The Goldbergs – “Weird Al” Recap. Mr. Weird.

Season 3, Episode 14

Air Date: Wednesday, February 17, 2016, 8:30/7:30c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“But Al’s my number one hero and I believe anything he says.” – Adam

Best boyfriend ever.

Adam (Sean Giambrone) attempts to rekindle his romance with Dana (Natalie Alyn Lind) who’s in town to visit her Grandma. The courtship quickly fizzles when Adam tries to recreate the stuff they enjoyed doing together before she moved away. Things go from bad to worse when Adam surprises Dana with tickets to see Weird Al Yankovic (playing himself) in concert. Dana is less than enthused, referring to Weird Al as “The guy who sings about food.” Could Weird Al be the catalyst for Adam and Dana breaking up? Say it isn’t so!

In my review of “DannyDonnieJoeyJonJordan,” I noted how thankful I was the episode wasn’t about Weird Al out of fear I would end up looking silly by confessing my love for his music. I should have known it was only a matter of time before series creator Adam Goldberg had a Weird Al themed episode. But who would have thought the Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter would actually agree to appear?

Love advice from Weird Al?

When Dana told Adam she was leaving for Seattle last season, fans knew a breakup was inevitable. Giambrone and Lind give wonderful performances as they both slowly realize they have grown apart. It’s agonizing to listen to Dana as she confesses to Adam, “We just don’t get each other anymore.” There is a maturity to the way Adam and Dana break up that as an adult I found relatable.

Wendi McLendon-Covey’s scenes in “Weird Al” are surprisingly moving. Beverly’s devastation over how much Adam is hurting is difficult enough to watch, but nothing prepared me for the heartfelt moment when Beverly says goodbye to Dana. “You will always be the best first love my baby could have, besides me of course.” Even in a moment of sadness, Beverly finds a way to make it about her.

Meanwhile, chaos ensues when Barry (Troy Gentile) signs up to be a peer counselor at school. Fearful Barry will leave behind a “wake of broken souls,” Mr. Glascott (Tim Meadows), the head of the guidance counselor program, enlists Erica’s (Hayley Orrantia) help to offset the turmoil Barry creates. The sibling rivalry quickly escalates as Erica and Barry argue over who is the better counselor. Determined to settle things, Barry challenges Erica to a “counsel-off” to see who can help the most depressed person they can find.

The editing is top notch, making Erica’s description of the signs of depression hilarious. As she explains the mental disease to Barry, the camera repeatedly cuts to Murray (Jeff Garlin), who displays all of the symptoms on Erica’s list. Murray doesn’t know what hit him when Erica and Barry take a sudden interest in his emotional wellbeing. Fearing their father’s depression is too severe, Erica and Barry enlist the help of Mr. Glascott. Garlin is a riot as when Murray realizes he is being dragged into their school for a depression intervention. “I’m not depressed, I’m a dad.”

Weird Al

Given that Weird Al guest stars as the 80s version of himself, I was anticipating a wackier than usual episode. Not so, even though Weird Al is entertaining, especially when he yells at his security team for letting Beverly talk to him. “Why do I even pay for security? She was clearly crazy and you just stood there.” But the way The Goldberg writers handle Adam’s breakup, as well as broaching the subject of depression, is truly remarkable. With the way director Jay Chandrasekhar balances the comedy and drama in “Weird Al,” this just might be one of The Goldbergs most well rounded episodes this season. Not to mention, who doesn’t like Weird Al?

Full disclosure, I’m not much of a music guy. While I own over 1,000 DVDs, I only have about 15 CDs, nine of which are by Weird Al. As a child, I wrote him because I was so upset my mom wouldn’t let me see him perform at the State Fair; sadly, Weird Al never wrote back. As an adult, of the five concerts I’ve attended, two were to see Weird Al. That said, I remain completely unbiased when I describe Weird Al’s performance on The Goldbergs as Emmy^® worthy. OK, maybe I’m slightly biased.

“Weird Al” brings back memories of sitting in my bedroom listening to the Dr. Demento radio show. My fingers would hover above the record button on my tape deck waiting for the latest Weird Al song to come on. From his cardboard Tron bike to his Rubik’s Cube-themed Halloween costume, it’s no wonder Adam is a fan of Weird Al. He represents the creative dreamer in all of us, which is what made Weird Al so special to kids of the 80s. Weird Al may be silly to some but for fans, he lets us know it’s OK to “Dare to be Stupid.”

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Weird Al.”

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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.