Everybody Hates Chris: "Everybody Hates Valentine's Day"

Premiered February 9, 2006.

"I wish somebody would give me a Valentine's Day card that says something besides 'I hate you.'"
-Chris

The time is February 1983 in Brooklyn and Valentine's Day is rapidly approaching.  The holiday is a big deal for everyone at school...except for Chris (Tyler James Williams) and his friend Greg (Vincent Martella).  

The only Valentines Chris gets are from racist school bully Joey Caruso (Travis T. Flory).

This is in stark contrast to Chris' younger siblings.  His brother Drew (Tequan Richmond) has multiple girls giving him Valentines and calling him at home. This annoys their mother Rochelle (Tichina Arnold).  She says Drew needs to tell the "fast little girls" to stop calling their house. 

Chris’s sister Tonya has a boyfriend (Imani Hakim).  This enrages their father Julius (Terry Crews), because he’s overprotective about his daughter. 

He walks Tonya to school, meets her boyfriend and puts the fear of God in him to stay away from Tonya. This makes the poor little boy cry. 

Chris' romantic prospects improve when he develops a crush on a girl named Tangee Brown (Raven Goodwin), who rides the same bus.  Unfortunately, Tangee has a boyfriend named Clyde (Daniel E. Smith) who treats her badly. When Clyde manhandles Tangee, Chris intervenes and offers Tangee his seat. 

Since no one has ever looked out for her like that before, Tangee gives Chris a Valentine. Chris doesn't mind that it was originally intended for Clyde.

Will Chris finally have a happy Valentine's Day?  

J.A. Morris says:

I was a fan of Everybody Hates Chris during its run and this is an enjoyable holiday episode.  It wouldn’t be a stretch to call it an anti-Valentine’s Day episode since very few of the principal characters actually get to celebrate the occasion with their “Valentine.”  This episode sort of reminds me of the ending of Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.  

At the same time, Caruso keeps leaving hateful Valentine cards in Chris’ locker (one tells Chris to "Please go back to Africa and take your mother with you”).  I’m sure Chris Rock got similar notes slipped in his locker in real life.  Rock, in his narration says "even though I didn't like Caruso, I didn't think he deserved to be cursed out by my mother."  This viewer thinks Caruso deserved much worse than that.  

“Everybody Hates Valentine’s Day” features a good critique of the double-standards that boys and girls face in relationships.  Julius is furious when he learns Tanya has a “boyfriend,” but joyous when he hears that Drew has lots of girls chasing him. 

Rochelle feels exactly the opposite about her children’s “romances” and does everything she can to keep girls away from Drew.  I’m hoping that kids who watched this took the episode’s message to heart.  

If you’re not familiar with Everybody Hates Chris, you can still enjoy this episode.  I recommend "Everybody Hates Valentine’s Day" to everyone who’s had a less-than-perfect experience on February 14.  

J.A. Morris’ rating:

3 and a half hearts.

RigbyMel says: 

This is a solid holiday episode from the first season of Everybody Hates Chris. 

The comedy of dealing with crushes around Valentine’s Day is relatable, as is parental consternation at their progeny showing evidence of growing up.    

Julius and Rochelle’s respective concern about other people’s Valentine interest in Tonya and Drew is both touching and ironic.  As J.A. Morris says above, there is a fair amount of room for satire regarding the double standards facing boys and girls in relationships and “Everybody Hates Valentine’s Day” mines this rich vein of comedy adeptly.   It is interesting to note that 11 year old Drew has grown women inappropriately chasing after him for the holiday, while 10 year old Tonya has her overprotective dad inappropriately intervening with her little “boyfriend”. 

I really wish Caruso had gotten more of a comeuppance for his racist bullying of Chris in this episode.  It was nice that a teacher noticed and tried (unsuccessfully) to give Chris a card, but I wish we'd seen a more forceful intervention.  (Perhaps that’s not a realistic expectation for a show set in the early 1980s though?)  

As with quite a few other Valentine’s Day TV episodes, hardly anyone actually gets what they really want for the holiday (with perhaps the exception of Julius and Rochelle enjoying the extra candy).   

“Everybody Hates Valentines Day” is an enjoyable comedic take on the holiday and is recommended. 

RigbyMel’s rating:

3 and a half hearts