Life Lessons from Maron: "Desert Road Trip"

Left to right: Andy Kindler, Eddie Pepitone, and Marc Maron
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 Fridays 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: Maron, Andy Kindler and Dave Anthony decide to visit an old friend (Eddie Pepitone) to help him out.

Left to right: Dave Anthony, Maron, and Kindler
A Line That Sums Up the Episode: "They're not gonna have a punchline."

Johnny Knoxville
Guests Review: There's plenty of interesting guests on this week's episode. The only question is if Dave Anthony and Andy Kindler should be listed under guests, as they have regularly appeared on the series this past season. They continue to be great allies and I hope that they come back for season three. Otherwise, we have Johnny Knoxville pulling guns out at interviews and being the unaware buffoon that we all stereotype him as. Eddie Pepitone gets a role that feels familiar from "The Joke" in that he plays an old, battered comic. It doesn't do much, but it allows the Kindler-Anthony-Maron chemistry to reach fruition and make for a rather endearing third act of a rocky episode.


Anger Meter: 7 (out of 10)
Having to deal with a dead friend and two comedians who are obsessed with finishing a joke, it is quite a tumultuous week for Maron. So much in his life is going right, including landing on Charlie Rose. However, he still has the issue of making the rest of his life feel precious. To say the least, it is a mixed bag of a result and his frustrations of being stuck on a road trip in the middle of nowhere irks him throughout the entire episode.


We Good?: While this feels like an alteration of last week's episode, it does have the benefit of allowing Maron to riff with two of his best friends. If nothing else, they are the essential reason that the series has grown and become an enjoyable aspect of Maron. It isn't just about Maron wallowing anymore. He also has the benefit of communicating with damaged people just like him. When it comes to discussing death in a very confusing way, the comedians deliver the jokes and make for some of the best jokes of the season. Hopefully they will be coming back for season three, if just to mess with him.


Rating: 3.5 out of 5

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