Written by Rich Seigel and Rob Schwartz
Synopsis:
It’s Kevin’s first birthday in Mission Hill, but the day is not going well for him, and his dismay is clearly evident. Even Andy, who planned to taunt his brother (who is used to receiving lavish birthday parties), finds himself sympathetic and willing to organize a real party for Kevin.
Unfortunately, good intentions aside, Kevin dislikes Andy’s birthday plans, which are completely different than what he was expecting, and his present, the expansion pack of a computer game (bought probably by mistake) rather than the actual game. Andy becomes angry and leaves Kevin at the restaurant where they were eating and goes home. Later that evening however, when Jim and Posey return, Kevin is not with them. All they know is Kevin said he was ‘going home.’
Deciphering that message, Andy goes back to Breyerhurst, the suburbs where they used to live. Inside the abandoned house, he finds Kevin moping around. He cheers Kevin up and in the empty house they do all the crazy things they were never allowed to do when their parents lived there with them. Their antics however, attract the attention of the local police. Andy recognizes the cops as old friends of his, and then they all throw a huge party the empty house, to celebrate Kevin’s birthday.
Review:
While not an overly funny episode, it was one of the most emotional of the series. This episode explored the relationship between Andy and Kevin a bit more by showing their past. Kevin was always a spoiled child, and that left Andy feeling left out, and perhaps even jealous. But deep own, they are still brothers, even though they fight a lot, and I mean a lot!
Although Kevin was a bit too snobbish about Andy’s party for him, it was shown at the end what Kevin’s mindset was. He had expectations that were rooted in the past, or rather his memories of the past, and how sometimes when places and events are revisited or redone, they aren’t the same as our memories.
While the episode was not unfunny, the humour was a bit more low-key for the most part, except for the town weirdo who has a compulsion to quickly mutter the male sexual organ over and over and over. (I’m not going to type the word because I don’t want my site to end up on any weird search engine queries). Still, there are a few funny moments and one-liners, and perhaps it was best for this episode given the focus was on the relationship between the French brothers.
If you ever wondered about the way Andy and Kevin treat each other, it’s all answered in this episode.
4 out of 5
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