"2 Broke Girls" can often feel like 22 minutes of one liners, but they are really great one liners. And this week's episode was no exception. This week, Max and Caroline go to meet Deke's rich parents. That's right. For those who haven't been following along, Dumpster Livin' Deke is secretly rich. Max is freaked out of course, but Caroline is gleeful.
But first, the bad news: "The Manhattan School of Pastry" has been closed. When told by an administrator to collect their personal things, Deke says to Max, "You get the weed. I'll get the other weed." The administrator doesn't tell them why the school has been closed. The duo (well trio) decide to do some investigating on their own. Caroline eyes John from Max's pastry class and decides to ask him. Why would John know, Max contests her. "He's a big queen, Max. He'll know why school's closed," Caroline quips.
According to John, the school has been closed because Chef Nick had to go back to France after his wife found out about his affair with Caroline. This plot line seems equestionable, especially since in a prior episode Caroline skyped with Chef Nick's wife about having an affair with him. But strong plot lines has never been a strength of this show. The strength of this show is actually just the one line...rs.
In any case, with the school closed, Deke suggests that they ask his parents to buy the school. Easy peasy! Also, a great reason for Deke to have Caroline meet his rich parents, which he knows makes her very uncomfortable.
Deek's parents are hilarious and not stuck-up rich people as Max and Caroline expected. A recurring theme in this show is how poor people view rich people (the entire character and story of Caroline Channing; She's not that bad!) is playing out in this episode again. It's unclear whether the writers of this show have an inferiority complex towards the wealthy and/or have never met "rich people" before. Caroline gives Max her pearls because it's a signal that she belongs.
"Oprah doesn't like to be hugged," Deke's mom (Sheryl Lee Ralph) says as she swoops into the room. Caroline, of course, knows what to say right away and comments on the art in the room. Max says, "I eat soup," a move that is reminiscent of Channing Tatum's character in "She's the Man" asking "Do you like cheese?" on a date.
Max is usually the funny one in this show but she's nervous in front of Deke's parents, hence the one liners are not quite up to par. While doing an impression of someone at pastry school for Deke's parents, Max throws up her arms to reveal huge sweat stains.
Caroline and Max excuse themselves to the powder room (did she just call it that?). "Why are you sweating so much? I think we'd be better off just wetting the whole dress," Caroline sighs.
"This is like Tommy Dollon all over again," Max complains. "He's this rich kid I liked in eighth grade. And by rich I mean they could afford the acne medicine." His parents said he couldn't go out with Max because she was "poor."
Deke's mom knocks on the door of the bathroom. "I didn't take anything!" Max exclaims. "Girl, you need to cheel. You have got us all wrong," Deke's mom says. Turns out she used to be a stripper before she married Deke's dad and lived in a fabulous apartment with paintings of Andy Warhol soup cans. "You think I'm some rich bitch.... Well, I am."
Back at the dinner table, Dekes' parents' neighbors have stopped by for dinner. When they find out that Caroline is Caroline Channing, they kind of freak out as they had to downgrade from the penthouse to a five bedroom on the fourth floor because they lost money due to Martin Channing. Max defends Caroline in an all out rant. It isn't just about their insulting Caroline, it's really just a rant against rich people in general. Which makes one wonder, while this show isn't exactly fodder for starting intelligent conversation, perhaps there was an aspiration for it to become a basis for conversation about wealth in America. Or perhaps this is a really really hopeful speculation. At the end of her rant, Max reveals to everyone at the dinner table that Deke's mom used to be a stripper. Oops. It was not common knowledge.
Back at Deke's dumpster, it turns out that Deke has been cut off financially by his parents. While he says he'll be fine, it turns out that everything he owns (despite that everything being a solar paneled dumpster) was bought for him by his parents. In an act of true love, Max reveals to Caroline that Deke isn't as strong as she is and he probably can't endure the pains of poverty. Deke's parents have said that they will take their son back (financially) if he comes to them. The episode ends with Caroline and Max pushing Deke's dumpster all the way back to the upper east side where he can reunite with his Jewish father and his stripper mom.
