American Housewife - Grandma's Way - Review: "The Big Imaginary Bucks"
Apr 25, 2019
American Housewife KP ReviewsThe Otto house is usually a circus. Can you imagine just how crazy that circus in when the ringmaster is out of commission?
That's right! Katie's sick! But, she's still got a lot on her plate. Anna-Kat's got an upcoming play-date with the popular girls who could potentially "make" her social status, and so she's planning to go all out for their play-date - goody bags, crafts, etc. Taylor's grounded for back-talking and not happy about it. And Oliver's got a new girlfriend - Bri, which is going great, until his ex Gina announces she's back in town for a visit from dance boarding school and invites him to hang. He's thinking of seeing her, and Katie decides that sick or not, she can't let that happen after Gina broke his heart.
Katie's attempts to pass along the responsibilities to Greg don't work too well. He's got a "work event," which is actually just his weird assistant's stand-up comedy show. But Greg's realized that if he supports his comedy dreams, he might finally be able to get rid of him. He has one chance to get rid of him, so you bet he's not gonna skip it. With no one else around to run things while Katie's laid up, Greg calls in an unexpected reinforcement - Kathryn!
Grandma's here, and she's running things a little bit differently. First thing Kathryn does is give Katie an "off label flu medication" (aka guerrilla tranquilizer!) that sends Katie "rolling hard!" Anna-Kat's playmates come over and Kathryn sends them outside to "hit each other with sticks." This doesn't last too long because they get cold and so Kathryn sets them up watching a movie with a "cartoon hot-dog." ("Growing girls your age need at least four hours of TV a day!") And Taylor and Oliver? She tells them to look after each other, which is just find with both of them - Taylor gives Oliver "permission" to invite Gina over and Oliver gives Taylor "permission" to go out and see Trip's game.
There's a reason that Kathryn's been so eager to get everyone off her tail. Despite the fact that her and Katie's dad are still supposedly together, she's got a man coming over. Remember crazy cat man Dan who still lives with his super rich parents? Turns out both of the super-rich parents bought the farm recently, and Dan's now rich (and alone!). While Dan's cat Mittens roams the house, Kathryn gets ready to seal the deal and become the newest Mrs. Cat Lady.
Taylor starts to leave for Trip's game, but finds Katie in the driveway, deliriously heading for the car to pick up Anna-Kat's goody bags. Taylor wrestles her inside and back to bed. She starts to leave, but it turns out a drugged up Katie is just as demanding as any child, and Taylor's got no choice but to go full on junior mom! She finally seems to get Katie settled down, and steps out to call Trip. When she goes back to check on Katie, she's gone - out the window to pick up goody bags! Thankfully, she didn't take the car. She just took Anna-Kat's bicycle!
As Taylor heads out to find Katie, Oliver and Kathryn each try to lock down their exes. Gina's all ready to pick up where they left off and Dan has decided Mittens approves of her new potential "mommy." But, when Oliver realizes that Kathryn's trying to get with another man while still supposedly being with Grandpa Marty, he's not happy. Kathryn responds that he's no better, trying to get back with Gina while still being with Bri. Oliver is horrified to realize she's right and Katherine says that even though the two share a tendency to be destructive in relationships, he can still break the cycle. Oliver decides to send Gina packing, but he also wants Kathryn to take a step in the right direction, and convinces her to get rid of Dan as well. And believe it or not, they both do it! (Though Oliver has an admittedly easier time doing so than Kathryn after Dan brings up his lake house!)
Taylor finds Katie deliriously riding through the streets of Westport, and demands she get in the car and come home. After finally getting her back in the car, Taylor lectures her on her bad decisions while Katie sasses her back. Although it's obviously a lost cause trying to talk sense into a high Katie, Taylor does come to a revelation of her own - that taking care of another human being is extremely difficult. Katie takes care of three of them, and she's never really seen her side of things. Taylor apologizes for being so terrible, but of course Katie's passed out by then.
Meanwhile, Greg's at the comedy show with Grant, and he's...not funny. Like at all - until he starts ragging on a certain someone, that is. Suddenly Grant's going on and on about how bad his boss is, and everyone is loving it, except Greg! Greg changes his tune on the way home though, when Grant announces he'll be quitting his job to pursue comedy full-time. Mission accomplished!
When Katie finally comes down from her little trip, Kathryn assures her and Greg everything went great. Anna-Kat and her new friends had a blast watching a movie. Oliver got rid of Gina, and Taylor didn't go to Trip's game. Katie's thrilled, until she starts receiving angry texts from the moms of Anna-Kat's new friends. Apparently, that "cartoon hot-dog" movie Kathryn put on for them was Sausage Party!
Random Thoughts:
-How in the world did Katie manage to dye the dog blue?
-Best line of the night goes to Oliver, when discussing his new girlfriend's family's financial situation. "But they make their kids drive old Mercedes to keep them grounded rich." Yes, they're real humble, Oliver!
Were you surprised that Taylor finally saw things from the other-side? How do you think Kathryn did watching the kids? Let me know below!
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