Episode 213: The Wedding

To completely get every aspect of this episode, see 112 (Stephanie), 113, 207, 208 & 212 (Andrew), and 202 & 203 (Lindenson)

Cast:
Brendon Small/Perry – Brendon Small
Jason Penopolis/Coach Jon McGuirk/Walter – H. Jon Benjamin
Melissa Robbins – Melissa Bardin Galsky
Paula Small – Janine Ditullo
Andrew Small – Louis C.K.
Linda Small – Laura Silverman
Stephanie – Kelly Kimball
Arnold Lindenson – Andy Kindler

Synopsis: Andrew and Linda are getting married. Paula (attempts to) supplies the flowers for the ceremony, Lindenson (attempts to) get a message to Paula ASAP, Stephanie is back in town and (attempts to) get with McGuirk, Perry (attempts to) marry Walter, while Brendon has a rather bad rash.

History:
· As you might guess, this episode marks the marriage of Andrew & Linda.
· This is the season 2 finale.

Lawn Gnomes: (Click for picture)
· There is a lawn gnome extra in “Landstander”, right next to Melissa when on the pedestal.
· You can see the tip of a lawn gnome hat on Brendon’s bed in the quick scene in his room a few seconds before the commercial break.
· Lindenson hits a lawn gnome as he drives recklessly.
· There is a lawn gnome man at the wedding.

Brendon’s Filmography:
· *“Landstander” – A mystical tale of the Landstander, who meets a dragon mastress and her dragon.

The Movie-Episode Connection:
· Nothing psychological here. Landstander says he’s going to “The Splendid Eternal Unitement of the Fairy Princess and the Mylady of Flowers”…I’m guessing that means a wedding. Also, apparently Landstander suffered a rash at some point in the movie, as it is mentioned at the end of the film. You can interpret “I just want to stand on land” however you'd like.

The Plotline Connection: (TheJazzFighter)
· Wow...so many plots. its going to be a tough one! Well, Walter and Perry want to get married...and (well, of course) Linda and Andrew are getting married. A lot of the other storylines seem to tie in...Brendon's rash is connected to the whole wedding because it is a nervous-related rash and he's nervous about the wedding and it ties into when he appears in his underwear and his eye is twitching and that seems to ruin the wedding and having Linda like him even less. Brendon also inviting people to the wedding caused McGuirk to get with Stephanie (why does she always get with drunks???) and Mr. Lindenson telling Paula some news thats she wants to hear (which is a good thing...go Brendon!) this one is much like "Class Trip", where everyone's plots are tied togther in some way

Song Lyrics:
· Both the Landstander theme and the Dwayne Outtro are featured.

Special from www.adultswim.com:
· A retroscripted session cut from the scene can be found Here. Hardcore fans, who no doubt noticed Josie's weird absence for the majority of season 2, will especially like this clip.
· Another cut scene, this one a cool "Attack!" sequence, can be found Here.
· A very funny cut scene can be found Here. Shows how funny H. Jon Benjamin can be while improvising.

Random Observations & Facts:
· At 23 minutes, 8 seconds, this is the longest episode of the series.
· The opening store: “Tuxes N’ Stuff”
· You can see the string that slowly lowers Melissa during “Landstander”.
· Melissa rings a bell for that sound effect.
· Jason’s dragon costume only has one big tooth.
· Lindenson’s instructions:
As Soon As Possible – ASAP
As Close To As Soon As Possible As She Can - ACTASAP
Whenever She Gets A Free Minute – WSGAFM
· Brendon’s rash gets worse after the Lindenson phone call.
· You can see Jason’s arm move forward to pick at Brendon’s rash.
· Andrew’s invitation: “Share The Love of Linda and Andrew May 25, 2002
· Brendon’s masks:
Eye Patch with Pirate Symbol
Paper Bag with Eye and Nose Holes
Mexican Wrestler Mask. Brendon’s nose seems to stick out
· When Lindenson lets go of the steering wheel and drives all over the road, Brendon quickly buckles his seatbelt and holds onto his seat.
· If you look really quickly in the window, you can see the church as Lindenson drives by it. Linda is standing outside.
· Lindenson does finger quotes when he says, “Is this a good time for a “dialogue”?”
· Jason wears the same thing he always wears to the wedding, except he has a bowtie. Melissa wears her "rich bitch" dress.
· Brendon’s rash gets worse between his entrance at the wedding to when he’s lying in the doctor’s bed.
· During the wedding, Paula starts scratching her cheek, and Jason starts pointing at her (she’s getting a rash)
· Andrew is wearing his headphone thing in his ear when he walks out of the church.
· The ending “Landstander” scene features a bird and a cloud on a string.
· In the end credits, it says Original Music & Lyrics for “Landstander Theme” – Brendon Small. Lyrics?
· Instead of the usual Soup2Nuts logo, we get to see Jason hit it like a gong.

Movie & Other References:
· As said on the commentary, "Landstander" is an inverse of "Skywalker", as in Luke Skywalker from Star Wars.
· During the scene where Stephanie is trying to seduce McGuirk you can see a clock radio next to her. The clock radio has the station 107.3 which in Massachussetts is the rock station WAAF. Since all of the animators are probably from the
New England area, this was probably a shoutout to the station. (thanks to Adam D. for this tidbit)

Past Episode References:
· Stephanie made her first appearance in Episode 112 – Law and Boarder.
· This is the second time Lindenson has mistaken Brendon for a girl. He said, “What an adorable young lady” to Brendon in Episode 203 – Hiatus.

End Credits: “Landstander Theme”

Reviews: WARNING: Spoilers

Spectre: I understand many people don't like Paula's old boss (annoying Woody Allen type), but I've always found him hilarious. I love his conversations.

"The Wedding" was indeed a good episode personally. My favorite moments would have to be...
1. Paula's boss and his conversations with Brendon (especially on the phone)
2. When Brendon told Linda to take a picture because it would last longer... and she did..
3. Andrew and Linda's insane laughter when he made the divorce joke..
3. Stephanie! God, how great she was (especially when she first got to see Brendon once again)
4. I don't know... this episode had an incredible zaniness to it. A good feeling for this show. I liked how all of the characters were once again drawn together, like "Class Trip."
5. Walter and Perry's most discomforting moment as of yet (...)

I didn't like the ending really though. It wasn't a cliff hanger... and I was expecting one kind of. Oh well... at least I got an all around good episode.

Randomguy: Really unspectacular. I mean, not bad, but not one of the better ones. It had some funny moments (Stephanie attempting to seduce McGuirk, Melissa posing as Brendan, and as always, Walter and Perry), and some les funny stuff (I still don't like Paula's boss). I mean, I just came away from this one like..."eh". One of the few Home Movies that I neither liked nor hated...just kinda mediocre. Kinda disappointing for the season finale, but I'm looking forward to what's to come (glad there's a third season, cause this would have been a bad way to end the whole series)
Grade: B

Shnay: Well, overall, I really enjoyed it. But I also feel that there was a lot of unused potential here. First the positive aspects:

I thought almost all of the comedy worked very well. Mr. Lindenson, who I normally don't care for, worked really well on the phone where his condescending tone was increased even more when talking to Paula's "daughter." The Walter and Perry scene. Why were they at the wedding? Who cares, it was hilarious. It was a far cry from HM's usually more subtle style, but I think it definitely works (though I don't want to see the show change directions and include more of this kind of humor). I thought Paula's feelings toward Andrew and the marriage were handled very well. I thought they could have easily gone over the top with her jealousy for comedy's sake, but I thought they kept it pretty realistic while still making it funny. McGuirk's awkwardness with a woman was also funny, and revealed an element of his character we didn't see before. Jason "on the door" was also very funny, as he seemed very genuinely concerned about him turning into a werewolf.

I do have a few complaints however. A lot of the episode felt rushed and crammed together. I think they should have had an episode to introduce the idea of Andrew's wedding and the characters initial reactions to it. They probably could have done a lot with an episode like that, and I think if they did that, Paula and Brendon’s reactions in this episode would have been funnier. While it was nice to see lots of different characters, it felt like there were too many subplots crammed in. Luckily, they were all funny, and the main plot wasn't as strong as it should have been, so it worked. But I'd rather have had them focus more on the wedding and do more with that. I also thought more of Brendon’s feelings could have been shown in his "Landstander" movie. Usually his movies parallel his life, and while there was some of that there, I would have liked to see more done with it. I would have also liked to see a cliffhanger (I even said it was a "lock" that there would be one last week). But I guess this was made before they knew whether they were getting a third season.

Overall, it was good, but could have been something more.

Behonkiss: GREAT! Not as good as The Party or History, but still one of the best Season 2 episodes. (The worst to me was Dad.) Some parts of this were just crazy, such as Brendan stumbling into the wedding in his underwear looking like a freak ("Oh God, he's loose."-Jason), Melissa's Landstander character having mood changes every 2 seconds, the Landstander movie in general (Was this supposed to be spoofing something? Because it just seemed crazy to Me.), the return of Paula's boss, and of course, W&P. (You know who.)

Condiment King: Not as good of a season finale as "Brendon's Choice", but this was an all-around good episode, and it did manage to wrap-up quite a few lingering storylines with a big event like the wedding of Andrew and Linda. It was weird seeing Linda afraid of caskets and acting oddly out of place.

We see the return of Arnold Lindenson here as he has to talk to Paula about something. I like the fact that we continued the plotline of Arnold thinking that Brendon is a girl as well as his complicated abbreviations for when he wanted Brendon to tell Paula about his call. Arnold's "acting" from Death of a Salesman was hilarious and all his random lines throughout the play from beginning to end. Its also funny that Brendon gets reprimanded for inviting so many people to Andrew's wedding and he ends up inviting Arnold Lindenson. Him re-hiring Paula ends her quest to get a job.

The McGuirk/Stephanie plotline was odd. I was really annoyed by Stephanie from "Law and Borders", but she wasn't as annoying here. It confuses me that McGuirk all of a sudden bailed out of the Stephanie pursuit. My only guess would be that she came on too strong. Its as hard to explain away Brendon's rash, though I guess its a manifestation of the anxiety of Andrew remarrying. This does lead to a great scene with him and Melissa and Jason trying to talk him out of the bathroom. I like how Melissa actually attempted to impersonate Brendon. The Landstander was a nice one-note joke.

The Walter & Perry innuendo was never more intense than here at "The Wedding" when they felt that they should get married and they were nervous. It was funny as all of the Walter & Perry scenes are for such a one-note joke. "This is how we'll do it! Get on, this is how we'll do it!" All in all, there was a sense of finality to this episode, even though it really just tied up loose ends and it wasn't hysterical. Good ending to a great season. ****

Mynd Hed: One of my personal favorite episode. Sure, it had a down point or two-- Walter and Perry were a little much, and I still don't understand why McGuirk played the whole "sexual innuendo game" with Stephanie and yet was for some reason unwilling to go the distance with it. But it was packed with so many comedic gems that more than made up for any shortcomings in the episode. Brendon's rash-- I call it The Crab-- the tux that makes him look like a "magician," the Landstander (second only to Starboy and the Captain of Outer Space in my estimation), lots of good McGuirk stuff, and Lindenson; sometimes I feel like my roommate and I are the only people in the world who enjoy Lindenson.

Overall Grade: A+

StrangerAtaru: The second season has brought us many great ensemble episodes where we get great situations involving the various characters of this world. (such as "The Party" and "Class Trip") But for every success, problematic episodes of this kind still occur, and this one, unfortunately, is an example of the other half. No, I'm not saying that the episode was bad, but the usage of certain characters in this situation just made it worse than it could have been. For starters, there is the re-appearance of Stephanie, Paula's old friend, as this woman who wants McGurk to the extent of seducing him naked in her hotel room. While I will approach McGurk later, I did not like Stephanie in this episode...but then again I didn't like her much in "Law and Boarder" either. But here, she is just used as a plot device more than an actual character. Speaking of plot devices, then there is Mr. Lindenson, as annoying as ever and suddenly wanting to turn around everything that has happened to Paula this season just as quickly as he fired her! Lindenson was not just annoying here, but also too conviniently placed in this episode to solve certain problems that arrise, such as Brendon being left at home, the whole "Paula's unemployment" subplot, and even the actual ceremony itself! However, he did have this one funny bit involving the phone-call to Brendon with all the acronyms. Finally, there is Walter and Perry, whom while funny in small innuendo doeses, just go a tad too far in both being conveniently at the wedding (who invited them in the first place) and doing all this stuff involving getting engaged to each other. Sure I know how they are, but this just was one of their more annoying appearances.
With the problems faced with the part of the cast I call the "peanut gallery" in this episode, the main cast actually had a lot of great things going on. One of the most central involved Brendon's rash problem, which just lent itself to one funny situation to another, from the "take a picture" line to Linda (which she actually does) to the talk with McGurk that suggested him in being a "circus freak", to the several scenes with Jason and Melissa about it. (both the one behind the scenes of the movie and the classic "door" sequence at the chapel) The big sequence where Brendon storms out with the rash half-naked was a tad extreme, but I was able to get a few chuckles out of that. Andrew had another good episode as he tried to deal with the wedding (like the tux sequence at the beginning), as did Paula, who tried to deal with things in her own way. (note the dartboard bit) McGurk, while tied with the whole Stephanie subplot, actually came out at the funny end of the spectrum, as he expresses his nervousness involving a woman who just wants to "do it" while he wants to talk first to get to know her. This could show an interesting side to McGurk in that he isn't just looking for carnal pleasure in a woman, but something a bit more tangible and secure. And finally, what description of this episode would be complete without "Landstander", one of the better movies in the series which could be tied to the wedding plot, but doesn't need to be to fully enjoy it. (for some reason, I just loved Melissa as the Dragon Master, as well as the scenes with Brendon getting mauled by Jason the "dragon") In the end, an episode that worked somehow for the main cast, but had too many subplots and characters for its own good.

The Landstander: The last episode of the second season, "The Wedding" isn't quite spectactular but still has some pretty good moments.

Between Cynthia, Andrew, Linda, McGuirk, Paula, and Fenton, it's no wonder Brendon is getting a stress-related rash. Originally a small "crab" on his back, it nearly takes up his whole body by the end of the episode. For an eight year old, Brendon gets a lot of stress-related ailments; he had at least one before this that I can remember. Brendon's rash happens while filming his newest project, about "The Landstander", a name I enjoyed enough that I made it an internet psuedonym.

It seems everyone (including Lindenson, oddly enough) gets their little moment here. Jason and Melissa have some nice material within the movie and outside Brendon's door at the chapel, Walter & Perry have a bizarre marraige of their own, Paula gets her job back, and Andrew and Linda have some nice scenes at the wedding itself. Oddly enough, a scene where they laugh about the double-booking of their wedding with a funeral seems to indicate they really do love each other. Finally, McGuirk meets up with Stephanie, and though he plays along nicely with his various innuendos, he can't seal the deal when it comes to motel time. This aspect throws some people off, but it fits McGuirk perfectly. I can't really explain why, but it seems right.

The only real problem here is that there's no major relevation, nothing major at all, beyond the wedding. Brendon's rash works with the rest of the season nicely, but it doesn't add up to much more than a very good episode. But hey, good enough. Recommended.