How can one not love a show like Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life? There are great gags, people doing Sean Connery impressions (badly) and a group of 20 somethings who have one mishap after another and Meaghan Rath. Episode 9, which had all the above, also featured Victoria Justice uttering the best “come-on” line ever:
“That’s too bad. I have lots of mirrors, and I had a terrible childhood.”
The show moved back to the business side of things, the clue is in the title: How to Survive Working With Your Friends, and also took things back to the Kelly/Leslie (Liza Lapira) BFF theme. As Leslie says, “they have a thing.”
Josh: “Oh, like a Patty from college thing?”
Leslie “No! There can never be another Patty. That thing was like a powder keg! Kelly and I are just, you know, we’re besties.”
The women pretty much ruled in this episode, with Rath getting more than her fair share of laughs. Even the death of a 90 something old lady in the apartment complex gives Kelly an “OMG” moment. After learning earlier that her new BFF Ramona Miller (Justice) only hung out with her to scupper Cooper’s business she learns of the death of Mrs. Billingsley.
Kelly: “Oh, my God! I lose two of my best girlfriends in one day? I’m gonna punch Ramona in her lying, flawless face!”
Leslie brings a new friend (who incidentally just showed up as a movie usher on Crowded over at NBC) to make Kelly jealous toward the end of the episode. Barry and Neal defect to Ramona’s rival hangover business and at the end of this installment they come back to Cooper after sabotaging the competition.
While Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life is struggling a bit in terms of ratings, FOX moved the show’s time slot to compensate, the series is coming into its own. The episodes are developing into excellent ensemble pieces, with Rath totally ruling the roost here, but all the characters are fun.
Josh “Welcome to the Rock” Barrett (played by Justin Bartha) does the world’s worst Sean Connery impression from The Untouchables and then follows up with The Rock. The rest of his and Cooper’s dialogue has Josh stating that “Starz is the best.”
Some of the gags are variations on a theme. Neal tells himself and Barry off in the voice of Cooper and ends up angering both himself and Barry. The two are then poached by Ramona who wants to buy out Cooper’s business “Barry’s Grandma’s Hangover Cure.”
The two friends are easy prey as they are already annoyed that Cooper has taken all the credit for the company’s success in an interview. There are some splendid moments before the two partners depart.
Neal comes up with an idea to hijack one of Ramona’s orders. The three men follow directions and wind up in a biker bar.
Cooper: “It’s like an episode of ‘Sons of Anarchy’ that doesn’t end well.”
Barry: “I’m pretty sure there is no episodes of ‘Sons of Anarchy’ that ends well.”
The episode also features Barry doing Neil deGrasse Tyson and it is funny. Miller ends up losing by the finish and after the guys get the better of her, she offers to partner up. Cooper’s last line is the “keep your friends close and your enemies closer” as he shakes her hand in agreement.
Kelly is not happy at this recent turn of events and she stares at the two new business partners.
Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving Life airs Sundays on FOX. Stick with this one, it keeps getting better and better.
Really.
