Last Friday, we were treated to not just one, but two new episodes of Last Man Standing on FOX. Part of this was due to the fact was that the Hell’s Kitchen season finale was last week (which I will never understand how that show is on the air and it is a show that I have disliked since Kiefer Sutherland’s Touch series).
This episode is all about Chuck and Carol renewing their marriage to celebrate their anniversary. For the first time, Tisha Campbell-Martin plays the role of Carol since the original actress that played Carol is now too busy, with one of her bigger roles being in The CW series Black Lightning.
I do like that they start out the episode with Joe trying to make some sort of joke that Mike and Ed just are not getting on board with since it appears as though he took too long to get to the punchline.
However, when Mike and Ed are having their meeting, I don’t like the fact that Mike is trying to get out of avoiding talking to Chuck about his wedding. The main reason for this is that even though Mike is not a very social guy, he did say this season that Chuck is his (or at least of his) best friend, therefore, it would seem as though when Chuck asks him to do a job for him at his wedding, that Mike should have no reason to object to it.
One thing I should also point out is that I like that we see Mike’s den at the Baxter’s house again. It seems as though we have not seen it in forever and the fact that it still looks the same even after the show was canceled in May 2017.
Getting back to the point, I also like that they brought back Reverend Paul (played by Bill Engvall). In fact, one of my favorite episodes from the show is “Take Me to Church,” which features Reverend Paul. In today’s episode, it’s kind of weird and fun to see that he sounds like he has had a few drinks because he is disappointed about not being the minister for the wedding. I think what is even more appalling to him is that Mike is the minister and wants to do “BITS?!”
When the day of the wedding comes, I don’t like or fully understand why Kyle is having to say, “How fat is she” at Chuck’s wedding. Even if you are telling jokes at the ceremony, that one just does not seem inappropriate. On the other hand, Kyle’s joke about the farmer and tractor was not that great either, which I understand that that is what the LMS writers were going for.
To make things funny, I’ve liked this whole comparison between Mike (the minister) and Joe (the best man) because some of the jokes from that are hilarious! A great example of all of this is the DJ at a strip club and how when they are at the chapel, Mike says that because he is the minister that day, he says that he is going to be the stripper, also known as the one everybody watches and pays attention to while he does his thing.
When Chuck enters the room with Mike and tells him why he chose Mike to be the minister at his wedding, I like that he said that he wanted someone who was not only friends with him or knew him and Carol, but more importantly, he (Mike) would sound like he had been around the block a time or two, and that I think that Mike and Vanessa’s long-lasting marriage is an inspiration to him. Also, that Chuck wants to have the same thing for him and Carol.
Meanwhile, at the heart of this whole story, that has been a subplot about Jen not being used to sisters or having sisters fight in front of her since she is an only child. It was really funny that Jen tries to use Mandy’s earring later on to try and make Mandy mad, therefore, showing that she wants to have that experience of fighting with her sisters (if you want to call it that).
What makes it even better is that Vanessa notices this and tells the girls to make some sort of scene in the kitchen with Jen and make a big deal about her wearing Mandy’s earrings. You can tell from the smile on Jen’s face that that is exactly what she wanted and shows that even though she has not been there for that long, it shows how much Vanessa and the family care about her and want to make sure that she feels welcomed.
The wedding begins and Kyle reads a speech, with Joe whispering to Mike, “Not one laugh.” Yeah, I don’t think Kyle was going for that?
Once Chuck and Carol are up there and Mike is just about to give his speech, it was great how Mike used the idea of looking at that special someone in one’s life as a classic car, and that if you take care of it and treat it well, those times can turn into years, which can turn into decades. It was quite the speech!
However, the part that was the funniest was not Kyle actually yelling, “How fat is she?!” to the audience, but Reverend Paul saying to Joe, “Oh, you’re that guy who is going to hell!” I think that says something coming from a priest.
Overall, I’ll give this episode 3.5/4 stars. It’s a great episode for not having LMS on in a couple weeks and it’s a great to see a story about Chuck and Carol since Carol has been gone for a while. Also, the story with Jen and the earrings I thought was perfect too. It loses 0.5 stars since I don’t like Joe trying to be the funny guy at the wedding. Yes, his character is funny and I am fine with that, but I don’t like him trying to take the spotlight on Chuck and Carol’s special day.
I will have the other episode that aired last Friday up today too, so be sure to stick around for that review to also be written and published today too.
Also, if you want to watch this episode for yourself, be sure to check it out now on Hulu or the FOX Now app. I think you’re going to like it if you have not seen it.
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