‘Til Death: 3.02 ‘Joy Ride’ Review

Original Air Date: September 17, 2008

While watching this episode of ‘Til Death, I couldn’t help but feel for all of the sitcom fans who’ve griped about the fact that Fox gave it another season yet canceled the Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton series Back to You. Like them and others, I believe the canceled show was actually the funnier show.

So, on this installment we have Eddie buying a sporty red convertible he can barely fit into when a young, attractive car saleswoman challenges his perception of himself by asking him if he’s 60 and if he’d like to look at more conservative vehicles. Joy logically assumes this atypical impulse purchase is the result of a midlife crisis, but Eddie assures her she’s wrong, wrong, wrong (as usual).

Joy confides in a female coworker about Eddie’s new obsession, and the colleague advises her to slash the car’s tires or take on a hot lover to combat Eddie’s sudden disinterest in his wife. Meanwhile, Kenny visits to get permission to buy Eddie’s castoff vehicle because his ex-wife just took away his old car.

Kenny ends up restoring Eddie’s old ride so well, he lands a doggie date for his dog Beyoncé with Jay-Z, an equally tiny dog owned by the hot, young neighbor who says Eddie’s new car is just like her mom’s. In other words, the truly young and hip don’t need to buy loud, shiny objects like that to prove anything — only old folks do.

When faced with that reality, Eddie finally regains his senses. Unfortunately, Joy, unaware her husband has come around, is intent on bringing him back from the brink of crisis by faking a sexual relationship with her stupid co-worker Stu. By the time she executes her plan, which fails anyway when neither Stu nor Eddie catches on regarding the affair part, it’s unnecessary.

Notably, the funniest segments of the episode are the ones with Eddie yet virtually no dialogue. They include an extended slow-motion scene of Eddie in short shorts (not a nice sight, mind you) lovingly washing his convertible to the strains of “Cherry Pie”; Eddie watching in astonishment as Kenny rolls by in his totally tricked out former clunker; and Eddie panicking when he can’t master the convertible’s intricate dashboard to make the car do what he wants. Brad Garrett definitely has the physical comedy down pat; it’s the plots and dialogue that need more work.

The episode does close on a funny note when Joy and Eddie, who never gave Kenny the spare key to their old car, decide to take the vehicle on one last spin. Contrary to what they think, Kenny notices the car is gone immediately and calls the cops. As a police siren sounds from close behind, Eddie, driving, turns to Joy and asks if she wants to pull over or be on the news. Well, that got a laugh out of me.