The Exes: Another Holly/Phil Episode...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

TVLand

Did anyone else think of the play-on-words of "When Holly Broke Kevin" to "When Harry Met Sally" as being a funny riff on 3rd Rock from the Sun, where Kristen Johnston's character's name was Sally and her "brother" was Harry? Okay, it was a bit of a stretch, but still. I took a separate issue with the title of the episode giving away everything that was going to happen - it may have been punnyfunny, but at the expense of the plot. Also, is it just me or are they struggling to give all of the characters decent air time nearly every episode? It's a cast of FIVE, guys. I'd be happy if we could get the core four (sorry, Eden) more than three minutes each here. Haskell and Stuart seem to suffer the most. Maybe the show feels that they can get away with it because Stuart had such a large role in the opening few episodes of the series? I'm not sure, but this most certainly needs to be addressed if a renewal is going to happen. Agreed?

The Exes "When Holly Broke Kevin" (S01E09): Phil brings a basketball client to the apartment, and Haskell immediately bombards him with memorabilia to sign, hoping to sell it on eBay, no doubt. [I liked the nefarious "I just need a sample."] Phil tells Haskell that the guy, Kevin, is just there to relax. Enter Holly. There's instant attraction, and Holly is given the "girlfriend's seat" at the game that night. Well, as you might imagine, Kevin goes home with Holly afterward, which makes Phil paranoid that something will happen to Kevin. [why? how crazy would they be on a first date?] In respect for Phil, Holly tells Kevin that she wants to take it slow... but after he puts a hand on her knee, they start making out like a couple of teenagers. [...yeah....] Eden comes over the next morning to find out why Holly isn't at work, and she realizes that Holly's had sex. She meets Kevin on his way out, then heads to the office to spread the news. [hahaha. I kinda love it. but I also kinda hate it. Is Holly angling to be the office wh0re?] That night, Kevin doesn't play too well, mostly because he's rather out of it and lethargic. So, being a conscientious agent, Phil tells Holly that she can't see Kevin during the season After a few double entendres, Holly agrees not to have sex with Kevin for a while. [I thought that the jokes were pretty good.] But, when Kevin comes over and they struggle to find anything to talk about, they wind up in the bedroom. [yep. Phil should have seen this coming!] Kevin ends up hurting his back so badly that the paramedics are called. [oops!] Kevin tells Holly to call Phil and tell him what happened... she tells him in person, but there's not much time for a reaction because Phil runs out toward the hospital. Later, when Holly goes to apologize to Phil, she finds out that, thanks to chiropractics and cortisone, Kevin is playing anyway. [wow, what a comeback! He's going to be hurting later...] Of course, the paramedic is now in the girlfriend seat, but Holly doesn't really get too upset about it. [amazingly. she's had a tendency to overreact all season, don't you think?]

Where was Stuart all episode? Well, Haskell kinda had a hold on him. See, Haskell bet on the first game of the episode and made $45. He wants to win more, but can't without more money to gamble with. So, he convinces Stuart to bet on the second game. They end up losing (that's the one where Kevin is lethargic), and Stuart complains that Haskell told him it was a "sure thing." [whine, whine, whine!] When they hear about how injured Kevin is, Haskell decides to bet on the other team, convincing Stuart to go along with it. Of course, Kevin ends up playing and the game is a blow-out, which the guys don't hear about until they're drinking expensive cognac at the bar. [funny and sucky.]