Left to right: Marc Maron and Josh Brener |
Welcome to a new recap series on the IFC series Maron in which comedian/podcaster Marc Maron lives life and tries to learn how to be a better person. To pay homage to the series, these recaps will be released on Tuesdays and chronicle the various life lessons that are presented in the 30 minute format on a weekly basis as well as a meter that determines just how angry our protagonist seems to be. Join us as we tackle the psyche of the popular angry man and pray that he doesn't lose it entirely.
Plot: Marc discovers that Jen (Nora Zehetner) has moved to Los Angeles and is hanging out with Kyle (Josh Brener), who he thinks she is ditching him for.
James Adomian |
Left to right: Maron and Aubrey Plaza |
Guests Review: I am starting to think that Kyle is not part of the guests column, so he is revoked in future posts. However, the Aubrey Plaza routine in which she acts embarrassed about what she said was a nice play on her character. However, I don't feel like there was much else to her performance beyond the standard deadpan. Nora Zehetner also had a nice return to the series, though I still feel like she is a gimmicky character. The real joy came from James Adomian making a brief cameo as terrible comedian Brian Burkman. Telling really bad jokes, it is the antithesis of what makes Adomian so great, but his commitment is beyond amazing. Also, Maron's insistence that he is talentless may be the most meta and great joke that the series has done to date.
Anger Meter: 6 out of 10
Thanks largely to Kyle supposedly dating Jen for half of the episode, Maron has reached back into his angry side and is actually doing some solid jokes from it. He goes off on Kyle and is frustrated about a lot of things. He is mad that his jeans won't shrink after sitting in water and he is mad at Kyle that he tends to compliment his female guests with insults. He barely tips into the angry side and it does bring some genuine humor to the show as Maron feels more and more like a character as opposed to just doing the gimmick of the week.
We Good?: A little bit. I wouldn't call this an extraordinary episode, but I am discovering that the more time that Maron and Kyle spend together, the more that the show works. This odd couple just manages to play like a weird father-son/coworker thing that manages to transcend generations and just goes for the laughs. Kyle is kind of a loser, and the way that Maron handles it is genuinely the best part of the series so far. It is made extra great when you pit the two against each other over women, which brings out the worst in Maron. Overall, not as great an episode as the past few, but at least we're starting to develop a comfortable groove.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
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