The Cool Kids airs on Fridays at 8:30 pm EST on FOX.
After a rocky start of a premiere, The Cool Kids rebounds with a laugh out loud episode. As the title suggests, it’s Margaret’s birthday and she’s less than excited about turning 65. In her mind, it means she’s officially old. Her big plans are to soak every food item with copious amounts of alcohol and go to bed early. Hank, Sid, and Charlie, however, insist she go out on the town with them. After all, why get all liquored up at home when you can use that “too old to hear” schtick to get free alcohol? Agreeing that they can follow Margaret’s plan the next day, Hank takes them to the coolest joint in all of suburban Tucson - only to find out that things have definitely changed.
The best thing about this episode is that it actually made me laugh out loud several times. Compared to the pilot, the characters feel more grounded and the writing is much tighter. The majority of the humor comes in how the characters face old age. Charlie follows the “grow old gracefully” philosophy. He embraces his calcium chews and fanny packs, believes in being prepared, and is a big fan of the comfy sweater. Sid, however, approaches life as “mind over matter.” He feels 18 so he is 18, and that attitude is catching, since he has the best time of the quartet. Hank tries to embrace Sid’s joie de vive but he’s mostly just in denial.
The chemistry is also better, which is surprising since they already had an abundance of it in the pilot. Charlie remains the wise stoner and this time helps Margaret get clarity, similar to the talk he had with Hank in the pilot. It is both funny and heartwarming, just the way I love my comedies.
However, to be honest, this episode feels like it is being aired out of order. Margaret is now firmly entrenched in the group and Hank is bending over backwards to help her. That’s a far cry from his attitude in the pilot. In fact, there is little of the expected awkwardness between any of the characters, making it seem like they have known each other forever instead of Margaret being new to them. That’s not necessarily a bad thing for the show overall but it is a bit jarring. Also, is turning 65 really the mark of old age these days?
Grade: B
Episode Awards:
Best Scene - Charlie convinces Margaret to fulfill a bucket list item
Best Reason to Watch - the laughs
Oldest References - Y2K, A-Team
Worst Name: Lil DJ YouBetcha
Most Offensive - scary forest witch
Most Likely to Kill You - drinking your age in shots
Most Fun Booze-a-holic Food - Beerito
Most Fun Character - Sid
Smartest / Most Manipulative - Margaret
Most Offensively Sweet - Lucas
Most Prepared - Charlie
Quotes:
“65. 65. Our birthday girl is still alive.”
“Did you just mansplain gender politics to me?”
“We really should be dead.” “I’m not certain I’m not.”
The Cool Kids airs on Fridays at 8:30 pm EST on FOX.
