While many people were quick to write off Will Forte's newly-premiered Fox series The Last Man on Earth as a great premise soon to be demised by an overextended television narrative, "Raisin Balls and Wedding Bells," the follow-up to last week's two-episode premiere, is here to firmly and loudly prove this chicken has long legs. It's also not afraid to strut its gentle longevity with wit, great humor and perfect stride.
As seen last week, our protagonist Phil Miller (Forte), once thought to be the last man and person alive on the planet in 2020, is not the last living breathing human as he's also joined on an abandoned Earth with Carol (Kristen Schaal). While it's quickly established they're not equals — Phil's something of an average-man slob while Carol is a proper lady with strict grammar skills and obedience to regulated laws of the land — they must get together to repopulate the Earth. Carol won't do this, however, not unless they get married.
As she says this week, she doesn't want to raise a bunch of bastard children onto the new world. She wants the only children on the planet to have a mother and father who care and support for them together. While Phil could care less about these unnecessary nuptials, he agrees to her request, primarily for the sake of humanity and also out of the general goodness of his heart. As many of us know, weddings are a lot of work and often are a pain in the ass, so to have the only two people on the planet be the only ones to put the whole shebang on is extra hassle-filled.
While Phil is semi-encouraging to Carol's big moment, the last woman on Earth mostly puts together the whole ceremony,. Phil, meanwhile, spends his last moments as a single man using a flame thrower to make popcorn and also set aflame a handful of wigs with his sports equipment friends. One has to do something when the strip clubs in a post-apocalyptic world are barren. Perhaps this is as good a time to note that the couple decided Phil is also now the President of the United States. After their awkward marriage, followed by some hilariously even more awkward sex scenes, Phil actually begins to find marriage "tolerable. That is, before a quick, late-minute cameo in "Raisin Ball and Wedding Bells" from a certain beautiful Mad Men co-star makes it clear this new sitcom has a lot more comedic plot to thicken in the weeks to come.
While The Last Man on Earth predominately is Forte's well-earned moment in the spotlight, and a well-earned one, Schaal most definitely is the MVP of "Raisin Balls and Wedding Bells." She kills each scene, through the unusual way she delivers sex talk in the bed to even a loving stare she gives her future husband at the alter. Even though she's already fantastic in animated form on another Fox Sunday special Bob's Burgers, this is the comedian's best live-action work since her Flight of the Conchords days. She works wonderfully alongside in counterbalance with Forte, making sure his character doesn't wallow to far in self-pity while she also gives him some great character work for his already great and inspired sitcom premise.
As directors as sure-fired as Phil Lord and Chris Miller tiptoe back from the directors' chairs they hosted last week to their permanent executive producers positions, the big question this week was how their loss would affect the series' sense of momentum and direction. While their quick-witted visual sense isn't as predominant this week, there's a nicer sense of nuance to "Raisin Balls and Wedding Bells" brought affectionately by teleplay writer Emily Spivey, the creator of NBC's now-defunct Up All Night, and director Jason Woliner. Woliner doesn't so much copy Lord and Miller's style but thankfully adapt into their equal love of character in conjunction with quick-paced visuals. Spivey also gives Carol's character more humanity, thankfully, and heart than she received last week.
Laced with nicely adapted metaphors — the first half of this episode's title plays into how Carol perceives Phil as a fixer-up who may not be the best thing for her, but can be adjusted and worked to her liking just like how a raisin ball can replace a now non-existent meatball — while also well-crafted in its narrative in conjunction to its somber and likable characters, The Last Man on Earth is delightfully individual series. It plays by its own rules, while Forte's show also respects its genre, which makes room for reliability and down-to-Earth oddball wit gained naturally and efficiently. The world around these characters may be empty, but the comedic potential is certainly filled to the brim.
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