Amy's Robot

Average Joe Hits Its Mark, Almost

Average Joe 2 is getting a little better, and we're actually seeing some human emotion involved. Unlike the first season, the interesting dynamic here is definitely between the jocks and the average Joes, not between the guys and the girl. Watching the jocks turn on each other, the nerds cheer each other on, and each group attack the other provides exactly the kind of sociological data the show has promised since its earliest days. Still, this season has been a bit hollow because Larissa is a little icey and you never really could emotionally invest in any of the cast members. (Last season, even the cardboard cutout hotties were a little interesting.)

The pack mentality of the show's participants has never been more evident than this week as Theo the Metrosexual Chiropractor turned on one of his own and told Larissa another jock called her a "beaver." But turnabout is fair play, and Theo found himself on the hot seat over a cartoon of the dorks he drew. He breaks down on camera in the scene we've been seeing in the teasers since before the season even began. "The other guys...are so...fake," he chokes out, through his tears, and then, soon after, emotes, "I realized everyone is...human. Waa! Waa!" After much hemming and hawing and soul-baring apologies to anyone who would listen, including Larissa, it was evident that Theo was irrevocably caught in the crossfire and Larissa gave him the boot. Lesson learned: whenever you are on a reality dating show, never directly trash the other suitors. This is the second season in a row the guy who did was eliminated the same day he trashed the competition, even though in each case the turncoats seemed like otherwise nice guys.

Meanwhile, more apparently human emotion has surfaced in the show from a most unlikely source: Brian, the Homeland Security Auditor who has a heavier Boston accent than probably anyone you've ever heard. Brian, the 'dahk hohse' candidate for Larissa's heart has suddenly leapt past the field, knocking her out with a one-two punch of (1) turning his Boston Accent Amplifiah up to its maximum setting so that L. has no choice but to echo back every single thing he says in her own pidgin Boston accent, and (2) telling her how emotionally distant and closed off he is. "I have a steel bawx around my haht," he tells her, caressing her thumb with his pinkie. She melts. What's funny about this ploy is how primitive it is. I think I last used the "i'm a cold-hearted bastard" strategy in 10th grade, and most girls by then had already heard it. But, Larissa apparently has forgotten those days, and she tells him, "You're definitely the most interesting guy I've ever met." Does she believe that? Well, she believed it enough to kiss him. (Although based on her track record on the show, that's not saying much: she's literally kissed practically everyone except the fat guy in the hot tub, and she later complained about not kissing him.)

All of this was ok, but not great, television, but the subsequent elimination of the fat guy, the crazy guy, and a couple of jock clones sets the stage for next week's episode, which I am hoping will be the first actually good episode of this show this year, since L. seems to care, at least a little bit, for some of the guys now and has been tearing up at each ejection ceremony the last couple weeks. If you haven't been watching it, I guess I can say, maybe you should tune in if you don't have anything else to watch. There are still a few nameless clones left, but once they're bounced, I think we're in for some really authentic manufactured drama.

categories: TV
posted by adm at 5:42 PM | #