Crazy Ex-Girlfriend: “My Mom, Greg’s Mom, and Josh’s Sweet Dance Moves”

Premiered November 30, 2015.

“Man, the holidays blow when you're old.  I'm not even allowed to sit on Santa's lap anymore.”
-Josh Chan

As Hanukkah approaches, Rebecca Bunch (Rachel Bloom) is preparing for her a holiday visit from her mother Naomi (Tovah Feldshuh).  Since her mother is Jewish, Rebecca takes down all her Christmas decorations...

 and replaces them with symbols of Hanukkah.

She is afraid her judgmental mother will not approve of her friends and her new life in West Covina, California.  Rebecca most definitely doesn’t want Naomi to know she gave up her high-paying job in New York and moved to West Covina in romantic pursuit of Josh Chan (Vincent Rodriguez III).

She is also hoping that her mother will give her the Garfinkel ring, a family heirloom.

Elsewhere, Josh tells his friend Greg (Santino Fontana) that he no longer enjoys the holiday season because he has too many adult responsibilities, like working double-shifts at his job.

Greg isn’t happy either, he’s dreading the annual lavish "Christmas Eve Eve" dinner at his mother Shawna’s (Mel Harris) home in Beverly Hills.  He believes Shawna left him when he was a kid and has never forgiven her.

Greg later runs into (Rebecca’s neighbor) Heather (Vella Lovell), who is working as an elf at the mall. Heather says she loves big holiday gatherings and wants to attend the dinner.  Greg agrees to bring Heather, so someone besides him can witness his mother’s monstrosity.

Will Naomi blow up at Rebecca and ruin their Hanukkah celebration?  Can Greg make it through dinner at his mother’s house?  Will Josh find a way to enjoy the holiday season?

Plus, Darryl (Pete Gardner) gets upset when he’s the only one in the office who is observing National Christmas Sweater Day!

RigbyMel says:

This episode of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend leans into holiday anxieties and contrasts between childhood and adulthood.   Rebecca desperately wants to impress her mother and is willing to go to extremes with her “level 5 Mom pleaser” tendencies. 

She goes so far as to enlist her best friend Paula to pretend to be a British Jew in order to impress Naomi.   In point of fact,  Donna Lynn Champlin -- who plays Paula -- hits this scene out of the park!  “Tea and matzo, anyone?”

Greg is dealing with familial awkwardness of a different sort and his feelings about his mom turn out to be unwarranted.  Heather has to shake him out of his lack of appreciation in her inimitable deadpan fashion -- plus she gets to enjoy free food. “The whole reason I came here was because I thought you were cute and they were going to be terrible.  But YOU’RE terrible and they’re cute.”

Josh grows up a bit when he learns that a group of teenage hip-hop dancers worship him as "Mr. Chan," since he danced for the same dance troupe in high school.  This makes it easier for him to enjoy the holiday season.

The holiday setting provides great opportunity for songs (the show IS a musical, after all) - including Tovah Feldshuh’s klezmer inflected “Where’s The Bathroom?” and the appropriately Beach Boys-esque “California Christmastime,” which features the entire cast singing and dancing its way through the West Covina Mall.

“My Mom, Greg’s Mom, and Josh’s Sweet Dance Moves” is charming, witty and hilarious and is highly recommended as is the entire Crazy Ex-Girlfriend series.

RigbyMel’s rating:

3 and a half candy canes and 3 and a half dreidels. 

J.A. Morris says: 

I agree with most of what my co-blogger wrote.  This is one of my favorite episodes of this great series. 

One thing I appreciate about “My Mom, Greg's Mom and Josh's Sweet Dance Moves!” is that I think it could work as a good introduction to the series, which isn't always the case with holiday episodes.  The storylines about difficult family interactions and holidays being less fun as we age are certainly relatable to a lot of people.  So this episode can be enjoyed without knowing all the backstories of the characters.

It’s also nice to see another holiday episode that includes Hanukkah and acknowledges that not everyone celebrates Christmas.

Both songs in the episode are very catchy and funny.  “California Christmastime” has become one of my favorite modern Christmas songs.  The closing performance of the song always makes me smile and it’s been on my holiday playlist every year since this episode aired.

And Tovah Feldshuh's performance of "Where's The Bathroom" is hilarious.

As the episode's title promises, Vincent Rodriquez III, who plays Josh, gets to show off his "sweet dance moves."

Fans of the 1980s series thirtysomething will appreciate that Greg’s mother Shawna is played by Mel Harris, who played Hope Murdoch Steadman on that series.

"My Mom, Greg's Mom and Josh's Sweet Dance Moves!” is highly recommended for all fans of Christmas and Hanukkah programming and it gets my highest rating  If you’re not already a fan of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, this episode will make you a fan!

J.A. Morris’ rating:

4 dreidels and 4 candy canes!

The All New Popeye Hour: "Merry Madness at the Mardi Gras"

Premiered December 17, 1979.

Popeye (Jack Mercer) and Olive Oyl (Marilyn Schreffler) are watching a Mardi Gras parade in New Orleans.  They’re planning to attend a costume contest after the parade. 

They’re planning to attend a costume contest after the parade.  The sailor man says he enjoys Mardi Gras, but he worries their nemesis Bluto (Allan Melvin) will show up and mess up everything, like he always does.  Olive suggests they get Mardi Gras costumes, so Bluto won’t recognize them.

Sure enough, Bluto shows up disguised in a gorilla suit.  He throws Popeye up in air and takes his place by Olive’s side.  She thinks it’s Popeye dressed as a gorilla.  Popeye quickly returns and dispatches of Bluto. 

Bluto eventually decides to encase Popeye in quick-drying liquid iron.  This upsets Popeye, since Olive was counting on him to escort her to the costume contest. 

With his rival (seemingly) out of the picture, Bluto puts on a “Popeye” costume and escorts Olive Oyl to the contest.

Can Popeye escape from his liquid-iron prison?  Will Bluto ruin their Mardi Gras celebration? 

J.A. Morris says:

This isn’t a great episode and the plot is rather thin.  However, I was a regular viewer of The All New Popeye Hour when it was new, so this was a nice opportunity to revisit a childhood favorite.  If you’ve seen a Popeye cartoon, you know the drill: Popeye and Bluto compete for Olive Oyl’s attention, stuff happens, etc.  Only this time their competition takes place at a Mardi Gras parade. 

This episode features some funny visuals, such as Bluto’s Popeye costume, and Bluto turning Popeye into a “Popeye balloon.” 

This series might not have been the best Popeye cartoon, but the voice actors were top-notch.  Jack Mercer voiced Popeye, a role he’d been performing since 1935. 

Veteran character actor Allan Melvin provided the voice of Bluto in this series.  Melvin did a lot of cartoon voice work, but he’s probably best remembered for his roles on The Phil Silvers Show, Gomer Pyle:USMC, The Brady Bunch and All In The Family. 

"Merry Madness at the Mardi Gras" is a short, fun Mardi Gras-themed episode.  There aren’t many episodes, specials or movies that focus on Fat Tuesday, so it’s always nice to discover one.  It’s not great, but it’s recommended, especially for Popeye fans.

J.A. Morris’ rating:

2 and a half King Cakes.

RigbyMel says: 

As a Saturday morning cartoon devotee, The All-New Popeye Hour was my introduction to Popeye as a child.   In the manner of lots of Hanna Barbera produced animation, it's pretty cheap looking from an adult perspective, but it's generally enjoyable, plus (as noted by J.A.)  the voice talent is great.

Wimpy makes a cameo as a balloon vendor in the short. 

"Merry Madness at the Mardi Gras" is a harmless, family-friendly romp around New Orleans.   I am not sure I remember seeing this particular episode as a child, but it may well have been some folks' introduction to the concept of the Mardi Gras.   Some of the physics (even if it's cartoon physics), bugged me -- wouldn't liquid iron be scaldingly  hot, for example?    Also, poor Olive Oyl doesn't come off too well in this,  Bluto's disguises are pretty darned easy to see through.

Maybe her Mardi Gras mask was obscuring her vision?

It's short and silly,  but as there aren't too many Mardi Gras themed cartoons out there, it's amusing enough.  Not a classic, but worth seeing at least once. 

RigbyMel's rating:

2 King Cakes

The Year Without A Santa Claus

Premiered December 10, 1974.

Today, “Oscar Takes A Holiday” pays tribute to Shirley Booth, who voices Mrs. Claus, narrates this special and sing its theme song.  While her name may not be familiar to younger audiences, Booth was a highly-acclaimed performer during her lifetime.  She won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1952 for her role in Come Back, Little Sheba, which was also her film debut.  Booth previously won a Tony award for playing the same role on Broadway.

In addition to Sheba, was best known for playing the title role in the TV series Hazel, which earned booth two Emmy awards.  The Year Without A Santa Claus was Booth’s final performance.  She retired from acting afterwards and lived until 1992.  Let's get to our review:

Santa Claus (Mickey Rooney) is feeling sick, tired, and sore all over.  His doctor tells him he shouldn’t bother delivering toys this Christmas because no one believes in him and Christmas spirit is dying.  Santa takes this to heart, says Christmas is cancelled and decides to stay home to take a holiday.  Mrs. Claus  (Shirley Booth) thinks this is terrible idea, but she can’t change his mind.

However, Mrs. Claus isn’t ready to give up hope.  She sends two elves named Jingle (Bob McFadden) and Jangle (Bradley Bolke) on a mission to search for Christmas spirit and believers in Santa Claus, hoping evidence of it will convince Santa to deliver toys on Christmas Eve.

Mrs. Claus and her husband worry that the elves will run into trouble with Heat Miser (George S. Irving), who controls the weather in the southern portion of the world...

 ...and Snow Miser (Dick Shawn) who controls the weather in the north.  They're known collectively as the Miser Brothers.

While riding their reindeer Vixen, the elves are zapped by Heat Miser’s sun ray and they land in South Town, USA.

Their problems get worse when Vixen is mistaken for a dog and taken to the pound.  Jingle and Jangle go to mayor (Ron Marshall) and ask him to release Vixen.  The mayor will do this if the elves use their elf magic to make it snow in South Town, where it never snows.

In order to make it snow, they'll have to get permission from Heat Miser to let his brother make it snow in the south.  This won't be easy, since the brothers don't get along.

Compounding matters, Vixen is sick because she's not used to the warmer climate of South Town.  Santa learns of this and decides to rescue Vixen himself.

In South Town, Santa, using the name Klaus (rhymes with "mouse") meets a boy named Ignatius “Iggy” Thistlewhite (Colin Duffy) and his parents.  Iggy initially expresses skepticism about Santa’s existence.

Iggy's father (Ron Marshall) and Santa tell the boy that they still believe in Santa, just like they believe in love.  Iggy figures if adults aren’t too old to still believe in Santa Claus, then he also believes Santa exists.

Will Santa really skip Christmas?  Can Mrs. Claus and the elves convince the Miser Brothers to set aside their differences and help them?

J.A. Morris says:
When I was a kid, A Year Without A Santa Claus was my favorite Rankin-Bass special.  I still love it, but I no longer consider it to be R-B's best offering.  Mainly because there’s A LOT going on in this special.  There’s Santa’s desire for time off, the elves trip to South Town, the Miser Brothers, the Mayor’s song about getting snow in South Town, a sick reindeer, Mother Nature…, etc.  There’s a bit too much going on.

However, it’s very enjoyable in spite of being a bit overstuffed.  One reason I loved the special as a kid was because the Miser Brothers are so much fun.  Their songs are very catchy and memorable, and the brothers are likable and interesting characters.  I find myself humming the Misers' songs year-round.

Speaking of songs, “I Believe In Santa Claus Is” is very touching and it’s one of the best songs written for Rankin-Bass specials.  It gets to the heart of what Santa and Christmas mean to us as we grow up and grow older.  Jules Bass and Maury Laws really hit home runs on all the songs they wrote for this special.

Booth is great as Mrs. Claus.  Building a special around Mrs. Claus was a great idea.  She's a character that has lots of potential that is rarely utilized.  While Santa’s name is in the title, Mrs. Claus is definitely the hero and protagonist of this special.

Mickey Rooney previously played a younger Santa in Santa Claus Is Coming To Town.  He makes a great Santa and would go on to voice the character in three animated specials and also played him in a live action short.

Some background on the Miser Brothers' voice actors:
Snow Miser is voiced by character actor Dick Shawn.  He’s best remembered today for playing Lorenzo St. Dubois (“Hitler” in “Springtime For Hitler”) in The Producers.  Shawn appeared on dozens of TV shows and also worked as a stand-up comic and toured in a one-man show until his death in 1987.

George S. Irving plays Heat Miser.  Irving was primarily a stage actor, he won a Tony award in 1973 for his role in a revival of Irene.  His career began in 1945 and Irving continued to act until 2008.  He passed away in 2016 at age 94.

A Year Without A Santa Claus is very entertaining and features great songs and interesting characters.  This special was also a nice bookend to Shirley Booth's distinguished career.

J.A. Morris’ rating:

.5


3 and a half candy canes.