TV Review: New Girl 4X03 – “Julie Berkman’s Older Sister”

Photo Credit: FOX

A ton of material was packed into yesterday’s episode of New Girl. From a marriage proposal to sponges, you could expect another episode of shenanigans. The opener had the gang get at Nick’s case about his messy room. It is so filthy and disgusting. Hopefully this episode they finally do something about it.

From there, Jess tells the gang that her dad is coming over with his new girlfriend. Jess has had issues with his past girlfriends. As one who lost her mother, she felt the need to make sure that her dad was taken care of. So the women who dated her dad before had to get through her. The show offers a flashback to younger Jess threatening one of the past girlfriends, while Cece was enjoying the entertainment in the background. But I cannot find a threat from young Jess all that frightening. She is just too adorable, with her glasses and all.

So this time should not be different than any of the others. Right? When you think that high school reunions are awkward, think again, because New Girl definitely takes it up a notch. Jess’ dad’s new girlfriend happens to be Julie Berkman’s older sister. But the awkwardness does not stop there. Julie Berkman’s older sister was a sex addict and is almost the same age as Jess. Awkward much? The two love birds are not only in love, but her dad later reveals that he wants to marry her. Jess is now up in arms. Let’s just see her reaction.

Photo Credit: FOX

Priceless!

As the girls have a ton of drama on their hands that involves putting an end to that relationship, Schmidt needs to figure out the perfect sales pitch to give to his boss about how to sell sponges to men. As one who majored in marketing, I have no idea how you would sell sponges. They are not the most exciting items to pitch to customers. Here we see again the show bringing gender stereotypes to the forefront, such as how women are the ones who typically do the cleaning. But the show reverses those roles. Schmidt has to sell sponges to men. Will he pull it off? It’s different, and adds some subtle flare to the New Girl comedy.

This is where Nick’s dirty room comes in handy. To get a girl to sleep with Nick, they need to take care of his dirty room. What better way to clean his room than with a sponge? Thus, Schmidt uses Nick’s situation as his sales pitch to his boss. It miraculously works! He finally makes a breakthrough at work and it brings his spirits and confidence up!

With one situation solved, it’s now on to Jess’ sticky mess. She and her dad have a heart-to-heart in his car. She confesses that ever since they lost Mom, she has felt the need to protect and take care of him. But he reassures her that he is fine on his own. This scene illustrates why I love Jess and her personality so much. Even though she is awkward most of the time, she has a big heart and cares about the people in her life.Well, it is time for her to make like Elsa and let it go. (Sorry, just wanted to throw in a Disney pun somewhere!).

As Jess chases after her dad’s girlfriend, she is in the middle of the road. Honestly, the whole bikes passing by Jess as she was on the street thing was really random. Not sure if that was supposed to be funny, but it was probably just Jess being Jess. What are the odds that that would have happened? Then, when you think they are all gone, one bicyclist comes by the other way and smacks right into Jess.

Photo Credit: FOX

The result? Jess admits that her dad can take care of himself and does not need her. She is injured, but gives in and takes the ring out of his pocket and he proposes. Looks like both situations got solved after all, and Jess has a new mom. It is still a bit weird since they are basically the same age – they could pass off as sisters! So let us see how far this engagement goes before we hear any wedding bells.

The very, very last portion of the show was a very awkward sponge commercial. The sponge commercial was ridiculous, cringe-worthy, and very, very funny. I will probably not look at sponges the same again.

Overall, I liked the general progression and development of the characters. Schmidt is finally get some sort of recognition and power at work, and Jess’ dad found happiness. But is Nick’s room going to finally be clean? Guess we have to see in next week’s episode.