Cast: Wayne Brady, Karen Maruyama, Colin Mochrie, Ryan Stiles, and Drew Carey

Film and Theater Styles: Ryan (WWII pilot) saying goodbye to tearful girlfriend Karen as he leaves on a mission; wounded co-pilot, Colin, promises to look after her [styles: John Wayne; Gorilla Theater; Pokemon; monster movie]
Another three-person Film and Theater Styles. Scene-wise, having three persons here makes sense. A pilot, the girlfriend, and the co-pilot. There have been some classic film scenes built around just such a scenario. But Film and Theater Styles just isn't built for three people. Okay, I'll drop the issue now. (Well, until the next three-person Film and Theater Styles anyway.) Once again, the beloved joke about this may be mission that one of us doesn't come back from came in, but in a slightly different form this time. Ryan to Karen: One of us might not come back. Colin: Huh? Ryan: You didn't get the note? I liked that. Karen was in there somewhere just before Colin's question, but clearly Colin offered Ryan more to play off of so he switched persons. (Another consequence of three-person Film and Theater Styles. Oh, sorry. I said I'd wait until the next review, didn't I?) Karen finally really got her two cents in on the John Wayne style. You're so brave and I'm just a woman. (That phrase seemed to be Karen's refrain for the night.) Don't you wonder if Colin ever does John Wayne while Ryan does Gabby Hayes? I mean, physically the two roles are better off the way that Ryan and Colin normally play them. But just once, I'd like to see them switch. Just to see what happens. Based on their expressions when Gorilla Theater was suggested, neither Colin nor Ryan has a clue as to what that was supposed to have been. Neither do I, but I suspect Karen was closer to the mark than the guys. But the guys were funnier. Even Karen had trouble not laughing. And did they preplan that they would both be gorillas? Or was that just one of those weird Ryan and Colin things? Was Pokemon called out by the audience? Or did Drew just throw that one in? It's a good thing that that style ended early. Because after Ryan announced he was Pikachu and faced Drew, I don't think he could have continued in that style much longer without breaking up. And I loved how Ryan ended the game in the monster movie style by leaving Karen to her fate. That was a pleasant surprise indeed. As far as a three-person Film and Theater Styles game goes, this was probably one as good as a three-person Film and Theater Styles can get. The scene setting is a natural for three persons like I said with three clearly defined roles. But I still hold that the shifting styles minimize any sort of interaction among the players in any one style. Oops! Broke the promise again. Me bad. Side comment on the Seattle interplay. That whole thing played like an in-joke to me. If I had to guess as to what was behind it, I'd say that Ryan and Drew had been talking about the Seattle weather earlier and for some reason, Drew was reminded of the conversation. Otherwise, I have no guess as to what was behind that bit.

Weird Newscasters: Colin = anchor; Karen (co-anchor) = frisky grandma with a crush on Colin; Wayne (sports) = inept fireman called to an emergency; Ryan (weather) = matador in a bullfight
I loved Colin's name for himself here. How many Americans really pronounce the book's name that way, do you think? Karen's frisky grandma certainly had a crush on Colin. And she was definitely frisky. Just didn't buy her as a grandma though. But on the whole, I liked it. Wayne has never been very good at combining his quirk and the sports. But this time, he didn't even try. I think his whole dialogue consisted of "Sparky" and "Back to you". His fire scene mime was fairly descriptive although I could never figure out what the deal was with holding his hands up around his head at the end. Was he indicating that his hair had caught on fire? On the whole, an okay performance from him, I thought. He's done better. I liked Ryan's matador a lot though. Using the boom camera for the bull was a good idea. Some points to the cameraman who got roped into performing improv with Ryan. If he keeps that up, he'll be able to apply for his Screen Actors Guild membership soon. Karen's kiss was clearly an air kiss. But she was aggressive enough about it that she nearly knocked Colin off the stool. I agree with Ryan. Karen's kiss to Colin was certainly easier to watch than Colin's kiss to Drew! (Colin honestly looked uncomfortable when Drew started going on about how Colin's kiss to him was better than Karen's, so I think Colin appreciated Ryan's comment there.)

Song Styles: Wayne sings to Pastor Bob in the style of a James Bond theme song (song was based on Goldfinger)
A nicely done song given the potentially embarrassing subject matter. Somewhere along the way, Pastor Bob went from being the James Bond villain that Drew instructed Wayne to sing about to being the hero of the song. I suppose that was appropriate. Wayne's leg on Bob seemed to bother Wayne much more than it bothered Bob who clearly knew that the whole thing was just in fun.

Party Quirks: Karen = host; Wayne = an episode of "Cops" in 30 seconds; Colin = thinks Karen is a malfunctioning vending machine; Ryan = cat going through all nine lives
Wayne seems to get these party quirk assignments where he has to demonstrate some long involved process. He does a good job with them. But they're not particularly funny. I mean, how do you make Cops in 30 seconds funny??? I'm not sure I would have gotten the quirk any better than Karen did. Up until Drew mentioned it, there was no indication that Wayne was on a TV show. (Or if there was, I missed it.) So Karen guessing that Wayne was a burglar is a reasonable guess. Colin's quirk was inherently funnier than Wayne's, and he played it for all that it's worth. Proof, that Wayne is a good guesser. He had figured out Colin's quirk and was trying to give Karen some hints. "Hey man, get me some Reeses Pieces!" I don't know if Karen heard him or not. She might have been a little distracted with Colin's arm between her legs. (I know I certainly wouldn't have been thinking clearly just then!) I'm a little surprised that she got Colin's quirk before Ryan's because I thought Ryan's quirk was the easier of the two to guess. One reason I found Ryan's easier to guess was that his cat portrayal is a tried and true WLiiA animal. (Knowing WLiiA history helps a great deal on the guessing games! Because the quirkees aren't out to stump the guesser. Do you like my new word — quirkees?) So, once you've got the cat figured out, all you had to do was guess what the cat was doing. Suicidal was a good guess. It's a good thing that Karen finally got Ryan's quirk though. By more count, he only had 5 more lives left. Then he would have been laid out on the floor for good.

Millionaire Show: 1930's gangster setting; Colin = host; Ryan = contestant; Karen = relative in audience; Wayne = friend on phone
I was surprised at how much I liked this game. Quite frankly, I was a bit worried at the role assignments because Colin isn't as strong at the exposition roles as Greg or Brad. But having a character to play seemed to help him a lot. This was definitely a Ryan and Colin game. And not just because they were on screen the most. The chemistry between them really kicked in here. I have so many questions about what those two were thinking during this game. I loved when Colin felt that he had to explain what a "gatt" was. But was he explaining to Ryan or to the audience? And what did Ryan find so amusing about Chaucer as a playwright? (Beyond the fact that it's wrong, that is?) Did Colin intentionally put in two Cs? And did Ryan really say that the last question was tricky with the "A A two Cs and a D?" Sure sounded to me as if he said A A. Karen repeated her I'm just a woman from the earlier Film and Theater Styles. And who would have thought that Wayne would be channeling Edward G Robinson? Good interjection by Colin: That's one smart sheep. All in all, I liked this one. Oh, I said that already. Did you catch at the end after Ryan stopped hitting Colin that he leaned in and said "I almost hit you with that last one"? If you watch real close, the first punch that Ryan throws comes very close to Colin's face. In fact, it was so close that it triggered Colin's eyes automatic reflexes.

Hoe-down: scary wife; Wayne, Drew, Colin and Ryan
Wayne was very unhappy with this topic choice. Just before he started singing you can hear him tell Drew, "I'm gonna kill you." I'm sure that's what provoked the Drew slam. Although, he also slammed his wife too. Colin took the easy way out and didn't reference his real wife. I loved how Ryan got out the whole thing and managed to imply something else altogether. (One little caveat: best and sex will probably never rhyme no matter what kind of accent you say them in.) Well, for once, I'm giving the winning points to Drew for his hoe-down. I thought his payback to Wayne was simply inspired. Not very musical. But very, very funny.

Credits: Karen and Wayne as two WLiiA fans waiting to see the cast of the stage door
I thought this was an above average credit reading for the US show. I loved how Ryan and Colin played their mime. And the fact that they were silent allowed us to hear what Karen and Wayne were saying.

Best Game:
Well, you can probably guess that I'm going to pick Millionaire. The Ryan and Colin chemistry made the game for me. It was nice to see them work in a scene that was slightly different from their accustomed roles.

Overall Comments:
I liked this one. Much more than I expected to. For some reason, I came into this episode with a low opinion of the show. With the three-person Film and Theater Styles and the Millionaire show (a game that is at best average for me) on the bill, I really wasn't expecting too much. So I was happy to find that more parts of the show worked for me than I thought would. Will I replay this again and again? Hmm, probably not. But I'll stop in on the Millionaire show every once and while just to watch Ryan and Colin weave their magic again.

© LKK 10/30/00