Weak storytelling is turning 2 Broke Girls into a charity case.
2 Broke Girls initially roped me in with the timely situational comedy, the Juno-esque dialogue, and the great chemistry between leads Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs. However, as of the third episode, I feel that we are already dreading the dangerous possibility that this is a one-joke show.
I get it: Max is hardcore, disenfranchised, and jaded while Caroline is sunshine, rainbows, and sweetness. The point has been made. Can we move on with the story now?
The problem is that there isn’t much of a story. Sure, there’s that cupcake shop dream that the two protagonists floated in the pilot, but it’s not like every week has been dedicated to actively working toward that dream. Furthermore, the counter at the end of each episode, tracking how much money the broke girls have saved toward their goal, jumped from $364.25 last week, to $500.25 this week… with no explanation.
We see the girls spending money: Max takes Caroline shopping at the local Goodwill. Later, they hit up a bar. The next day, Caroline blows $70 on a horrendous manicure. How did their savings jump by $136 dollars? I’ve done the food service thing. One does not drop $70 for a nail job on a food service paycheck, assumedly pay the rent and buy groceries, and have $136 left over.
Am I overthinking things?
I’m probably overthinking things, but the pilot held so much promise, and this week’s flaws aside, I still have high hopes for 2 Broke Girls. When it’s funny, it’s very funny. As a broke girl who frequents the Goodwill myself, Max’s philosophy about shopping at “the Will” is a fairly accurate assessment: “Clever bitches hide stuff,” “You never turn your back on the rack,” and “Such is the law of the Will,” are words to shop by. I once lost a dress in a manner similar to the slip that lost Max her coveted Strokes t-shirt.
I still think she overreacted though, and hinging an entire episode on the loss of a shirt that she literally had in her possession for five minutes was a letdown on a show that I know can do much better.
At least the one-liners still made me snicker:
* “The only thing not tragic about me is my ass.”
* “Are you happy? You haggled a charity.”
* “I do not glow. What you’re probably seeing is the residue from that summer I spent collecting uranium tubes by the train tracks… that was good money.”
* “That was like watching someone club a baby seal.”
* “Lots of people cry at Goodwill. You go to France and eat snails, you go to Goodwill and cry.”
* “You need to learn to do that inside.” (in reference to crying).
This review originally appeared on TV Geek Army.