MR SUNSHINE “Ben and Vivian” Season 1 Episode 9 – Ben meets a woman named Vivian who, like him, wants a simple ‘no strings attached’ relationship. Or so he thinks: the problem is that he soon finds himself wanting a more committed relationship. Things get even more complicated when Vivian gets a job at the Sunshine Center.
This was one of the best episodes of Mr Sunshine, thanks, in no small part, to the likeable and charismatic Lizzy Caplan (Party Down). Opening with witty banter between Ben and Vivian, the show should make more use of Matthew Perry’s unique awkward, smart man charm.
Vivian and Roman had great chemistry together and the montage of the awkward trio was another highlight of the episode.
For possibly the first time, the B story involving Crystal was the least funny aspect of the show. It was even, possibly, less funny than Alonso letting the costume guy use his office as a storage room. She spent about two scenes in the episode flirting with some extreme bicyclist dude until reminded about her son’s appointment at the dentist. Crystal’s turn as a negligent mother is the best part of the show, but when the show tries to force her into a morally good situation, such as promising Roman to be a better mother, the show swan dives into morally virtuous grounds that feels fake, and, as ironic as it seems, there is no greater crime a storytelling medium can make than being fake.
A few things I liked about the episode:
The evolution of Ben’s character was also nice to see: he is too mature to be as flighty as he once was. Now he wants a committed relationship.
Alonso taking the situation into his own hands with a t-shirt gun and the ensuing cold close chase caught on security cameras.
I also liked the running gag of Alice catching the tennis ball.
What did you think of this episode? Sound off in the comments below.
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