Mikes Film Talk

In keeping with what is now tradition on Dr. Ken,  Halloween-Aversary is comedy gold.  Also as with each episode thus far, their Halloween special is set on the day/night of the holiday itself and is not the focus of the episode.  There are costumes, candy, a skeleton and everyone in the show have some brilliant comedic moments.  This series has now reached the point where the laughs are guaranteed, regardless of the storyline.

This week’s show features a painful trip down memory lane for Ken.  At the Park home, Dave is dressed as Dr. Frankenstein “who is the real monster” and Molly is annoyed that she has to babysit. As the family work out who is going to what party, Molly repeats the story of Ken’s “botched” proposal, as revealed by grandma, 20 years previously.

Ken then tells the real story of how he was dressed as Judge Ito (Cue flashback sequence.) and as he goes to ask Allison to marry him,  she ruins it by beating him to the punch. He angrily reacts and tells her she messed up the moment with a “mouth-fart.”  Later, he decides to re-propose and get his wife a new ring.

At work, Pat takes a medicated lollipop (sucker) from Julie’s desk and Damona takes advantage of his “high-ness” to get a lot of things approved. Ken tries to buy a new engagement ring and Allison almost finds out when the bank gives her a credit card fraud call. While Ken tries to keep her from finding out he is using the card they get into an argument.

Ken gets so angry that he decides to call the whole thing off. After the big blow up, Hector tells Allison about the “surprise.”

In terms of comedy, this episode was the Rolls Royce of the series to date.  The jokes, gags and funny lines were many and delivered at a pace that almost took the viewer’s breath away.  Once again there were moments of truth in the performances of all the actors. Amid the stand out moments, Kate Simses once again gave her character that special touch (Watch for the red dragon moment) that makes her the queen of nuance.

Memorable moments:

Hector’s friend Keith.

Pat slamming his hand in the door (a hysterically cringeworthy moment capped by Damona yelling at him not to “play with it.) and Dave Hoyle’s  entire performance as the hopped up administrator.

Molly struggling to cover up her destruction of Ken’s medical skeleton and telling little brother Dave that “Your scent is all over this Dave.”

Allison wearing a witch costume, her argument with Ken and her increasing ire over his gloating.

Ken: his costume, both in 1995 and the present. The dirt nap reference and his “proposal” as well as his usual portrayal of the doctor with “tude.”

Dr. Ken has moved the comedic bar with this special episode.  Brilliant comedy with a tiny bit of sentiment and a single tear.

With this last episode the show has become a true ensemble effort with everyone knocking it out of the park in terms of comedy turns that make one laugh uproariously. Tisha Campbell-Martin, Kate Simses, Dave Foley, Jonathan Slavin (who manages to get the last laugh), Suzy Nakamura, Albert Tsai and Krista Marie Yu all had moments of sheer comedy bliss on Halloween-Aversary not once or twice but repeatedly.

Dr. Ken is filmed in front of a live studio audience and there are Twitter pics to prove it.  Although when watching the show, it is easy to hear that the people watching the performances are genuinely loving the action.  This is an ensemble sitcom with Ken Jeong as the glue that keeps the whole thing moving towards its goal of delighted laughter for the audience in the studio and the viewer at home.

Dr. Ken airs Fridays on ABC and has established itself as a show that equals comedic satisfaction.  To watch this sitcom is to love it.  Ken Jeong has proven that he and his fellow cast members can deliver the laughs and the show is “OMG” funny. Tune in and enjoy the fun that is Dr. Ken.