Happy Endings: 'Cazsh Dummy Spillionaires'

When Happy Endings premiered back in the spring of 2011, you would have been hard pressed to find many fans of the show, let alone anyone who might predict that it would become one the most fast-paced, perfectly executed comedies on television. But somewhere along the line, that very thing happened and it’s great that it’s and back and we all get to enjoy it.

A few things have changed in the lives of our six friends since we last left them. Penny is dating her new boyfriend whom she met at their friends’ wedding in last season’s finale. Brad is blissfully kind of unemployed and is working on some fantastic ventriloquism skills with his dummy Sin-Brad. And Dave and Alex have begun to casually date, this of course being a much bigger deal in their perspective than it is to the rest of the group.

I think what separates Happy Endings to put it in the current elite crop of sitcoms is how it has effectively taken the best parts from a multitude of shows and is able to balance them. The connection that everyone immediately makes is with Friends (*) because it is a show about six twenty-somethings making their way in the big city while going on goofy adventures. But that’s where the similarities stop. Because this group has much more of a maniacal undertone in their attitudes and sometimes blatant indifference towards the world which is much closer in line to the It’s Always Sunny gang. But they still have enough heart and morals for us to care about them and when you mix in a non-stop barrage of jokes, puns and pop culture references in the vein of what 30 Rock  does, well then you have what Happy Endings has become.

(*) Even Brad high on laughing gas made this connection in an episode last season by referring to Brad as Ross, Alex as Rachel, Penny as Phoebe, Jane as Monica, and Max as fat Joey.

So many great quotes from the premiere, I’ll try my best to limit it:

• “Your Momma’s so fat, she died.”
• “You look like the Olsen twins’ burnt out brother, Larry-Kate Olsen.”
• “Dave is currently getting his goatee highlighted.”
• “Mmmm. That girl’s so whack, her first name should be Nick-Nack Patty.”
• “You sleepy-tea’d me.”
• “The doctor requested you wear bike shorts and a Jim McMahon jersey.”
• “It’s my one-man experimental band ‘Yoko Uno.’”

Also, I can’t get Brad's rendition of ‘Ebony and Ebony’ out of my head. What did everyone think? Comments are always welcome.