Smash Season 1 Episode 3 Recap: Enter Mr DiMaggio
On this week's Smash, the Marilyn project has trouble rounding up investors. The good news is Joe DiMaggio has been found, but Julia is not a fan of the pick. Ellis starts scheming, Karen's still dreaming, and Ivy and Derek engage in a lot of heavy breathing.
Last week on Smash: Karen and Ivy battled it out in the dance callbacks. Ivy got bonus points for being talented and sleeping with Derek. Guess who got the part of Marilyn?
After the title card reading "Enter Mr. DiMaggio," we cut to a rather graphic sex scene with Ivy and Derek. Oh ick, Derek would name it Mr. DiMaggio. As the two snuggle, Ivy says she would like to do some legitimate character work with Derek at some point. "That's what we're doing, darling," Derek smarms. Ivy pulls back a bit before Derek half-heartedly tells her he was joking. Later, Ivy and one of her girlfriends walk down the street and play the "exposition up to this point" game. Ivy asks her friend is she thinks she got the part because she had sex with the director. The friend is all "maybe, but run with it?" Ivy's friend is not helpful.
Karen meets with Derek in a swanky bar. Derek apologizes for not giving her the Marilyn role, but offers Karen a spot in the ensemble. Karen gives the boilerplate polite response and Derek busts her for doing so. Before Karen can say what she really feels, Dev pops in unannounced. After an awkward introduction, Dev picks up on Derek's accent and the two men engage in a bout of Quien es el mas Britanico. Karen is unimpressed with the display, though she and Dev makeout when they return to the apartment.
Joe DiMaggio auditions. Derek is ready to claw his own eyes out, so I'm guessing it's about 3:30pm. One of the casting agents mentions an actor named Michael Smith is interested in the role. Tom perks up at this – Michael had worked with Tom and Julia in the past. Julia does not seem as enthusiastic. Derek and Eileen learn that Michael is performing in a Bruno Mars stage show and decide to check him out. Oh God, that sounds dreadful. Sure enough, we jump to Michael performing a Springsteen-esque rendition of "Grenade," a song I thought I hated until this version convinced me I didn't hate it enough. After the performance, Eileen and Derek try to chat over dinner but Jerry has tracked down his estranged wife. Drink to the face.
Karen is at the cafe doing setup with a coworker. The two chat about the workshopping process – Karen the optimist and the coworker the pessimist. The coworker warns Karen about the low pay workshopping yields and a schedule which makes holding down another job next-to-impossible.
Tom and Julia work on some music and bicker about Ellis. I'm guessing it's a day that ends in Y. The conversation works its way around to the prospect of Michael Smith joining the cast. Julia says she heard the Bruno Mars show was getting extended, then suggests axing the Joe DiMaggio content from the already-thin script. Tom sees through the charade, but doesn't know why Julia is uncomfortable with Michael. He seems like a nice fella, as demonstrated by his playing with a toddler and getting along with his wife. Mrs. Smith tells Michael he should take the DiMaggio gig, but he isn't sure he should.
Eileen chats with some potential investors. The two men she speaks with didn't realize this was an Eileen Rand solo project and were expecting Jerry to be on board somehow. Eileen doesn't seem to realize how uncomfortable the investors are with the prospects of this project. Speaking of monetary discomfort, Karen is packing her bags to go to a baby shower back in Iowa. She and Dev discuss the financial burden of workshopping, but he tells Karen not to worry about finances. Karen doesn't like the idea of comingling finances just yet, but Dev tells her not to think about it until she gets back from her trip.
Ellis hangs out with some friends some evening. He brags about his assistant gig, but one of his friends suggests he should be getting paid for the Marilyn idea. Protip: you can't copyright an idea, which is why you shouldn't give them out in an unsolicited fashion. That doesn't stop Ellis from stealing Julia's scratchpad for the project. I'm not sure what his endgame is by doing that, but I'm sure he has put in just as much thought as he has with everything else he has done so far on this show.
Karen arrives at her parent's house in Iowa. Once she gets settled in, Mom and Dad try to have a whispered conversation five feet away from Karen about how she didn't get the Marilyn part. Karen tells her parents she can hear them then goes on to explain how the workshopping process works. Mom and Dad continue to worry.
Heaven on Earth dressing room. Ivy and her GBF (gay best friend) chat about Derek. Midway through the conversation, Derek pops his head into the dressing room. Dennis and Ivy's friend from earlier leave the room so Derek and Ivy can be alone. Derek closes the door and the two engage in some special hugging. Dennis and Exposition Girl listen at the door and giggle.
Ellis sits in his bedroom reading Julia's notebook. The female friend from earlier who told Ellis to get paid for his idea is wearing a somewhat revealing nightie. Huh, for some reason the idea of Ellis being in a relationship rings hollow. The girlfriend tries to read over Ellis's shoulder, but eventually the scene turns into a makeout party. I guess "Enter Mr. DiMaggio" really is a metaphor for sex.
Michael and Mrs. Smith watch their child sleep. She tells her husband to take the Joe DiMaggio role. The next day, Michael waits outside Eileen's office to seal the deal when Julia enters. They have a tense and terse conversation. "You smell good," Michael says, bring the conversation to an abrupt end when Julia runs away.
Eileen sits at a table in a fancy restaurant. A waiter comes by to deliver a jewelry box with a pair of earrings and a Manhattan. The drink tips her off as to who sent the gifts and sure enough Jerry pulls up a chair. Eileen was supposed to meet with an investor, but Jerry intercepted the appointment and rescheduled. "Go back to your blondes," Eileen tells Jerry. Jerry says he wants to help with the Marilyn project. Eileen refuses and throws the drink in Jerry's face. Sigh.
Tom and Dennis look at lunch menus at a bistro. Tom starts talking shop with regards to Heaven on Earth. Dennis tells Tom the reason he asked him to lunch was as a date, not a business meeting. Tom looks flattered and perks up. Dennis then drops the bomb about Ivy and Derek dating and having all of the sex. Back at Tom's place, he tells Julia about the situation. Julia acknowledges these things happen – yes, it's unethical but what can you do? Tom leaves to blow off some steam. Julia follows but gets intercepted by Ellis. Julia and Ellis air out their grievances with the self-righteousness (Julia) and twerpitude (Ellis) getting cranked to 11. The scene ends with Ellis returning the notebook to Julia, though he lies about where he found it.
Eileen pitches the Marilyn project to Manny, the investor she was supposed to meet with earlier. Manny doesn't let Eileen get a full sentence out before he rejects the proposal. With Jerry not attached to the project, Manny isn't interested. Why even bother with the lunch meeting then?
Karen hangs out at a karaoke bar with her friends celebrating the baby shower. Because this isn't New York or LA, we get to hear wonderful phrases such as "feminism is overrated." Frankly, I'm surprised the pregnant friend isn't also barefoot. Shut up, show. Karen's friends force her onto the stage so she can sing "Redneck Woman" because that song has 0% to do with Karen's/Kat McPhee's life. The friends get up and dance on stage towards the end of the song and we see that the pregnant friend doesn't look all that pregnant.
Derek gets dressed while Ivy sits up in her bed, sheets wrapped around her body. She asks why they never go to Derek's place. "Oh God," Derek responds before feeding Ivy some cock-and-bull story about his neighbors ruining his gas lines. Sadly, Ivy buys the story and my sympathy for Megan Hilty's character plummets.
Tom continues to work on some music, but it sounds like a meditation on the lullaby music from Super Mario World 2. Julia enters the room and she and Tom make up. Julia also tells Tom she had an affair with Michael Smith five years ago. Tom is the first person she has told this and we get to watch a slo-mo recreation of the courtship. All cliches involving the Brooklyn Bridge are used, and even the characters are like "I know, right?" What Julia doesn't know is Ellis has been listening in on the conversation.
After Karen has a heart-to-heart with her parents, we see Ivy and Michael rehearsing the song "Mr and Mrs Smith" for the Joe DiMaggio sequence. I am instantly reminded of the song "Penny for Your Thoughts" from Waiting for Guffman. Even the staging is similar, though Christopher Guest/Parker Posey are more interesting to watch. Throughout the song, Julia and Michael look at each other, vacillating between longing and regret. That's kind of how I feel about Smash at this point.
Next week: Nick Jonas propositions Ivy. Sure, why not?
Mike McComb – TVLatest.com
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