The Goldbergs – “A Chorus Lie” Review. The School Musical.

Season 3, Episode 2

Air Date: Wednesday, September 30, 2015, 8:30/7:30c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“Oh my God, you’re just like dad.” – Barry

Becoming a young man.

Every now and then something happens away from the camera that’s so shocking a television series is forced to address it. Sometimes, it’s the death of an actor that forces the writers to make sudden changes to a story line in order to explain why a character is gone. In “A Chorus Lie,” the writers find themselves having to address…well, puberty.

I can only imagine the first day of shooting for season three of The Goldbergs. Young Sean Giambrone, who plays Adam, walks in and says, “Hi guys.” Instantly, the room becomes silent as everyone looks at Giambrone trying to figure out if that was really him speaking. The writers quickly scramble back to their computers to change some of the season’s early story lines.

Between the pimples, “new smells”, and a changing voice, a lifetime dream turns into Adam’s worst nightmare when he gets the lead in the school musical. Fearing the inevitable disaster, Adam desperately seeks his mother Beverly’s (Wendi McLendon-Covey) advise, who assures him she can solve his problems.

This isn’t the first time Beverly has tried to step in to save one of her kids from embarrassment but this time it’s more genuine. The scenes are still entertaining but there’s a deeper message for younger viewers. It wouldn’t surprise me if parents show “A Chorus Lie” to their own kids going through puberty.

Cute Couple?

I can’t believe it took “A Chorus Lie” for me to realize Erica (Hayley Orrantia) hasn’t dated much on the show. Erica’s banter with Murray (Jeff Garlin) always provides some of my favorite father/daughter moments on The Goldbergs. Their discussion about morons is one of the funniest conversations of the episode. I also enjoyed Murray’s more thoughtful moments as he observes Erica becoming more like him. For as over the top as the show is at times, The Goldbergs doesn’t get enough credit for the strong family message it provides each week.

It’s always entertaining seeing Barry (Troy Gentile) hang with the other members of the Jenkintown Posse (JTP) — Andy Cogan (Matt Bush), Geoff Schwartz (Sam Lerner), and Naked Rob (Noah Munch). There’s a goofiness to the JTP that is authentic and brings back fond memories of my own childhood and my chucklehead friends.

JTP…umm yeah. No words.

Watching Geoff trying to win Erica’s heart is hilarious. How can you not root for him especially after Johnny Atkins (Sean Marquette) tries to date Erica. Since these characters are based on real people, I can only imagine what Atkins was like as a teenager. It would be nice to see more of Geoff and Erica to see where things go.

“A Chorus Lie” is an interesting episode because it stems from necessity due to Giambrone’s recent hormonal changes. Giambrone deserves a lot of credit for having some fun with his character since his own personal transformation is on display for all to see.

While not my favorite episode of The Goldbergs, “A Chorus Lie” serves as an entertaining reminder of all the ups and downs everyone has experienced during puberty. Younger viewers certainly will be able to relate to what both Adam and Giambrone go through; it certainly brought back memories of my own awkward stage.

Tune in to The Goldbergs Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c, only on ABC.

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.