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I’m So Flecstatic
Spoiler Alert: Content in this blog post is from the September 23, 2015 episode of The Goldbergs
(The Goldbergs Twitter)
The Goldbergs looked the same and sounded the same in last night’s season 3 premiere, but with a delicious twist.
This sitcom, with all its 1980-something brilliance, is evolving with its visibly older looking and sounding Adam. While this development did not equate to anything dramatic for this series, it did raise the bar a little for Adam and Dana, who are now treading into comparisons with Kevin and Winnie of The Wonder Years because of their relentless correspondence between Philadelphia and Seattle.
As the season 2 finale and the season 3 premiere revealed, Adam and Dana’s affection for one another is real (enough) for it to be a series-long relationship. Only the real Adam F. Goldberg knows the answers to all these questions, along with his hilarious family and friends. So, we’ll just have to wait.
Like Murray.
How many minutes until next week’s episode?
It would be an understatement to say the ’80s classic, Risky Business, was the over-arching theme last night. Barry slid, crashed and tripped into some good “old time rock and roll” before Beverly stopped his “Tom Cruisin'” in purple spandex, while Erica and Lainey decided to drive right into their “Risky Business” party with the Porsche left in the garage by Lainey’s father. The joy ride was going great, including Barry’s perfect Rebecca De Mornay exclamation.
And then, it was Goldbergs time.
Let’s just say Barry’s leg falling asleep was a disaster for a stick shift, Beverly added a daughter in Lainey (extra cheese, class preferences, head cheerleader and tutoring, anyone?) and Murray exercised his unbeatable prowess of saying no for Adam’s long-distance phone calls to Dana.
However, Beverly finally became too Beverly for Lainey. End result? The cancelled “Risky Business” party was back on! The only problem was it turned into something way too risky, even for Big Tasty. The stolen TV and spinning pizza was only the beginning of a rough night for the terrified trio.
And to answer your question: Yes, Big Tasty dropped a fresh rhyme last night in the form of a music video. He even had a new sidekick, for whom he helped write the song for.
It was Big Tasty and Lil’ Yum Yum/Adam!
Run DMC would have been proud…of their clothes.
As the party raged out-of-control, there was only one person who would randomly show up to save the day, but only with the greatest of all snuggies first. Beverly heroically came to the rescue of her 3 2 children and she got everybody to leave with (you didn’t guess it) her killer dance moves. She was going Cruisin’.
Today, it would have been tagged #momdance #bigsocks and #riskygymnast.
“Sometimes you just gotta say, ‘what the—‘”
And then there was Pops, who again shared his sage advice with son-in-law Murray. After Pops reminded Murray’s of his only successful long-distance relationship, that not only made him realize the power of love (random ’80s reference = self-high five!), but it brought him closer to his youngest son.
When we fall in love, we fight for it. Everything else is blurry. Nothing else matters. Love is the best, yet strangest feeling of them all. It requires faith and a fearlessness within ourselves.
As we enter season 3, The Goldbergs continues to be fearless with unapologetic heart.
Hopefully, you were able to read all of this in less than 10-minutes.
A is for “As You Wish”
Spoiler Alert: Content from this blog entry was featured in the April 22, 2015 episode of The Goldbergs
(The Goldbergs Twitter)
During the summer in 1991, The Rocketeer flew into our imaginations with rocket-fueled fun (don’t forget about the gum). To a six-year-old, it was a spectacular time to be alive. What was better than the idea of flying like Superman, without needing Kryptonian genetics, through the skies to save the world?
The answer was nothing.
Mesmerized, I took it upon myself to scrounge through my very own tool shed/kitchen drawers to find the necessary pieces to build my own personal flying machine. With an old garage door opener in hand, I was one click away from soaring to unknown heights and adventure! This enthusiasm was shared by Adam Goldberg in last night’s episode, except his cinematic obsession was the cult favorite, The Princess Bride. Specifically, it was the film’s famous sword fight that drew him in. Fought on a dramatically set cliff, the battle was intense and immensely entertaining. And the dialogue was surprisingly equitable and conversational.
Another battle fought on a cliff of sorts was between Adam and Murray, underscored by a jockeying of similar interests and ulterior motives. Using Westley-level charm, Adam convinced his stingy dad to buy him two fencing swords to practice in his “pursuit” of becoming a future Olympic champion. Unfortunately, the overly dramatic hijinks in The Princess Bride were no match for Murray, who saw right through his son’s grand manipulation. It also didn’t help that immediately after quitting fencing, Adam was sword fighting Dave Kim in his basement in full Princess Bride gear.
Plus, stabbing your father in the neck rarely helps anything.
Meanwhile, Beverly was busy being a yenta hell-bent on cross-fitting athletics with music. The result was the sweet sound of faculty romance (and kissing at school). The only downside was ruining Barry and Erica’s lives. Oh, and can’t forget about altering the stable career path of a certain music teacher. Besides that, this social experiment was a rousing success.
In order to fix everything, Beverly had to match up the unmatchable, romantically bitter teacher in his brown clothing from head -to-toe. But if this series has taught us anything, it’s that there are three words that inspire the greatest from Beverly Goldberg:
“Can’t be done.”
Back to Adam, he would need magic that could only be found in one place. The question was whether Murray would play along. This situation called for both sides to realize to be bigger than their own self-interests, no matter how embarrassing. Adam discovered his fencing inspiration from The Princess Bride for his fencing battle in front of a large crowd at school, including his dad and grandfather sitting front row center. And would you believe it? Embodying the goofy personalities from a movie led to an unexpected point for the swordsman-in-training. And in perfect harmony with his son, Murray literally embodied a giant character’s clothes (André, to be precise) from The Princess Bride movie for a scene of bonding with his youngest son and his friends after the match.
One of Adam’s dreams came true: His father understood the importance of an influential movie in his life.
You could say it was an inconceivable reality.
Whilst engaging in misguided hilarity, Beverly did manage to match the unmatchable with a little help from a future yenta. Erica couldn’t fight it, she has meddling DNA. In this instance, Beverly’s excitement nearly reached the adrenaline level achieved at a Jazzercise session.
This episode beautifully revealed that no matter how much we may resist things that we swear to ourselves are foolish and/or ridiculous, we are uncontrollably drawn to the foolish and ridiculous because, despite all logical reasoning, we know deep down that wishes are meant to come true.
Sometimes, all it takes is clicking play on a VCR…or an old garage door opener.
Speak Softly and Carry a Big Spray Can
Spoiler Alert: Content in this blog is from the February 11, 2015 episode of The Goldbergs
“I love you this much!”
What exactly does “this” mean? The natural vulnerability of being in love is a labyrinth for those who are married, but most especially for a young man in middle school. Adam Goldberg is a victim of his own massive heart, which gives way to happiness, excitement and intense paranoia. In Adam’s case, the “this much” debate had quickly catapulted its way into the stratosphere of the unknown with his increasingly popular girlfriend Dana after a charming high school gentlemen (revered by all) invited her to a class party at the water tower. Prince Charming also invited Dana’s little brother Adam. Ouch! To put it plainly, everybody seemed to be going through a growth spurt…except the most delicious boy in town (Beverly’s words).
Fortunately, just like pumping iron, the only way to go is up:
(The Goldbergs Twitter)
Disappointed is his lack of facial hair, Adam turned to Gentlemen’s Quarterly (GQ) for a follicle release method to speed up his inner Indiana Jones scruff. Following a thoroughly embarrassing family gathering in the bathroom with a Polaroid camera, which included his sister Erica’s lady’s razor, the mission was clear. The time had come for a big romantic gesture: Goldberg style.
Speaking of big gestures for love, none could compare to the one shown by lifelong Eagles fan Murray Goldberg. Barry being Barry, he broke down the “wall of no” of his dad and somehow managed to persuade him to watch his beloved Philadelphia Eagles face-off against those detestable Dallas Cowboys with Lainey’s dad. Little did they realize that there was some country twang in Jenkintown, PA…
So, how does one compete with the older, more evolved Prince Charming? How about a family engagement ring that comes with a complementary Beverly tracker? Showing up at the hallway locker gift-giving ceremony, the Goldbergs proved again to be the most awesomely awkward family ever. How did it end? Let’s just say there was a non-proposal proposal from Adam to his mother in front of all the cool kids. She took the ring back with an I do can do attitude and left her snuggle monster humiliated.
In a desperate attempt to prove his pre-grown up worth to Dana, the admirably ambitious Adam hopped on his bike and rode to the water tower party. In a daring effort, he climbed the tall water tower ladder with Dana’s (and everybody’s) attention keenly on him. He whipped a red spray can out and started to publicly declare his love for his girlfriend in front of Prince Charming and Co. Nearly finishing his epic quest, there was only one thing (well, one letter) that stood in Adam’s way. Recall that Dana has two “A’s”…
It was the perfect failure. It just had to happen that way.
Feeling out of place during that awkward middle school years is something I can absolutely relate to. Aside from school, my embarrassment at a lack of a Tom Selleck-like growth spurt was most clearly evident during summer track/Junior Olympics years. I was a high jumper (among other events) and I was by far the shortest leaper in my age group. Like Adam, it was like a boy versus men dynamic. There were likely plenty of spectators and parents who thought I was jumping in the wrong age group. Instead, I held my ground.
Well, not literally.
That belief that you are not tall enough or that you don’t fit in is brutal. It’s an eternal truth. However, when we’re with the right people and when we accept that it’s not about them, but actually ourselves, there’s no telling how high we can go!
I’m a high jumper, you had to know that pun was coming.
(BTW – How high did I go? How about a few national championships around the country)
The power of love is an unmatched force, whether romantic or familial. Murray, after sort of admitting he likes Barry just a tiny bit more than his precious Eagles, helped his son understand (and vice-versa) what the real priorities in life are all about.
Barry and Lainey Lainey and Barry forever.
Plus, let’s not forget that Dana said she liked Adam and her new gimmicky Green Lantern ring just perfectly without grand gestures and that all she wanted to do was hang out and play video games together. I think that’s what we call Girlfriend Hall of Fame material.
I also think we’re all thankful that Beverly baked all of her children in her tummy.
The Goldbergs are America’s Family: Cacaw!
The Sexiest Cameo Alive
Did “The Jenkintown Posse” (JTP) ever include a certain gentleman who became a Hollywood superstar?
The Goldbergs is one of the best (if not the best) sitcoms on television and it’s based on the real-life experiences and hilariously dysfunctional family of creator, writer and executive producer Adam F. Goldberg. Set in suburban Philadelphia, PA throughout the 1980s, the Goldberg family is outrageously funny, yet completely relatable. The chemistry on-screen is pitch perfect, the writing is cleverly engaging and the life lessons are timeless and amazing. Plus, the ’80s clothes, toys/gadgets and cultural references are all kinds of awesome. Above all, this show is superbly refreshing and original in an era in which the family sitcom with delicious edge (as Beverly would put it) has taken a nose dive since the mid-part of the last decade. And one aspect of this greatness is Barry, who has a group of friends called the JTP (see above).
It should be noted again that Jenkintown is the suburb of Philadelphia where the show takes place. It’s the town where show creator Adam F. Goldberg grew up in the 1980s. Now, Adam is 38 years old. Do you know what Hollywood star is 39 years old who also spent the 1980s running around Jenkintown, PA, possibly knowing and/or getting into trouble with the real Barry and Adam Goldberg in neon orange jackets with a Walkman strapped to their belt loops?
A picture says a thousand words…
(Zimbio)
I have a feeling the women discovering this may want to be his snuggle monster (again, in Beverly’s words).
Key Question: When will Bradley Cooper return to his roots (of sorts) and make an appearance on The Goldbergs?
I wonder if he can cobra strike?
Jimmy's Daily Planet 