joel wosk is a member of the worst generation…
The idiocy never ceases in the community of Rancho Cucamonga, thanks largely in part to the continued efforts of Adam DeMamp, Anders Holmvik, and Blake Henderson. In this week’s episode of Workaholics, “The Worst Generation” the boys are confronted with a dilemma after Adam suffers a serious injury and must make an appeal to his cantankerous Grandfather to be put back onto the DeMamp family health insurance policy. In the opening sequence, Adam is seen in front of their shared home in workout attire, wearing a sweatshirt emblazoned with the logo, “DeMamp Camp.” Blake, who is holding a video camera, is recording Adam in his attempt to deadlift an oversized truck tire. Sadly, Adam does not possess the physical prowess to accomplish such feats of strength, and promptly dislocates both of his shoulders simultaneously.
To his surprise, Adam is turned away at the hospital due to a lack of health insurance. The guys drive home, with Adam sporting homemade slings on both arms, whereupon they decide that they must pay a visit to Adam’s grandfather at the old age home so Adam can beg him to be put back on his policy. However, this will not be an easy task as Adam’s grandfather is a grizzled war veteran who doesn’t consider Adam to be a “real man.” He regales Adam with violent war stories and shows no sympathy for Adam’s plight. He harshly turns Adam away, opting instead to attend a luau being held at the old age home.
While Adam makes his appeal to his grandfather, Blake and Anders pursue their own endeavors around the old age home. Blake is desperate for a grandparent figure, never having had the chance to know his own grandfather, and finds a potential candidate in Arthur, a longhaired rocker type. Arthur strikes a deal with Blake: if Blake helps him steal pills from the nurse’s desk, Blake can call Arthur anything he wants. Meanwhile, Anders is dead set on finding a senior citizen with a juicy life story that he can hopefully parley into a potential episode of MTV:True Life.
He makes the acquaintance of an elderly woman, Peggy (played by Sally Kellerman, Rodney Dangerfield’s love interest from the 80’s comedy Back to School. Ok, she was also in M.A.S.H.) Unsurprisingly, all three of the guys get ejected from the old age home as a result of their bad behavior. This doesn’t deter Adam one bit, and the guys decide to kidnap Grandpa DeMamp, Arthur, and Peggy and bring them back to a party at their home.
Upon returning home, a party is already in effect, consisting mainly of Jillian and the members of her female hockey team. Adam gets to work trying to prove to his grandfather that he is “a real man” by trying to deadlift the truck tire once again. He only succeeds in further injuring himself. Meanwhile inside the house, Blake and Arthur compete with a Russian female hockey player in a series of drinking games. Arthur emerges victorious, prompting one of the most random and obscure movie references I have ever seen in a TV show. Upon winning, the female player says, in a heavy Russian accent, “He beat me. Straight up. Pay him. Pay this man his money.” This is a line from the Matt Damon/Edward Norton poker film Rounders delivered by John Malkovich’s character “Teddy KGB.” The only reason that this line has stuck with me for so many years is solely because John Malkovich’s accent in the film is so fantastically awful that it’s been cemented in my memory for well over a decade. It’s that bad. When I heard those words come out of the female player’s mouth, I almost fell off the couch laughing.
The climax of the episode occurs when an orderly from the old age home (played by Jordan Peele from the Comedy Central’s Key and Peele) shows up to collect the abducted senior citizens. Grandpa DeMamp makes a break for it and is pursued by Adam, who is still determined to prove his manhood. He successfully subdues his grandfather and has thus proven himself a man in his grandfather’s eyes. The episode concludes much as it began, with Adam performing dangerous stunts while being videotaped by Blake. However, Adam’s shirt now reads, “DeMamp Camp:Fully Insured.”
This episode was one of the funnier episodes of the season, featuring some obscure references and memorable guest stars. Grandpa DeMamp was awesomely mean and hysterical, and in spite of their mutual hatred, he was remarkably similar to Adam. In fact, when Adam first walks into his grandfather’s room, his grandfather is doing bicep curls and talking to himself in a mirror. This was the second episode in a row that had nothing to do with work and took place outside of the office. I have to wonder if the office setting was a necessity in the early episodes because of budgetary reasons. Now that the show has gained a certain degree of popularity, perhaps they can now afford to get a bit more creative and venture into the outside world more often.
Check out Workaholics on Comedy Central, Wednesdays at 10pm. All Photos Credit: Comedy Central
