The guys are tempted by old habits in times of trouble.
It’s beginning to seem like, as great as the first half of this season of Men of a Certain Age was, it may have all been a setup for what is shaping up to be an astonishing second half. The episode also provided some insight into the difficulty of juggling three plotlines simultaneously; as in many friendship triangles, one guy often gets left out. Though Joe (Ray Romano) remains the “main character” throughout, it was Owen (Andre Braugher) who was, you might say, up in the rotation for MOCA 2.0. MOCA 2.5, however, seems to have shifted the “first supporting” mantle to Terry (Scott Bakula). The “Terry’s wacky antics” sideplots have given way to a serious look into the life of a man whose goofing off is finally catching up with him. The archetype of the “ladies’ man” is often a thorny one in television, and it’s the brave writers who take it somewhere interesting. Aaron Sorkin did it with Josh Charles’ Dan Rydell on Sports Night, and the staff at MOCA seems to be picking up the thread.
Specifically, “The Pickup” deals with the fallout from Terry’s breakup with Erin. Terry exhibits all the telltale signs of a heartbroken TV character: he’s late to work, he’s hung-over, he—gasp!—hasn’t shaved. Bakula of course doesn’t rely on the makeup department; his bullshit swagger masks real heartbrokenness, the disappointment of losing the one girl he would’ve slowed down for. Early in the episode, we see him trying to steal a sale from Marcus (Brian J. White) in a desperate attempt to stay on top in the monthly sales contest. Owen breaks up the fight and chews out both of them.
Elsewhere, Joe’s coming off a bad couple of weeks on the golf course. The opening sequence, with his coach speechless at Joe’s crappiness, is the epitome of the “laugh so we don’t cry” tone that Men of a Certain Age does so well. Joe’s also worried about the talent show his son Albert (Braeden Lemasters) is performing in with his band. “What if he gets too nervous? What if he can’t go on stage?”
Despite Owen’s frustration with Terry’s shitty attitude, he still finds time to help plan his surprise 50th birthday party. Awkwardly enough, Terry was planning on spending his evening with Laura (the inestimable Mo Collins), the waitress from the diner who’s found herself in Terry’s bed more than once. Compounding the awkwardness is the fact that Terry didn’t tell anyone he broke up with Erin, so they all mistake the waitress for Terry’s erstwhile love.
While all this is happening, Joe’s golf game only grows worse, despite the momentary ego boost he got from Albert’s performance—awkward, but successful—at the talent show. It’s his golf coach who ruins everything, by offering to hook him up with a local guy. The implication is that Joe’s got no chance of making it professionally, so the sessions with the coach are a waste of time and money for both sides. Joe slices a shot badly and flings his club onto the course in frustration.
Adding to Joe’s mental burden is a request from his bookie-cum-sorta-friend Manfro (Jon Manfrellotti) to pick up some money for him (“It’s the chemo; I can barely stand”). It seems like an obviously bad idea to us, but Manfrellotti manages to make Manfro seem clueless rather than sinister. Joe, bruising from his disappointment on the course, naturally gravitates towards the old habit that became so ruinous to him; he ends up taking a bet from Manfro’s client when Manfro refuses. Terry, too, clings to his old bad habits in a moment of weakness. He ends up firing up a joint at his surprise party and sleeping with the caterer, who looks like she can’t be far out of college.
Seeing the men seeking power from profane sources is downright tragic. These are habits we believed that they’d kicked, but the hardest time for an addict is when his self-esteem is running low. The childlike glee on Joe’s face when he realizes he’s won a hundred bucks off the bet he took is one of the more heartbreaking moments of the season so far.
I remarked in my last wrap-up that Men of a Certain Age seemed comparatively serene when viewed in the larger context of modern dramatic television. This second episode reminded me of MoaCa’s quietly bruising nature; it’s not as grandiose as many of its peers—ahem, Game of Thrones—but it’s so damn real that it can often be more deeply affecting. Forget Thrones’ white walkers; the looks on Joe’s and Terry’s faces will truly haunt you.*
*I’d just like to clarify that I’m fairly obsessed with Game of Thrones. It’s just a perfect counterpoint to Men of a Certain Age. Thought I’d clarify that so I don’t unwittingly start some GMP flame wars.