S04.E20: Welcome to the Mama Drama

[jewel21]

Quote

When Calvin is honored by the Chamber of Commerce for the positive impact his business has had on the community, he hopes to finally gain the approval of his mother, Marilyn.

Airdate: 05/09/2022

[AnimeMania]

GUEST CAST:
Patti LaBelle  (Marilyn), Calvin's mother
Jordan Belfi  (Stan)
Richard Whiten  (Riley)
Shaun Dixon  (Isaiah)
Chaz Ingram  (Frank)
Juliet Rusche  (Ella)

 

[jewel21]

Patti LaBelle looks awesome! I loved her roasting Calvin at the banquet, heh. 

[HurricaneVal]

Hello, apple, tree.  I see apple hasn't fallen far.

Ouch.  That was a little painful, but well done.  I felt so bad for Calvin, but mostly for Tina who realized she'd done fucked up suggesting Calvin's mom do the intro figuring that would force her to say nice things.  The irony that Calvin's mom's egotistical intro slamming Calvin meant that all Calvin had to do was alter his tone when delivering his speech without changes meant he got the last laugh.

My second hand embarrassment due to that passive-aggressive relationship was cringe-worthy, but also intended, so well done, writers and actors!  

Patti LaBelle was pitch perfect in that role.  She played off of everyone so well.  Nary a "wink-wink look at me, big star, stunt casted into this sitcom" moment.  

The wardrobe department outdid themselves.  Calvin looked great, but Tina and Calvin's mom looked fantastic at the awards ceremony.  Tina's hair was amazing, she looked so different, but soooo good.

The critical race theory B-plot seemed a bit contrived and shoe horned in, but those headlines probably needed to be acknowledged in this sitcom which has that overall race relations and overcoming said preconceptions theme.  It just felt so disconnected from the A-plot.  That was the problem.

I did like that Gemma has a vendetta with the vending machine.  I can really relate to that, though my nemesis was a pack of Hostess powdered sugar mini-donuts, not Double-Stuff Oreos.

 

Edited May 10, 2022 by HurricaneVal
Commas, man

[Empress1]

8 hours ago, HurricaneVal said:

Patti LaBelle was pitch perfect in that role.  She played off of everyone so well.  Nary a "wink-wink look at me, big star, stunt casted into this sitcom" moment.  

Patti LaBelle as Dwayne Wayne’s mother in A Different World is one of my favorite performances. The way she and Diahann Carroll played off each other was FANTASTIC. She does Mama well. Calvin insisting that he wasn’t scared of his mom and then turning tail cracked me up.

Loved Gemma’s retort that their kids never fought the British but they still teach the American Revolution. Also loved the retort (though it’s common, it’s all over social media) that if Black kids are old enough to experience racism, white kids are old enough to learn about it. I was called the n-word for the first time at age 5, at a school that now calls itself anti-racist (that term wasn’t in use then), and I’m not that old.

[Harvey]

I had high hopes for this episode, but it didn't give what it was supposed to give. Calvin and his mother's issues remained very surface level, I wish the episode went deeper into how this ongoing preferential treatment towards his younger brother affected Calvin and how it made him feel - another interesting thing is that Malcom gets a lot better treatment than Marty from Calvin & Tina, so Calvin is doing the same thing to Marty that his mom does to him. You would think that as someone being treated as less than, Calvin would be more sensitive and try not to make the same mistakes. But none of this is explored or acknowledged.

[theredhead77]

I wish the B plot had its own episode as the A plot. This show has been handling sensitive topics so well, in an age appropriate way and it can (and hopefully has) opened up discussions inside homes.

"If you donate so much money why don't we have better vending machines?!"

Edited May 11, 2022 by theredhead77

[mansonlamps]

9 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Patti LaBelle as Dwayne Wayne’s mother in A Different World is one of my favorite performances. The way she and Diahann Carroll played off each other was FANTASTIC. She does Mama well. Calvin insisting that he wasn’t scared of his mom and then turning tail cracked me up.

Loved Gemma’s retort that their kids never fought the British but they still teach the American Revolution. Also loved the retort (though it’s common, it’s all over social media) that if Black kids are old enough to experience racism, white kids are old enough to learn about it. I was called the n-word for the first time at age 5, at a school that now calls itself anti-racist (that term wasn’t in use then), and I’m not that old.

I am older and don't have young children so am attempting to educate myself.  I grew up in the 60's and 70's in the whitest area ever, the north suburbs of Chicago.   Back then we learned about the horrors of slavery,  genocide against Native Americans, the Holocaust, Jim Crow, race riots, etc., It was presented as horrendous, though no one blamed individuals born at that time which may be the difference today?  Has education devolved that much that young people aren't learning about the reality of how the USA became the USA?  

[Empress1]

59 minutes ago, mansonlamps said:

Has education devolved that much that young people aren't learning about the reality of how the USA became the USA?  

Yes. It’s a whole thing. The white father not wanting his daughter to be exposed to anything that might make her feel bad about her whiteness is a common opinion these days - I saw a political ad with this very argument at the center of it. Some (white) parents are up in arms about “critical race theory” (which this is not, by the way; this is American history) being taught in schools because it makes them feel bad to confront the atrocities white people have perpetrated throughout history.

[theredhead77]

2 hours ago, mansonlamps said:

Has education devolved that much that young people aren't learning about the reality of how the USA became the USA?

Yes. Math books are being "banned" because it contains content the dad on the show would find problematic. I haven't opened a text book in years but I have to assume it's a word problem?  

[mansonlamps]

In fairness,  these subjects were part of history and social studies classes,  I guess it needs to be in Math class too but I'm not sure why tbh.

Edited May 11, 2022 by mansonlamps

[possibilities]

15 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

I wish the B plot had its own episode as the A plot. This show has been handling sensitive topics so well, in an age appropriate way and it can (and hopefully has) opened up discussions inside homes.

"If you donate so much money why don't we have better vending machines?!"

On the other hand, there were probably more people watching this episode, because of folks tuning in to see the guest star, so putting it here probably got it more eyeballs.

11 hours ago, theredhead77 said:

Yes. Math books are being "banned" because it contains content the dad on the show would find problematic. I haven't opened a text book in years but I have to assume it's a word problem?  

This is getting off topic, but this article describes a look at some of the math books that have been banned in Florida. The beginning of the article is more general, but if you scroll, you can see specific examples referring to specific books.
https://popular.info/p/inside-the-dangerous-math-textbooks

[EtheltoTillie]

I liked the B plot, and I loved the singing at the end.  I know Beth Behrs has some musical theater experience, but I did not realize Cedric and Tichina could sing and also had musical theater experience. 

ETA now I see that next week's episode involves

Spoiler

history of Tina as a girl group singer

.   Was this previously known about the character?  I didn't watch all of the first couple of seasons. 

Edited May 11, 2022 by EtheltoTillie

[theredhead77]

1 hour ago, possibilities said:

On the other hand, there were probably more people watching this episode, because of folks tuning in to see the guest star, so putting it here probably got it more eyeballs.

Good point! That didn't even occur to me because I rarely pay attention to guest casting.

[Empress1]

44 minutes ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I liked the B plot, and I loved the singing at the end.  I know Beth Behrs has some musical theater experience, but I did not realize Cedric and Tichina could sing and also had musical theater experience. 

Tichina can really sing. Skip to 3:30 for a listen. In all of the shows I’ve seen her in, including this one, they’ve incorporated her singing.

[EtheltoTillie]

5 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Tichina can really sing. Skip to 3:30 for a listen. In all of the shows I’ve seen her in, including this one, they’ve incorporated her singing.

Thanks for this amazing clip!  The other actress's turn as Tina Turner was also great.  I was not a regular watcher of Martin.  I have to go back and watch this show.  I really only know Tichina from Everybody Hates Chris, and I don't recall her singing there. 

[HurricaneVal]

In a prior season, there was an episode where Gemma and Tina went on a weekend girls getaway to a fancy boutique hotel in...Napa, I think?  And the clerk mistook Tina for a famous singer, so they got a massive upgrade.  Tina felt all embarrassed and awkward about perpetuating the lies, but Gemma was all "Woo hoo!!! Free stuff!"  Then Tina was asked to perform and holy wowza, did Tichina Arnold bring it.  That was a great episode, one of the first I watched before I became a regular viewer. 

For the life of me I can't remember who the famous singer that Tina was mistaken for was supposed to be.  I want to say Patti LaBelle, which would be just way to meta for words, but I don't think that's right.

[Empress1]

Mary J. Blige. Tina was wearing a blonde wig and big sunglasses, which Mary J. also favors. The gag was that everybody at the hotel was white so wouldn’t know that she wasn’t Mary J., and then she was asked to sing Happy Birthday to some guests who turned out to be Black and knew she wasn’t Mary J. and I think she was like “we’ll cut you in on the free stuff if you keep this quiet.”

I think there was another episode where Dave was in a band and invited Tina to join and she was upstaging everybody.

Edited May 11, 2022 by Empress1

[AnimeMania]

There was also The Neighborhood: Season 3, Episode 11: Welcome to the Dad Band where Tina becomes a singing Diva, causing all the member's of Dave's band to try to get her to quit the band.

[Empress1]

36 minutes ago, AnimeMania said:

There was also The Neighborhood: Season 3, Episode 11: Welcome to the Dad Band where Tina becomes a singing Diva, causing all the member's of Dave's band to try to get her to quit the band.

That’s the episode I meant - thanks!

[HurricaneVal]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

Mary J. Blige. Tina was wearing a blonde wig and big sunglasses, which Mary J. also favors.

Mary J. Blige!  Yes!  I knew it was something about the hair, which was why my mind went Patti LaBelle.  I remember her amazing hair styles from the '80s that were out of this world.

Thank you.