Early on in a series, you've got to establish whether or not it's going to be a plot-driven show or a character-driven show. The Walking Dead? Plot driven. Six Feet Under? Character driven. Breaking Bad? It's a mixture of both, but leans more towards the plot. With this episode, (and basically all of season one, but I like to use this one as an example) How To Live A Better Life really shows that it is almost purely about the characters. The fact that an entire episode can be sustained with only Mike, Jordan, and bottle of Mountain Dew without getting boring is a testament to the development of the main characters and "writing" on this show. It keeps things interesting by never letting you guess what's going to happen next. How To Live A Better Life is a lot of things, but "predictable" is not one of them.
With the exception of the intro, this episode takes place entirely in Jordan's basement. So, a bottle episode. Except for the intro, which wasn't too bad. Mike and Jordan are about to watch a movie, and Mike asks Jordan why he enjoys Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. Jordan gives an honest opinion of it, which reflects real-life Jordan Ross's affinity for cinema. I think Jordan just had to show off his movie knowledge somehow, and this was it. Mike then asks about Pulp Fiction. In a complete comical 180, Jordan says he thought it was about orange juice, and he really likes orange juice. End scene. Other fruits have pulp, guys! Help put an end to stereotyping. One thing I noticed in this scene was that two 2-liters of Mountain Dew were totally sitting on the bed next to Mike. Foreshadowing, or a mistake? You decide. You know what? I'd love it if the show actually foreshadowed what the episode was going to be about in the cold open. Especially if it's a cold open that has nothing to do with the rest of the episode, as many sitcoms like to do. I can't say I'm a huge fan of this practice, and maybe it's just because I got into tv through serialized, one-hour dramas. They just feel out of place, and adding an extra detail or two could ground it a little more. Of course, that would require planning, and there's not a whole lot of that on this show (at least until season 3).
The episode picks up on Jordan finding Mike in his basement after a hard day of...something. Jordan needs to turn to a vice to relax, so he whips out some Mountain Dew, of course. Against Mike's wishes, he gets thrashed, and Mike is forced to take care of him until the next day. Hungover Jordan jumps up out of bed and heads straight to the fridge for more Dew, because that's the best way to handle a Dew-related hangover. If the characters were about 10 years older and Mountain Dew was replaced with some sort of hard liquor, this episode would have been much much sadder. However, that's not the case. Jordan wonders how he's ever going to kick this addiction, and leave it up to Mike to come up with a foolproof plan. He thinks that they should just binge on it all day, in the hopes that its effect wears off and they get sick of it. Genius! Fight fire with fire, especially when dealing with crippling addiction. This public service announcement brought to you straight from JZ Productions.
So what follows next is them doing exactly that. Mike apparently is a heavy drinker, so it also becomes kind of a competition between the two, which is even worse. Had it not be so euphemised (which isn't a real word, why?), this would be straight black comedy at this point. I have no problem with black comedy, I love it, but that doesn't mean I can't recognize how goddamn awful and sad the subject is. It's hilarious! I love the montage that secedes them both going in together. The characters are bonding! It all leads up to them both completely sauced, and Mike lets it slip his evil plan about essentially ruining Jordan's life with this documentary. Also, he's not British! Plot twist! Jordan flips out, but he's drunk, so when they both wake up the next day, he doesn't remember any of it. So ends the episode.
Now, this is a HUGE revelation. The entire first season and first three episodes of this season have all been some clever ruse by Mike! Is How To Live A Better Life Actually this scripted out? Or did they just pull that one right out of their ass? It's most likely the latter, because as of now (post-season two finale), that plot point has not been revisited, at least in a serious form. I don't remember how the creators are planning to deal with this, probably by hanging a lampshade on it, but when they do, the show could be changed forever. I say "could" because knowing this show, calling a short amount of attention to it and just moving on might just be the right way to deal with it. We don't need ball-busting drama. This is How To Live A Better Life. We want terrible intro and end scenes.
Stray Observations:
The episode picks up on Jordan finding Mike in his basement after a hard day of...something. Jordan needs to turn to a vice to relax, so he whips out some Mountain Dew, of course. Against Mike's wishes, he gets thrashed, and Mike is forced to take care of him until the next day. Hungover Jordan jumps up out of bed and heads straight to the fridge for more Dew, because that's the best way to handle a Dew-related hangover. If the characters were about 10 years older and Mountain Dew was replaced with some sort of hard liquor, this episode would have been much much sadder. However, that's not the case. Jordan wonders how he's ever going to kick this addiction, and leave it up to Mike to come up with a foolproof plan. He thinks that they should just binge on it all day, in the hopes that its effect wears off and they get sick of it. Genius! Fight fire with fire, especially when dealing with crippling addiction. This public service announcement brought to you straight from JZ Productions.
So what follows next is them doing exactly that. Mike apparently is a heavy drinker, so it also becomes kind of a competition between the two, which is even worse. Had it not be so euphemised (which isn't a real word, why?), this would be straight black comedy at this point. I have no problem with black comedy, I love it, but that doesn't mean I can't recognize how goddamn awful and sad the subject is. It's hilarious! I love the montage that secedes them both going in together. The characters are bonding! It all leads up to them both completely sauced, and Mike lets it slip his evil plan about essentially ruining Jordan's life with this documentary. Also, he's not British! Plot twist! Jordan flips out, but he's drunk, so when they both wake up the next day, he doesn't remember any of it. So ends the episode.
Now, this is a HUGE revelation. The entire first season and first three episodes of this season have all been some clever ruse by Mike! Is How To Live A Better Life Actually this scripted out? Or did they just pull that one right out of their ass? It's most likely the latter, because as of now (post-season two finale), that plot point has not been revisited, at least in a serious form. I don't remember how the creators are planning to deal with this, probably by hanging a lampshade on it, but when they do, the show could be changed forever. I say "could" because knowing this show, calling a short amount of attention to it and just moving on might just be the right way to deal with it. We don't need ball-busting drama. This is How To Live A Better Life. We want terrible intro and end scenes.
Stray Observations:
- What kind of addict still keeps a bottle of temptation in his home after he tried to kick it? That's just playing with fire.
- This was quite literally a bottle episode. Think about it.
- Those shot glasses are wicked.
- "It's like an after schoo' special!"
- Mike dragging drunk Jordan to bed: "I feel like a teenage mom!"
- "To the top, Jordan!"
- I really liked the music used for the montage. It was a really nice moment for the characters, dark themes be damned.
- lol @ Jordan's muffled scream trying to keep up with Mike's drinking skill
- Why exactly does Mike want to ruin Jordan's life?
- Overall Episode Grade: B
really glad to see another review on here! get through the rest of season 2 soon, because i'm excited to see your thoughts on derkiss since you were in it. excited for season 3!
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