Courtesy of ABC
Mother and daughter are feeling the love this week, as Gigi (Annie Potts) and Amanda (Leslie Bibb) see romantic prospects blossom right in front of their eyes. Sharron (Jennifer Aspen), meanwhile, devotes all her time at the Church leaving Zach (Brad Beyer) no choice but to con his wife back home. And then there is Heather (Marisol Nichols)…
Oh dear, let’s bitch this one out.
After the untimely death of Bitsy (Donna Mills), her husband Burl (Bruce Boxleitner) decides it’s time to put the moves on Gigi. Carlene (Kristin Chenoweth) might have been upset if she wasn’t already distracted with Amanda flirting up a storm with her younger brother, Luke (the “good Lord is he ever pretty to look at” Eric Winter). This is a fun storyline and it has its share of funny moments. I personally loved Gigi’s red cape which is meant to be stealth. Red is totally the new camo for summer.
As for Amanda, well it is nice to see her have fun and she is only slightly cloying. The chemistry between Bibb and Winter is pretty great and I look forward to seeing where the relationship goes. Although I find it really hard to believe that he would take a girl out to Boobylicious on their first date! I am pretty sure that’s what we call a dealbreaker! Am I right ladies?!
Meanwhile, Sharon (Jennifer Aspen) proves to be the star of this episode. Her brand of perkiness and overbearing goodwill is the candy coating to this nougat-filled episode. Getting her to work with Pastor John (Tyler Jacob Moore) is a brilliant move on the part of the writers. Aspen does a great job at playing useless/helpfulness. It’s also funny to see Zack trying to get her back home and using their children, specifically her hunk of a son, as bait.
Courtesy of ABC
Ok, so now let’s get to Heather (Marisol Nichols), our resident wallflower. Or as I like to call her: GCB‘s dead weight. I think it’s time we get real. In case you have just started reading these recaps, I am not a big Heather fan. I want to like her, but I just can’t. She seems to be just there and it is never interesting. This week we continue to explore her romance with Andrew (Tom Everett Scott), or more specifically, its subsequent end. You know it’s bad when your reaction as a viewer to a breakup is “meh.” To be fair, the writers did try to make her seem more interesting by pitting her against Carlene and Cricket, but – like all “struggles” on this show – the conflict is so short lived that we barely have time to get invested before it’s over. The stakes just aren’t high enough emotionally for me, which makes it hard to care for some of these characters.
See here’s the skinny (and apparently it’s something that the writers have yet to figure out): Heather isn’t as outrageous as Cricket or Sharron so she suffers the same fate as Amanda in having to work extra hard to win us over. And unless you haven’t been keeping score, Heather has yet to knock one out of the park. Not all is lost, of course, and this week we see a glimmer of that potential. I enjoyed Heather’s conversation with Andrew about where she’s come from and how hard she’s worked to get to where she is. The problem is that these insights – much like the show’s conflicts – are short lived. Just like Amanda, Heather’s backstory needs to be fleshed out more because it simply doesn’t feel authentic. How about showing us her condo? Or what about her family? Are they still on the wrong side of the tracks? This is what makes a character more interesting, not whether she can pull together a gala/benefit with Sheryl Crow (End rant!)
Before I sign off I have to mention the best moment of the show and that is Cricket’s rendition of ‘Amazing Grace’. Oh lord, it is so hilarious. From her over the top runs, to the loving finger she pointed at Carlene when she said the word ‘wretch,’ it was comedy gold from start to finish. She might not have been front and center this week, but she is still more than capable of stealing the show when she appears.
Best lines of the night:
- Sharon (in response to her daughter’s incredulity over her brother’s lady killer status): “Well that’s good sweetheart, you’re his sister.”
- Carlene: “There’s a group of Sikhs that I’ve just about worn down enough to go to Sunday school. I saw a table of turbans and I just went for it. Shalom!”
What did you guys think? Am I being to hard on Heather? Did you enjoy Sheryl Crow’s blink and you’ll miss her appearance? Or were you too busy feeling upset over the pixalation of Luke’s sweet, sweet posterior? Sound off below!
GCB airs Sundays at 10pm EST ON ABC