Mike and Molly went there. The veteran CBS comedy mocked liberals' beloved NPR. GASP!
Molly (Melissa McCarthy) and Peggy (Rondi Reed) were asked to be interviewed about the book co-authored by the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law duo on NPR. Peggy blows it off as unnecessary nonsense, so Molly does one interview by herself at the beginning of the show. Later, after convincing Peggy to be interviewed, since the book is based on Peggy’s life growing up in a small town, the often feuding pair sit for an interview on “Author’s Notes.”
Molly mocks the sleep-inducing monotone voices used by the show hosts on NPR in “Cops on the Rocks.” In her own brilliant comedic way, McCarthy resorts to answering questions in radio interviews as though she is Terry Gross herself.
Not one to employ politically correct speech, Peggy lets it rip. She confronts Molly on the phony speaking voice – Molly says she can’t help it. She responded to the interviewer's question about "feminist themes" in the book with, "I don't know what that's NPR-code for, but we both like men." Then Peggy demands that NPR take her off the mailing list during pledge drives, including using a threat that if this isn’t done “it’d be a shame if something happened to all those Commie electric cars parked out front.” Ouch! Talk about hitting ideological liberals where they live!
But don't think the show is too friendly to conservative viewers, there is plenty of stereotype-based snark for the liberal viewers. Mike (Billy Gardell) and Carl (Reno Wilson) are fighting and while working on patching up their relationship - by going to couples therapy - each gets a new partner on the job.
First, Carl is riding with Officer Gronski (Jack McGee), a racist old white guy. He lets Carl know that he doesn’t mind "you people" but just not next door. Gronski even says to Carl, “I came this close to voting for Obama.” Carl takes a bump in the street too fast and Gronski’s coffee splashes his clothes, to which Carl says, “Glad you weren’t wearing your white sheet.”
Next, after consoling Molly on her embarrassing performance in the NPR interview by telling her that “no one listens to NPR. Well, not any of my friends,” Mike meets his new partner, Officer Stoltz (Jamie Denbo), an abrasive, tough talking ball buster of a lesbian cop. She’s quick to correct Mike that he isn’t the only one in the car with a wife. He tells her he’s an open-minded kind of guy, repeating the line used by Officer Gronski to Carl, Mike tells Stoltz that he “came this close to voting for Obama.” Yeah. Tedious.
She’s lays down the rules of working with her that he must obey, though he has seniority, and he manages to mishandle a shotgun, blowing a hole in the police cruiser’s roof, casting him in the worst possible way.
Maybe the writers at CBS need a bit of therapy. Seems like there is a whole lot of liberal white heterosexual guilt going on there.
