Episode 23 - The Wedding Bride
18 May 2010
Review
Synopsis: Ted is dating a girl called Royce and is anxiously waiting to discover what her baggage is. They go to see a movie called "The Wedding Bride" and it turns out to be the story of Ted's breakup with Stella written by Tony. Ted gets increasingly upset at his portrayal and the success of the movie. He snaps at Royce when she praises the movie but then finds her again to tell her the truth.
The Good: One thing the show has done a good job of is demonstrating the emotional consequences of being left at the altar. Several episodes now have returned to this theme to remind us that it was a big deal and that Ted isn't fully over it yet. The planning for this plot line was put in place a long time ago (423) which shows impressive long term thinking. It would be nice if we see Tony and Stella again so Ted can confront them about the movie.
As exaggerated as the movie parody was it did hit on familiar Ted-Stella scenes with the new twist. Throwing in Jed Moseley wearing red cowboy boots and the parody was nicely personal enough that you could understand why Ted would be so upset. I thought he played his anger and frustration really well, trying to be reasonable but eventually snapping. I actually loved that he adopted his parody versions catch phrase and told Royce "No can dooseville babydoll." The world was against him and it seemed fitting that he would just accept his role as the bad guy in that moment and be rude.
I liked the casting of Jason Lewis (a well known hunk after his role in Sex and the City) to play Tony. Now that's an exaggeration which is pretty funny.
The Bad: The story was well told that Ted would be furious. So he really needed to call Stella and Tony and demand an explanation. And of course we know they are nice people and will doubtless explain that they don't for a minute believe in the exaggerations in the script. That is the trouble with the movie being such an over the top parody. If Jed Moseley had been a little more serious the movie would have been really personal and hurtful. But because it was so slapstick silly you almost think Ted should have laughed it off.
I guess Ted's confrontation with Stella will wait for another episode and so the writing focussed on him patching things up with Royce. I didn't like Ted echoing the movie lines. The other people in the cinema would have yelled at him to shut up and sit down as he talked over the ending. Similarly, as they are only three dates into their relationship, Royce should have beckoned him out of there to have a private conversation. I don't think what the writers came up with was funny or a romantic moment. I don't see why they always have to choose ridiculous scenes over more subtle ones. They hadn't built up Royce into a very significant character either and promptly wrote her out with the old sit com cliché of her seeming normal and then suddenly revealing her baggage. Which again rather stepped on the idea that Ted was healing his wounds with a healthy new relationship.
So is that it for Robin's self-imposed exile from the group? It's going to be difficult to care about Don if he is never around and she goes back on her word like that.
Comic Highlight: Nothing much, though I did like how everyone agreed what romantic things Ted had done for Stella yet Robin kept disagreeing and calling them cheesy.
How I rate your episode: The show is addicted to ruining its own sentiment with overly contrived scenes that don't fit the tone of the serious emotions. I wish they could separate the two and be silly sometimes and serious when they need to be.
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