Post by affrosponge88 on Dec 31, 2012 1:09:40 GMT -6
Freaks and Geeks: "Girlfriends and Boyfriends" Review
by Affrosponge88
“We want to sell yearbooks. Not tell the truth.”
Almost every depiction of high school in film or television operates under this notion. It is Freaks and Geeks’ total disregard for hiding the truth that makes it so painful to watch sometimes, but ultimately more satisfying than just about any other portrayal of high school I can think of.
For most of us, high school never lives up to the expectations society puts in place for us. When we’re in it, we build it up in our heads (despite our best efforts to keep reality in check) that we’re going to come out the other side with some previously unknown insight on sex and dating. What we find out afterwards and can only appreciate retroactively, is that high school is all about waiting for those moments that never come (Dazed and Confused is a superb example of this as well). That’s what makes it so painful to deal with when you’re a teenager.
This episode best exemplifies high school’s propensity for missing the mark, in two very distinct ways. Let’s talk about Lindsay first. After realizing that Daniel would probably never reciprocate any romantic feelings for her in “Tests and Breasts,” Lindsay finally threw Nick Andopolis a bone after bombing his audition. Since her motivations for that kiss isn’t exactly rooted in any one sentiment, “Girlfriends and Boyfriends” is a natural progression of the mini-arc of Lindsay and Nick’s relationship. Nick is ecstatic, because well, why wouldn’t he be? Lindsay however, is not in such a confident state. She has everyone in her life pushing her in one direction or the other, but no one is asking her what she wants. To top it all off, she’s victim to your everyday teenage sexual angst (depicted wonderfully in the opening montage scored to The Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post”) that haunted us all throughout high school.
Nick eventually sets up a date with Lindsay with plans for her to come over to his house on Friday night. He’ll be home alone. This is high school speak for sex. Lindsay spends the rest of the week in a state of anticipation, while never fully committing to a decision on whether she even wants to have sex with Nick in the first place. She can barely define the kiss that occurred between them, let alone a sexual relationship with the guy. When Friday night finally rolls around, she finds herself in a dual mindset, stuck between intrigued and hesitant. Sexual cognitive dissonance at its finest. Nick leads her down into the candlelit basement and sits her on the couch. That’s when he puts Styx on... In one grand and unexpected swoop, Nick has put all of her fears at bay regarding rushing the relationship and have raised some new ones in just how uneven the feelings they may have for each other. Nick singing along with “Lady” is one of the sweetest, most cringeworthy moments of television. It’s a wonderful combination of a bad idea fueled by genuinely sweet intentions. Nick makes sure to cap it all off though with initiating a cuddling session for an indefinite period of time, to which Lindsay responds with “you wanna just make out or somethin’?” Lindsay may not have been prepared for having sex, but fixating on it made her even less prepared for this.
Meanwhile, Sam Weir is waiting for a day that will never come (at least, seemingly). It wouldn’t be a realistic depiction of high school without uncomfortably unrequited love, and Sam has plenty of that with Cindy Sanders. When lab partners are assigned by their Biology teacher, fate is not on Sam’s side. Instead it sides with Bill, leaving Sam to pair up with Gordon Crisp, the classroom’s dirty sock. As Gordon walks down the aisle, students can be seen holding their breath and clenching their noses, in an effort to not have to smell Gordon. However, while everyone looks the other way, Sam would be wise to pay attention to Gordon.
Back at Sam’s house, Gordon displays a level of confidence that Sam wishes he had. Gordon’s able to immediately declare that Sam’s affection for Cindy is obvious, and wastes no time in dispensing advice to Sam on how to get a girl like Cindy to like her. As a result, Sam decides to join the Yearbook club. When he finally does get to be paired up with Cindy, this time to sell yearbooks, Sam’s father obliviously encourages them to separate to Sam’s understandable despair. All along the way though, Sam is ignoring the warning signs of the many odd faces of Cindy Sanders. Because when you’re a boy like Sam, naturally drawn to a girl like Cindy, those warning signs come off as personality quirks. Even if it’s as strange as Cindy randomly dropping her period into their casual conversations. Finding out that Gordon is not such a dumb guy after all, and that he suffers from Trimethylaminuria should have taught Sam that people aren’t always who we perceive them to be. Even Cindy Sanders.
To Sam’s surprise, Gordon’s plan seems to actually work. Cindy invites him to grab dinner with her at Sackie’s (which is definitely a Wendy’s in real life thanks to the barely there set dressing). I know exactly what Sam’s thinking. I understand exactly how excited that dirt-cheap dinner sounds to him. He’s thinking: she must have feelings for him if she invited him to dinner. She could be hanging out with her real friends this afternoon. She’s going out of her way to have this dinner with me. Maybe things are finally looking up. I know all of this, because I’ve “gone to Sackie’s” with countless girls throughout all four years of high school. Like Sam, I’ve paid for these dinners, both literally and consequentially. Unfortunately for guys like Sam and I, reality is still there to remind us how delusional we are when we’re that young. Cindy doesn’t hesitate from launching right into the most prevalent topic on her mind: Todd Schellinger. In one tiny and unexpected swoop for Sam, the context and meaning of that dinner is completely shattered.
The thing about these situations though is that it’s never over. In these situations, we tend to blame ourselves. After all, we are our own harshest critic. We don’t get upset that girls like Cindy “led us on.” No, instead we think we should never have convinced ourselves that this situation was any different from the past ones. She can’t control how she feels, but we can certainly curb our own expectations... At least, so we think.
The final scene in the episode is my favorite moment in the entire series. It’s a moment that I’m sure a lot of us are all familiar with. After such a devastating dinner, Cindy calls to make sure there’s nothing left unsaid on matters of Todd Schellinger. What does Sam do? Why, he listens, of course. Why? Because he’s waiting for a moment that seemingly will never come. And maybe... Just maybe, that phone-call will be the conversation that changes Cindy’s mind about Sam... Oh how we were wrong.
Stray Observations:
-Unfortunately my ramblings made me leave out some of the best parts of the episode, including: Mr. Rosso’s talk with Lindsay, Mr. Weir’s Korea speech, and Bill’s adventures with the vinyl chair.
-When Cindy asks Sam to dinner, Bill and Neil are having an argument regarding Bill touching Neal’s hair... Of course Sam is free that day.
-”I got it on in a van at Woodstock, so I’m not judgin’ anybody!” Best guidance counselor ever.
-”It was the worst $5.00 I’ve ever spent.”
-”Alright, thanks Mike. Oh and good luck with that bomb shelter!”
-Jason Segel truly does go for broke in his “Lady” performance, and he nails an extremely uncomfortable scene.
-Cindy’s way of breaking to Sam that she’s got a crush on Todd Schellinger is to ask Sam if he thinks Todd’s cute. Yeah... She’s a keeper!
-”Hey Merv Griffin. Nice interview!”
-Thank you for indulging me with this review.
by Affrosponge88
“We want to sell yearbooks. Not tell the truth.”
Almost every depiction of high school in film or television operates under this notion. It is Freaks and Geeks’ total disregard for hiding the truth that makes it so painful to watch sometimes, but ultimately more satisfying than just about any other portrayal of high school I can think of.
For most of us, high school never lives up to the expectations society puts in place for us. When we’re in it, we build it up in our heads (despite our best efforts to keep reality in check) that we’re going to come out the other side with some previously unknown insight on sex and dating. What we find out afterwards and can only appreciate retroactively, is that high school is all about waiting for those moments that never come (Dazed and Confused is a superb example of this as well). That’s what makes it so painful to deal with when you’re a teenager.
This episode best exemplifies high school’s propensity for missing the mark, in two very distinct ways. Let’s talk about Lindsay first. After realizing that Daniel would probably never reciprocate any romantic feelings for her in “Tests and Breasts,” Lindsay finally threw Nick Andopolis a bone after bombing his audition. Since her motivations for that kiss isn’t exactly rooted in any one sentiment, “Girlfriends and Boyfriends” is a natural progression of the mini-arc of Lindsay and Nick’s relationship. Nick is ecstatic, because well, why wouldn’t he be? Lindsay however, is not in such a confident state. She has everyone in her life pushing her in one direction or the other, but no one is asking her what she wants. To top it all off, she’s victim to your everyday teenage sexual angst (depicted wonderfully in the opening montage scored to The Allman Brothers Band’s “Whipping Post”) that haunted us all throughout high school.
Nick eventually sets up a date with Lindsay with plans for her to come over to his house on Friday night. He’ll be home alone. This is high school speak for sex. Lindsay spends the rest of the week in a state of anticipation, while never fully committing to a decision on whether she even wants to have sex with Nick in the first place. She can barely define the kiss that occurred between them, let alone a sexual relationship with the guy. When Friday night finally rolls around, she finds herself in a dual mindset, stuck between intrigued and hesitant. Sexual cognitive dissonance at its finest. Nick leads her down into the candlelit basement and sits her on the couch. That’s when he puts Styx on... In one grand and unexpected swoop, Nick has put all of her fears at bay regarding rushing the relationship and have raised some new ones in just how uneven the feelings they may have for each other. Nick singing along with “Lady” is one of the sweetest, most cringeworthy moments of television. It’s a wonderful combination of a bad idea fueled by genuinely sweet intentions. Nick makes sure to cap it all off though with initiating a cuddling session for an indefinite period of time, to which Lindsay responds with “you wanna just make out or somethin’?” Lindsay may not have been prepared for having sex, but fixating on it made her even less prepared for this.
Meanwhile, Sam Weir is waiting for a day that will never come (at least, seemingly). It wouldn’t be a realistic depiction of high school without uncomfortably unrequited love, and Sam has plenty of that with Cindy Sanders. When lab partners are assigned by their Biology teacher, fate is not on Sam’s side. Instead it sides with Bill, leaving Sam to pair up with Gordon Crisp, the classroom’s dirty sock. As Gordon walks down the aisle, students can be seen holding their breath and clenching their noses, in an effort to not have to smell Gordon. However, while everyone looks the other way, Sam would be wise to pay attention to Gordon.
Back at Sam’s house, Gordon displays a level of confidence that Sam wishes he had. Gordon’s able to immediately declare that Sam’s affection for Cindy is obvious, and wastes no time in dispensing advice to Sam on how to get a girl like Cindy to like her. As a result, Sam decides to join the Yearbook club. When he finally does get to be paired up with Cindy, this time to sell yearbooks, Sam’s father obliviously encourages them to separate to Sam’s understandable despair. All along the way though, Sam is ignoring the warning signs of the many odd faces of Cindy Sanders. Because when you’re a boy like Sam, naturally drawn to a girl like Cindy, those warning signs come off as personality quirks. Even if it’s as strange as Cindy randomly dropping her period into their casual conversations. Finding out that Gordon is not such a dumb guy after all, and that he suffers from Trimethylaminuria should have taught Sam that people aren’t always who we perceive them to be. Even Cindy Sanders.
To Sam’s surprise, Gordon’s plan seems to actually work. Cindy invites him to grab dinner with her at Sackie’s (which is definitely a Wendy’s in real life thanks to the barely there set dressing). I know exactly what Sam’s thinking. I understand exactly how excited that dirt-cheap dinner sounds to him. He’s thinking: she must have feelings for him if she invited him to dinner. She could be hanging out with her real friends this afternoon. She’s going out of her way to have this dinner with me. Maybe things are finally looking up. I know all of this, because I’ve “gone to Sackie’s” with countless girls throughout all four years of high school. Like Sam, I’ve paid for these dinners, both literally and consequentially. Unfortunately for guys like Sam and I, reality is still there to remind us how delusional we are when we’re that young. Cindy doesn’t hesitate from launching right into the most prevalent topic on her mind: Todd Schellinger. In one tiny and unexpected swoop for Sam, the context and meaning of that dinner is completely shattered.
The thing about these situations though is that it’s never over. In these situations, we tend to blame ourselves. After all, we are our own harshest critic. We don’t get upset that girls like Cindy “led us on.” No, instead we think we should never have convinced ourselves that this situation was any different from the past ones. She can’t control how she feels, but we can certainly curb our own expectations... At least, so we think.
The final scene in the episode is my favorite moment in the entire series. It’s a moment that I’m sure a lot of us are all familiar with. After such a devastating dinner, Cindy calls to make sure there’s nothing left unsaid on matters of Todd Schellinger. What does Sam do? Why, he listens, of course. Why? Because he’s waiting for a moment that seemingly will never come. And maybe... Just maybe, that phone-call will be the conversation that changes Cindy’s mind about Sam... Oh how we were wrong.
Stray Observations:
-Unfortunately my ramblings made me leave out some of the best parts of the episode, including: Mr. Rosso’s talk with Lindsay, Mr. Weir’s Korea speech, and Bill’s adventures with the vinyl chair.
-When Cindy asks Sam to dinner, Bill and Neil are having an argument regarding Bill touching Neal’s hair... Of course Sam is free that day.
-”I got it on in a van at Woodstock, so I’m not judgin’ anybody!” Best guidance counselor ever.
-”It was the worst $5.00 I’ve ever spent.”
-”Alright, thanks Mike. Oh and good luck with that bomb shelter!”
-Jason Segel truly does go for broke in his “Lady” performance, and he nails an extremely uncomfortable scene.
-Cindy’s way of breaking to Sam that she’s got a crush on Todd Schellinger is to ask Sam if he thinks Todd’s cute. Yeah... She’s a keeper!
-”Hey Merv Griffin. Nice interview!”
-Thank you for indulging me with this review.
