Light on story and heavy on dramatic banter, “Kimmewah Kup” is a decidedly lighter episode of Playing House than the previous few episodes, even though it features the biggest Emma/Maggie fight we’ve seen in awhile. It’s telling that the episode’s most introspective moment – when Emma and Maggie realize they’re making fun of two other people for living together in their 30’s – is one dismissed with a hand gesture and an uneasy laugh. “Kimmewah Kup” is not an episode concerned with these kinds of deeper psychological evaluations, and thanks to the ability to fill that void with hilarious interactions and running jokes, it really doesn’t need to be.
It sounds like a bit of a backhanded compliment, but it’s a well-meaning one. Recent episodes have proved Playing House is more than capable of exploring its characters on a deeper level, particularly when characters like Mark, Charlotte, and Gwen are around. And “Kimmewah Kup” certainly dances around a number of these issues, be it how Maggie is dealing with Emma’s new relationship or the aforementioned scene where the two briefly contemplate their co-dependence on each other; but these issues are quickly sidelined for jokes about the man child twins Maggie and Emma compete with every summer at Maggie’s lake house and The Charlotte, the paddle boat the two have always used in the yearly lake race.
“Kimmewah Kup” is a classic example of what happens when a comedy with such a wide emotional palette gets caught between its short-term comedic priorities and long-term dramatic principles; it’s hard to give weight to the Maggie/Emma conflict when it’s constantly undermining itself with tankini jokes and offering up the most juvenile, creepy versions of the Sklar brothers you could imagine (knit-sweater wearing weirdos who masturbate in their hot tub full of lemonade). “Kimmewah” also telegraphs its conflict in the first scene (where Maggie drives away when Emma won’t stop kissing her boyfriend) and doesn’t really try to do anything to bring a predictable rom-com plot to life. Almost knowing this, “Kimmewah Kup” goes heavy on the comedy in between these moments of growing conflict – and thanks to the always impressive chemistry between Jessica St. Clair and Lennon Parham, it works.
It doesn’t make for particularly cohesive television; it may be logical, but the rapid shifts in tone, particularly with Maggie’s character, rob it from being as consistently rewarding as something like “Knotty Pine” (though in fair defense, how much of television is?). But again, for an episode that seems to have everything working against it, from a lack of regular supporting cast to a predictable script, “Kimmewah Kup” still manages to be funny – and sometimes, that’s more than enough.
Other thoughts/observations:
– “Two Princes” will never be the same again. “It’s an athletic song!”
– Emma’s reaction to seeing her boat named The Charlotte is adorable.
– There’s a hint of what’s to come when Emma points out Maggie was basically dry humping Mark while they were playing “video games” – in “Kimmewah Kup,” it just leads to Emma straddling Maggie and trying to fight her in the hot tub.
– In Emma’s eyes, it’s not a good chick flick if someone doesn’t die.
– “Do you even know how to body roll?” was the funniest quote of the night, closely followed by Emma’s “God bless their absentee mothers” regarding 13-year-old girls who make YouTube videos about putting on makeup.
– As much as I hate shows having to pander to brands that sponsor them, I really enjoyed Parham and St. Clair’s well-crafted “The Cam” bit for Toyota.
[Photo via USA Network]
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