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Betty and friends bring it |
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Written by Maureen Ryan
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Tuesday, 27 March 2007 |
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Let us now praise sparky comedic dialogue.
There are a few shows that have mastered this subtle art ("30 Rock" and "Entourage" are just a couple of stellar examples), but none more so than ABC's "Ugly Betty," which —no surprise here —has been renewed for another season on ABC.
Last Thursday's "Ugly Betty" was one of the most enjoyable of the season —except for that subplot about the house arrest of Betty's father, Ignacio (Tony Plana), courtesy of his kooky immigration caseworker. Come on, Betty's dad deserves better material than this.
The campaign begins here: "Free Tony Plana!"
But that's a minor quibble. Thursday's highly enjoyable episode slid by gleefully, powered by comedic interchanges, bons mots and throwaway lines that the cast delivered with impressive ease.
There was also plenty of heart, but "Betty" wears its sweet sentimentality lightly. After all, treacle (which "Betty" avoids, thank goodness) would never be able to coexist with campy dialogue that feels as though it was lifted from a Joan Crawford melodrama.
The episode was a showcase for the ridiculously talented Michael Urie, who plays Wilhelmina's catty assistant Marc. His mom, Mrs. Weiner (Patti LuPone) came to town for a cat show, and Marc had to keep up the fiction that he is a straight man.
Betty was enlisted as his fake girlfriend, and high jinks —the kind only "Ugly Betty" regularly supplies —ensued.
"So this is where the tragic happens," Marc declared, swooping into Betty's bedroom during a dinner at her house. Mrs. Weiner was also in the house, along with her cat, Miss Lady Buttons of Camelot. The group dinner did not go well, and Betty was not happy with her role in keeping up Marc's charade of heterosexuality.
"I keep waiting for Mr. Roper to show up," she fumed.
Poor Marc was fighting wars on two fronts: Back at the office, Wilhelmina was embroiled in yet another battle between siblings Daniel Meade (Eric Mabius) and Alexis Meade (Rebecca Romijn).
All the office drama means that Wilhelmina (Vanessa Williams) and Marc had been relegated to an ugly office space with fluorescent lighting.
"I will not be looked at under this merciless glare," Marc wailed.
"Patience, Blanche. It's only temporary," Wilhemina purred.
Marc also had to fend off the ire of office receptionist Amanda (the comic spitfire Becki Newton), who used to be his fake girlfriend. She didn't deal with being dumped very well and mocked Marc's "relationship" with Betty.
"Laugh, clown, laugh," Marc told Amanda. "But I am showing everyone copies of your 'modeling' pictures."
Back at Betty's house, Marc's mom got suspicious when her son and Betty's nephew Justin started discussing "Dreamgirls' " best picture snub during a farcical meal at the Suarez home. On her way out the door, Marc's mom made some cutting comments about the Suarez family, including Justin, whom she called "swishy."
The ensuing showdown between Marc and his mom was top-notch stuff. Suffice it to say that Urie proved once again that he, like the rest of the "Ugly Betty" cast, can do dramatic material as well as he can deliver a cutting one-liner.
The top dramas usually get all the praise for their deep dialogue, but writing good comedy —not to mention characters whose viewers care about —is just as difficult. What's that famous phrase? "Dying is easy; comedy is hard."
But some shows make comedy look easy. Now that's hard.
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Maureen Ryan:
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