How can you not love a show that features kosher porn, abusing interns and office squatting. Add a brilliant cameo by America’s most beloved documentarian Ken Burns and “Blade Stallion” is a real winner. This episode of Difficult People also features the splendid Fred Armisen as Garry Epstein Billy’s older brother. (Apparently, Armisen shows up once a year in the series.)
As usual the episode opens with Kessler and Epstein complaining about coffee houses that feature board games for “adults.” It ends with Billy saying he has to watch his sister-in-law perform Yiddish poetry.
Arthur walks in on Julie masturbating to porn on the Internet. A truly funny scene with the sound of the vibrator grinding to a halt and Julie waiting for a split second after Arthur leaves to start again. Things are awkward between the two later when she drops something off at his office at PBS.
While she is there, Julie spies an empty office. She and Billy move in without checking with Arthur. Julie’s mother is having issues with losing her patients. Marilyn drags her daughter around New York to different museums. They are attending them alphabetically.
Julie and Arthur take on one of Marilyn’s patient’s daughter’s, Ines (Mary Houlihan) as their intern. They team up on the kid and bully her relentlessly. Both explain about how she is paying her dues.
Later Arthur and Julie share their interests in porn and end up having an argument. It seems that Arthur likes looking at women who resemble Julie and she likes to fantasize about NFL gang bangs. They make up and Julie says they need to keep their porn kosher.
Billy tells his brother Gary (Armisen) that he should stand up to his wife and he does. After getting kicked out of the house, he moves in with Billy. Unhappy, Billy goes to sleep in the empty office at PBS. Ines comes in and wakes him up. As they talk an irate Ken Burns comes in and kicks them both out of his office.
Marlyn is recruited to help get Gary and Rucchel (Jackie Hoffman) back together again. She intercedes at the poetry reading at Billy’s place of work. The two women get into an “excuse me” altercation with Marilyn finally getting the last “excuse me” in.
Rucchel complains that Gary never congratulated her for finishing college and while they diss her husband, he turns up and apologies. The couple get back together and Marilyn takes the credit.
Billy’s sister-on-law then reads her poem, “Dybbuk, Dybukk, Dybukk…” (Which rhymes with “Fib-buk.) The episode ends with Nate (Derrick Baskin) being recognized as “Blade Stallion” by Rucchel and Gary.
Porn was the theme of this very Jewish episode. Two jokes dealt with inappropriate sexual relations. The first was a reference to an absence of 10 year olds: “Jared from Subway’s worst nightmare,” says Kessler in a brilliant aside. The second is Epstein snarling at Matthew (Cole Escola) “Why haven’t you drowned in Bryan Singer‘s pool yet?”
The funniest scene in the entire episode has to be the “Conan” bit where Ines has no idea who Conan is, confusing him with James Cordon. “Is that supposed to be some kind of joke,” screams Kessler. Very funny. Although Fred Armisen dancing was pretty darned funny as well.
(Sidenote: Viewers who get the “Eve” reference should give themselves brownie points.)
Difficult People has gotten so much funnier this season. After a less than impressive first season, the show has reached new heights of humor. The series airs Tuesdays on Hulu. Go and check out a show not afraid to poke fun at sex while keeping it kosher.
CAST:
- Julie Klausner – Julie Kessler
- Billy Eichner – Billy Epstein
- James Urbaniak – Arthur Tack
- Andrea Martin – Marilyn Kessler
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