TV Recap: Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23 - "Sexy People..."

Left to right: James Van Der Beek and Ray Ford

Welcome to the TV Recap column for the ABC comedy Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23. Every Wednesday, I will be bringing you a recap of the most recent episode as well as personal insight into why I find the characters to be an infectious version of what 2 Broke Girls wishes it was. So please join me for a fun season as we deal with the bitch, the Beek, and June as they get into wacky adventures. Also, make sure to check out my columns for Bob's Burgers (Tuesdays) and Parks and Recreation (Thursdays) right here on Optigrab.

Left to right: Eric Andre and Dreama Walker

This week's episode in many ways feels like an extension of June's (Dreama Walker) plot from the previous episode. Think about it. In "Love and Monsters," she was forced to break stereotypes by claiming that she would not be the desperate best friend in the chick flick mold. This was to imply that she wasn't weak willed. However, this week seems to be a total reversal and not just because of the opening segment, which portrays June as the sexy hubby chasing man that she becomes in this episode. It is in many ways conflicting to the show's overall continuity, but like every episode, it does tackle some interesting topics.

The episode begins with June narrating a flashback to when she was a young girl (Danielle Parker) in which she and her mother (Eve Gordon) would clamor for the most recent issue of People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive. There are many shots of young June looking into the covers and implanting her name into the actor's first name (my favorite being Junezel Washington). Time passes and June has collected every single issue along with her mother. They eagerly await each issue.

June has been so meticulous that she has collected every magazine in a binder (the choice to not make the "binders full of men" joke seems a little unfortunate). As she is looking around for her binder, she decides to ask Chloe (Krysten Ritter), who has turned her Channing Tatum issue into a paper mache volcano. Chloe takes this time to acknowledge that June is a follower and only likes a person if People Magazine said so. She uses the example that if Fozzie Bear was on the cover that she would think he was sexy. To this, June says that she would hug him because he tries so hard.

When James Van Der Beek and Luther (Ray Ford) show up, Van Der Beek reveals that he dislikes People Magazine's annual list because they never choose him. This leads to a whole discussion about if he is sexy. Just because he is on Dancing with the Stars doesn't mean he is as sexy as Channing Tatum, who can also dance and has a bizarre back story. It was also noted that he is nowhere near as sexy as Ryan Gosling (which is fact). This leaves Van Der Beek feeling like he needs to solve something.

Krysten Ritter

Chloe takes this opportunity to start a scheme against June. She tells Van Der Beek to seduce June while she takes over the head of People Magazine. How does she do that? She goes in acting confident and fires the first two people that she runs into, act professional, and draw a big peen on the board. This somehow works without much logic and Chloe spends the rest of the episode as the head of People Magazine. She goes about getting Van Der Beek on the cover and doing an elaborate photo shoot with a horse, no pants, and a possible handstand (one hand if he isn't a wuss). 

After Chloe manages to get a mock-up of the cover, she shows it to June, who is now convinced that Van Der Beek is the sexiest man alive. This causes her to look at her friendship in an awkward light. She suddenly wants to sleep with him. When Van Der Beek decides to seduce her by spilling coffee on his shirt and pants (thus having to take them off), she complains about having blue tubes. Luther manages to get her mind off of Van Der Beek's sexy body by showing her pictures of him having too much salt and brushing his teeth on the toilet. 

At work the next day, June and Mark (Eric Andre) begin talking about how she cannot stand seeing Van Der Beek. Mark tries to tell her that he is just a guy. This is made worse when he enters with Luther and gives a poetic speech about how he is going to miss going to It's Just Beans. After all, when he is sexiest man alive, he will be clamored for by 42 million people and will not be able to have a social life. He kind of loves it.

Meanwhile, Chloe is controlling the staff at People Magazine. She even controls the crossword, which features the clue: Whoopi _____berg, which she finds to be too complicated. She believes that everything is going to plan. She is excited because suddenly she believes she is the ruler of the world, telling people what they need to buy and wear. She is the master. Even when Van Der Beek shows up with a turtle wearing a balloon for visibility, Chloe is in charge.

On the day of the magazine's release, Van Der Beek is standing outside of the newsstand, waiting for people to buy the issue and clamor for him. Chloe shows up to support him as well as June. He tells June that they are just friends and that they share smoothies not smooches. After a quick kiss, June realizes that there is no sexual attraction there. Chloe is upset when she discovers that Van Der Beek is not on the cover.

The group runs down to the People Magazine headquarters and asks why this is. It is revealed that the head editor Marjorie Meyers had final say and that she picked whoever she wanted based on whatever got her moving in her pants. This is when everything crumbles. Chloe is revealed to have never been employed there, the people she fired came back, and June is relieved to know that she doesn't have to fantasize about Van Der Beek and that she can shove the magazine down her girdle. The only person who wins is Van Der Beek, who was such a helpful person that they gave him a spread titled "What if I was Sexiest Man Alive?" The episode ends with the group walking out and Chloe saying that she will see them all in Baja.

Rating: 2.5 out of 5

I get that women love the Sexiest Man Alive editions of People Magazine. It has been that way for years. However, this episode felt like what "Love and Monsters" was revolting against. It was basically the chick flick formula and June was in many ways as stock as they could be this week. From the opening flashback which establishes her as the sexy obsessive that she is to the final scenes which sees her talking about a magazine sexually, this almost felt like an embarrassing example of tropes. This is also made more clear because of the "Will they/won't they?" gag of Van Der Beek seducing June only to realize that there is nothing there. It feels like an utter waste.

The hardest part to really get behind was Chloe's plot this week. Even if she is the bitch that the title claims she is, there are bigger questions to answer. How did she manage to sneak into People Magazine's headquarters and into their writer's room and take control that quickly? Even if her plan of firing the first two people she meets worked, I doubt that a magazine with as syndicated of publishing as People would be that poorly secured. Also, why would it take that long to notice she was a fake? There are a lot of problems with the set up, and it essentially ruins the episode for me, even if it brings about certain interesting points.

As much as I dislike the shrew depiction of women in this episode, I did find the central theme to be an interesting premise. When Chloe is talking about how People controls what people wear and I buy, I really wanted the episode to better explore that. True, June and Van Der Beek's relationship in the story resulted in an extreme and unrealistic example of it, but I felt like there was enough fodder there to be a great commentary on how the media controls people. To say the least, I award this show for trying, but the way that it got there was really bad. However, the show should take a stronger pro-Ryan Gosling stance. It showed potential support here, but after last year's upset with Bradley Cooper as number one, I feel like there should be more recognition.

I also found it peculiar that they never addressed who replaced Van Der Beek on the cover. There wasn't any mention and the magazines were all cleverly facing away from the camera. Maybe this was to make it ambiguous (which I like), but maybe it was more of a legal thing. I enjoy that the writer's room of People at very least looked like a real office (no comment on if it is or not), and it added some authenticity. I even enjoyed the cameo by Marjorie Meyers. Still, the overall theme of women attracted to sexiness ended up being more shallow than I expected and that bothered me.

This show is capable of being the right blend of sass and commentary without throwing either to an extreme. The show isn't quite to the level of Community, but it does feature a potentially very meta base that manages to break the third wall while still being about an unlikable couple. It is just a matter of finding the right balance between the bitch and the neurotic duo. 

Also check out more of my work at http://nerdseyeviewpodcast.blogspot.com/ where I have a podcast called Nerd's Eye View.