Episode 404: Psycho Delicate

Cast:
Brendon Small - Brendon Small
Jason Penopolis/Coach Jon McGuirk/Marco - H. Jon Benjamin
Melissa Robbins - Melissa Bardin Galsky
Paula Small - Janine Ditullo
Josie Small - Loren Bouchard
Video Store Clerk - Todd Barry
Fred/Freda - Laura Silverman

Synopsis: A trifecta of tipping occurs as Brendon tries to enter his video into a festival, Paula gets a new haircut and McGuirk courts a waitress.

History:
· Laura Silverman, who plays Fred on this episode, was Laura on Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (and often interacted with H. Jon Benjamin, who played Ben Katz).

Lawn Gnomes:
· Gnome salt and pepper shakers at the diner.

Brendon’s Filmography:
· “Jury Duty” - A shark from hell attacks two plane crash survivors.
· “Love Moins Deux” - Follows the story of a woman and her devotion to her monkeys.
· “The Man in the Box is Bad” - Follow the adventures of James Blind as he tries to stop the evil Man in the Box.
· "Psycho Delicate" - In the classic Hitchcockian style, a washing machine repairman tyedyes peoples' clothes while they aren't looking.

Song Lyrics: (note: Most of the singer's songs were made up of mostly mumbles, so I didn't transcribe them)
· Watch It Again
Watch it again
One more time
Watch it again
Or I'll break your back
Watch it again
Or I'll punch your ****ing face
You're gonna accept the kid's movie
Or I'll ki-ll you
Solo
And the chorus, everybody
Watch it again
One more time
And everything will be fine
Watch it again
It'll be alright
If you watch it again
My pants are too tight

Random Observations & Facts:
· The connection between all the plots: Tipping.
· Store: “Rentin Videos Coffee Shop”
· Sign on store: “Buy 12 get 1 free!” “Baker’s Dozen!”
· Movie Signs: “Legally Bald” “Pirates of The Duck Pond”
· Sign: “Rewind OR ELSE!”
· When Freda bends over to pick something up, McGuirk…looks at the goods.
· Jason falls in “Jury Duty”, but Brendon (badly) edits it out.
· Films on the board:
All’s Pharaoh In Love And War
Hotel
Joe + Shark (Alternate version of Jury Duty?)
Jury Duty
Love Moins Deux
Monkey Love
MovieWeiner.com
Mr. Runt vs. Mr. Box (Alternate version of The Man in the Box is Bad?)
The Queen of Diamonds
Rabix Tlix (Alternate version of Love Moins Deux?)
Septopus
Starboy
Who’s Your Daddy
Wizard’s Baker
· Brendon, Jason and Melissa’s choices are all the movies they were the main character in (Brendon was Mr. Blind, Jason was the Shark, and Melissa was Rita).
· On Melissa’s script:
“The Man in the Box is Bad” AKA For Your Blind Eyes Only
· On Ain't It Planted magazine's cover: Read Our Biased Review of "Legally Bald"

Past Episode References:
· Movies on the board and their connecting episode
All’s Pharaoh In Love And War - "Dad"
Hotel - "Class Trip"
MovieWeiner.com - "Everyone's Entitled to My Opinion"
The Queen of Diamonds - "Class Trip"
Septopus - "Heart Smashers"
Starboy - "History"
Who’s Your Daddy - "Pizza Club"
Wizard’s Baker - "Wizard's Baker"
· Freda works in “Sunny Side Up Diner” which originally appeared in “Shore Leave”.

Movie & Other References:
· “The Man in the Box is Bad” is obviously a James Bond parody.
· At the Video Store, the clerk reads "Ain't It Planted" news, which seems to be a satirical swipe at Ain't It Cool news.

End Credits: McGuirk sings "Watch It Again"

Reviews:
Delthayre: "Psycho-Delicate" is probably one of the strongest episodes of this season thus far. Certainly on par with the very good "Bye-Bye Greasy", which was a bit more memorable.

The recurring theme of exagerrated tips felt like a return to form for the series and provided an amusing framework for the secondary plots. Paula's was admittedly a bit weak, but not excrutiating. McGuirk's was, as usual, masterfully hilarious. The dumb blonde waitress was very funny and certainly worthy of the tradition in stupid, delusional characters that runs through Home Movies. Even stronger was the presence of the hobo. His continued lyrical derision of McGuirk was effective at every turn.

The central plot of the episode, preparation for the film festival, still somehow managed to be the highlight, even against a strong McGuirk side-story. The films were hilarious. I might have liked more satire of the trying-to-hard-to-be-indie kind of films that deluge festivals, but I can't say I was dissapointed.

All told, this was an very strong episode. **** out of *****

MovieGuy: So in conclusion, that was a pretty good HM. I felt this episode was really more about McGuirk then the kids. I thought that the movies the kids made kinda sucked, but they were supposed to be like that...right?
Paula's story didn't seem to catch my interest. I was kind of bored when her story was on.
Brendon, Jason and Melissa's storyline was good. Not great, but good.
McGuirk's storyline was really the show stealer. I'm surprised any woman would stick around like that.
My positives were McGuirk, The Guitar Guy, Fred, the movies
My negatives were Paula's hairstyle
Grade: A-

Harlock: For comedy shows, the whole point is to present jokes and a plot that is relatively funny. However, for this episode of Home Movies - both were weak. I found the jokes to be very predictable in a non-HM type of way where usually there is some sort of absurd plot twist. After watching The Heart Smashers, I don't think Paula's plotlines could get any worse. Boy was I in for a suprise. The Paula / Hairdresser angle is quite possibly the worst ever. Even though it was very minor in the episode, it still was unfunny. The McGuirk/Waitress plotline didn't have much to add either as it just seemed to be filler, connecting the kids' plot for the movie contest. Speaking of that plot - there is minor points for atleast referencing one of the best directors of all time (Hitchcock). However, the movie that the kids are making just seemed awkward as it ate up more time.

GMB: It was good to see a LOT of movie parodies this time out. With the exception of "Heart Smashers" I'd felt the absence of them more than usual this season.

This was more a classic HM-ish episode--basically Brendan and Co make a movie while McGuirk makes an ass of himself in some way large or small.

Wasn't too crazy about the Paula/Marco stuff, but it was mericfully brief and sserved more as a way to get the plot started than anything, plus it was the first and only use of the damn bleeps, which I won't feel sorry for when they're not used every episode.

Some other things that stuck out for me (because everyone took the good ones already):

-Nice subtle dig at AICN on the magazine.

-The film titles are almost as good as the film themselves. Tho I have to wonder what "Jury Duty" had to do with the whole liar-eating shark.

-Evan Dorkin is right; everything is funnier with monkeys.

-Of the four movies, I have to give "Man in the Box Is Bad" the nod as my favorite, because it's totally insane, even compared to Melissa's deep and sincere love for monkeys.

GREAT episode, I give it an A-

tigerrunner: Yet another great episode of Home Movies. Paula's storyline was, admittedly, terrible (though I did get a kick out of the hairdresser), but the kids' movies and McGuirk and the guitarist more than made up for it. Fred was alright, but not somebody I would like to see become a reccuring character (luckily, that probably won't happen). Much like in "Bye Bye Greasy" (the season's best episode) some of the best humor came from the terrible songs. But, the funniest moment was, like in "Coffins and Cradles", seeing McGuirk in a dress. What? Cross-dressing is always funny.
5/5

The Landstander: A very good episode. There's no big trick to this episode (besides a link between the stories involving tipping), it's just a stream of interaction and comedy. And as far as the intertwining elements of the story go, none really felt unnecessary and all felt pretty funny.

McGuirk's attempt at wooing a waitress is the kind of thing that would sad if it weren't so funny. Laura Silverman, a familiar Soup2Nuts voice, plays off Benjamin again in a Dr. Katz-esque fashion, as does his fight with

Brendon, Jason and Melissa attempt to enter a film festival. The series of movies were all pretty entertaining (I would've voted "Man in the Box" is bad), and I liked the little touch that everyone voted for the movie they got the most central part in. Todd Barry was used effectively as a guest; his voice just plain fits. The inevitable mixture of the two plots is handled perfectly. Even Paula's small subplot produces some laughs.

I really don't have anything negative to say. Highly Recommended.