2 Broke Girls: Boxed Cake Mix Coupons

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, at least they made a little money this episode! But seriously... this episode was a bit of a miss. Too many different things going on. We have Caroline not caring about Chestnut like Max does. We have Caroline going from loathing the sight of coupons to changing her schedule in order to use a stack of them. We have Max admitting that her mother sucked at raising her. We have Max talking about the ingredients in her cupcake recipes (which, miraculously, Caroline has apparently never seen her prepare). Oh, and let's not forget the stuff going on at the diner. What would I have done differently? Well, for starters, probably have cut the whole tampon thing. All that did was give Max something to complain about and give some background for a single line later in the episode regarding how Max's mom didn't teach her anything. After that, it all depends on what the driving force of this episode was actually supposed to be. The title suggests that the couponing was the major storyline since that's how Max's "secret ingredient" was revealed. But I wonder if maybe the Chestnut part could have been brought to more of a forefront...

2 Broke Girls "And the Secret Ingredient" (S01E13): The diner doesn't serve muenster cheese, and Caroline responds like Max would. [great line by Earl when asked about his plans for the next day: "trying not to die in my sleep." hahahaha.] However, when Max finds out that Han has increased the cost of a tampon in the restroom from 25 cents to 75 cents, she goes off on a much greater rampage than normal. [gross line when Max says that she goes into the woods during her period.] Oleg apparently carries a tampon around, however, because it "feels good to be a hero." [reminds me of a cheesy guy I knew years back who kept contact solution and cases in his medicine cabinet, even though he didn't need corrective lenses. oh, and that "chase the cotton mouse" thing was weird. the Lamb Chop's Play-Along reference was a bit random as well.] Han claims that this is a woman's topic, so he won't deal with it. Caroline takes Max's side, of course talking about the percentage increase and whatnot being the major problem. Earl says that Han should butt out when it comes to tampons, which didn't seem to help either side.

Caroline loves grocery shopping because she always wondered where stuff came from when she was little. [didn't that rich girl Margeaux say the same thing on an episode of Punky Brewster? oh, and was anyone else disturbed that Max went to Mardi Gras an an eleven-year-old designated driver for her mother and her boyfriend??] While shopping, Max gets a birthday card for her mother, in which she will put $50. This messes with Caroline a little bit, but is soon forgotten when she learns that Max has been using boxed cake mix (Duncan Hines, to be exact) to make her cupcakes. She claims that she adds a secret ingredient, though. [um, let's all take a minute to laugh like crazy at the idea of The Sour Patch Kids as a gang! hahahahaha!]

Photo: Cliff Lipson/CBS
©2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc.

Caroline isn't complacent for long, though, as Max scares her by using coupons. In fact, Caroline is so terrified of them that she won't even hand them to the cashier (hence, Max forcing Caroline's hand in the image to the right). [this was painfully awkward to watch. Caroline has been shopping at thrift stores... what's wrong with coupons?] The fact that a $70 bill gets cut to $12.70 shocks Caroline, who immediately becomes a coupon queen, even buying things that will never be eaten. [see, this is the problem with those coupon shows. They hardly ever buy good, healthy food. Probably because fresh produce doesn't get the same coupon treatment that big manufacturers do. oh, and "get my tamp-on" was weak.]

Back at the diner, Max puts tampons in the straw container, and gives out tampons with the checks, which finally makes Han lower the price back to a quarter. [she fights her battles in such a unique way, that Max!] Caroline doesn't care about putting off visiting Chestnut for another day or two, since she has some great coupons that she has to use immediately. While at the store, Max and Caroline run into "the coupon queen of Williamsburg," who breaks her own rules to try and screw Caroline out of 40 boxes of cake mix (which, with a bunch of special deals, will be negative $23). Max has one box of Pillsbury box mix in the pile, which she admits is her secret ingredient, as nobody ever taught her how to bake (or how to use a tampon for that matter).

The end scene has Max bringing carrots to Chestnut. [loved the Bugs Bunny references. I don't know that I've ever seen carrots with the tops on them.] Max tells the horse a bit about her personal life and her sucky mom in the process.

New Cupcakery Savings Total: $644.25.