does it with Lou’s (John Scurti) health issues, taking a look at how badly lacking the healthcare system is in this country. This is the other storyline that had me totally cracking up. Lou, still suffering with heart problems, refuses to go for the department physical. Franco (Daniel Sunjata) devises a plan to fool the doctors so Lou can pass. Each guy takes a turn being Lou during the various stages of the physical. I’m not sure which scenario makes me laugh the most. Probably the funniest is Sean (Stephen Pasquale) giving urine, although Mike’s (Michael Lombardi) mental evaluation is pretty comical too. As amusing as this is, I’m seriously worried something bad is going to happen to Lou if he doesn’t start taking care of himself.

Tommy and Kelly discuss what legacy they'd like to leave when they're gone

The boys of Engine 99 are finally back in action when the alarm bells sound indicating a fire. As everyone jumps in their gear, I think Franco expresses it best. “It’s like Christmas all over.” Add Sinatra’s “I’ve Got The World on a String” playing in the background, and I think you have a wonderful way of illustrating what these guys live for each and every day as they fight fires and save people’s lives.

Funniest lines:

As the Chief (Adam Ferrara) overhears Franco and Lou in a stall in the men’s room talking about switching clothes, the look on his face is priceless.

Lou: “If we get caught, the shit’s gonna hit the fan.”

Franco: “Nobody’s gonna know but us. Come on, give it to me. Ah, it’s tight.”

***

Tommy: “You remember Shelia.”

Kelly: “Yes, Joe Pesci with tits.”

Tune in to Rescue Me, Wednesdays at 10:00 pm ET/PT on FX.

All photos © 2011 FX Networks. All rights reserved.

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!

Linda

Love TV, movies, and books--mostly mysteries, with a good love story thrown in every now and then. I have four adopted dogs who I adore. I love trying new recipes, and enjoy eating what I make. English language perfectionist. Reading in bed, Italian food, warm weather, the beach, all types of games = favs!