The Cougar Town season 2 finale is here (booo!) so the Cul-de-Sac crew takes part in a well established sitcom tradition: HAWAII VACATION! Hopefully they are careful to watch out for those tiki gods.

Cougar Town Review 2011: Something Good Comin

Cougar Town Title Card: (panned over to Hawaii from the normal Florida) We will never stop mocking the title….Cougar Town

Why are the cul de sac crew vacationing in Hawaii this week? Well, it’s not a vacation so much as a search and rescue mission. When Laurie is charged with getting Travis back on track (because he has a crush on her…. ) she somehow turns the conversation into seeing a billboard about cheap tickets to Hawaii, in a way only Laurie can.  Travis’s response: moving to Hawaii. Well done, jellybean. When they get to Hawaii the manager of the hotel Travis was attempting to work for told them he sent him to a shack where local people stay. Bobby and Jules head over and find a very excited Trav- he just taught the natives Penny Can. But in Hawaii it’s Coconut Rock. He also became friends with Ted. If you watched Scrubs, you’ll recognize Ted. If you didn’t watch Scrubs…. why? (So sad to find out Gooch left him…. sigh.)

Jules tries to just make Travis come home, but he refuses and they have big fight. Jules, with some help from Grayson,decides to just let it go. Laurie decides she is not going to be in denial and will be the one to fight for Travis. She sees him and immediately says how good he looks, and he should stay in Hawaii. Oh Laurie, never change. When she gets back on track, but of course Travis doesn’t listen. So she flirts to get his attention, even though she knows he is going to be mad at her later. Why won’t this couple happen? They are awesome. And Jules freaking out would be so worth it. Anyone with me on this? Anyway, Travis, clearly in love with Laurie (!!!) gets a sad face when he finds out that Laurie has a Vacation Boyfriend to break up with. Laurie and Travis walk down the beach later that evening and Travis holds her hand (!!!!!) and she points out that he isn’t thinking about Kirsten anymore. Clever girl.

But when he realizes this day was about Laurie trying to convince Trav to go home and go back to school like she knows he wants to and not about them being together, he gets really mad/sad. Ugh. It broke my heart. Laurie tells Jules Trav is coming home and how she did it. Jules goes to get Travis and tries to convince him to forgive Laurie because he is lucky to have such an amazing friend. Travis tells Jules it is solid mom-ing that Jules let him figure it out. He’s right – best parenting of the series. LOL! Of course, Travis forgives Laurie, and they cuddle on the beach that evening and talk about what a good time they had the day before. I melt into a puddle. I don’t care if it’s a slightly inappropriate relationship!

Meanwhile, Jules has another issue to deal with. Grayon’s man-biological clock is ticking and Jules has yet to deal with the fact that he wants a baby and she doesn’t. He babysits little Stan even if Ellie and Andy don’t really need him to – and then turns Stan into a wrestler. ADORABLE! Grayson also has a Pavlovian response to the Elmo song. Uh oh. Ellie and Laurie help Jules out by telling her to take care of it “The Chicago Way” a la The Untouchables. (The line from the movie says “if he pulls out a knife, you pull out a gun”). So every time Grayson brings up kids, Jules mentions moving in together – something Grayson has been avoiding talking about. Finally, Jules says no. This whole thing with Travis means she is done with kids.  Along with the denial over Travis, Jules and Grayson think it would be a good idea to just ignore this fight while in Hawaii. and just have a “sexy vacation.” Not so easy to ignore it though when Jules discovers she left her birth control pills at home. The two go on the hunt for a condom. Of course, when she finds one, Grayson realizes he can’t ignore it anymore. If Jules won’t at least consider kids, he doesn’t know if they can stay together.  Sad face. The next morning, Jules gets some good advice from Ted – if you really love someone, you should be willing to go on any adventure with them. It makes Jules realize that if Grayson can put up with her crazy (no small thing) she should give him this. And she tells him that. Oh dear… are we going to get to see pregnant Jules? I ask, giddy with anticipation.)

Ellie has been dealing with an issue of her own: Andy’s growing love for Bobby. The two even convinced Ellie to let Bobby stay in the extra room in the hotel. But Ellie says Andy can’t come in the room. Of course all that means is Andy and Bobby stand by the adjoining door and create a knock language. These two take bromance to a whole new level. When Ellie becomes sure Bobby used her toothbrush she starts to go beyond annoyed. That is until Bobby agrees to be adventurous with Ellie (She likes fun vacations) and do lady-stuff with Andy (he likes relaxing vacations). Bobby and Ellie go surf paddling, biking through the jungles and spear fishing while Bobby and Andy look at trees, get couples massages and float in the pool.  But at the end of the day, Andy and Ellie go to have dinner as a couple, leaving Bobby alone in the hotel room.  The next morning, when Andy and Ellie want to split the day with Bobby again, Bobby says no. Grayson has to tell them it is because it’s depressing to hang around with a perfect couple when you are alone. So Andy and Ellie keep lonely Bobby company. And it’s adorable.

Cougar Town Quotes:

Jules: Families vacation together. And we are just like any other family.We’ve got the dreamer, the schemer, the queen bee, the damaged goods, the iron fist and the one we all feel sorry for.
Everyone: Which am I? (and other assorted questions)
Jules: No, no, guys, I’m not going to tell you.
Laurie: Booooo.
Jules: Pipe down, damaged goods.
Laurie: Ah, I knew it.

Randon Hawaiian Dude: Aloha
Jules: Ah! They really say that. It’s a real thing!

Ellie: It’s for the lady who likes to  lounge by the pool… but also get paid for sex.
Laurie: Do they do that? Is that a job?

Jules: He lives in a shack, he sits on the beach all day and parties all night. What kind of life is that?
Everyone else: “An awesome one” “Best life ever” “First time I’ve ever been jealous of him.”

Jules: Good friends would lie.

Laurie: I’m going to say something now that Meredith Baxter-Birney has said in every TV movie I have ever seen…. I will not going to give up on that boy.
Everyone else: (Claps)

Grayson (singing): Brush your teeth/ wash your face/ check your nose/ just in case/ eat your breakfast/ bacon and eggers/ take your pill so you won’t get preggers/ Morning Routine song!!

(It should be noted that while Grayson sang this in the restaurant of the hotel, Tom was dancing behind him. Grayson didn’t know it.)

Fun Stuff:

  • Gagbizmal
  • Nana Cobb has an STD (not fun so much as….. disturbing)
  • Tom shuttles back and forth between Ellie’s and Jules’s. Payment: headpats.
  • Barb sighting!
  • COCONUT ROCK!
  • Big Kimo (Hawaii’s Big Carl)
  • Ellie’s “Don’t Bother” tank. WANT!
  • Tom stalking them around  Hawaii.
  • Special Shout Out:
  • ABED!!!!!!!!! Sigh…… I loved it. Greatest.

So… who else loved this finale? I thought it was adorable. It had movement for all the characters. And it set up a lot of fun stuff for next season. Bobby needing to grow up, maybe find a girl. Grayson and Jules moving to the next step of their relationship. Travis and Laurie getting married and having nerd babies. No? Not that last one? Oh well…. maybe some day.

Everyone join in me in a celebratory Big Carl as we head into a long summer without our Cul de Sac Crew friends. An extra long summer in fact… Cougar Town isn’t scheduled to come back until November. But the demise of one of the new ABC comedies could push up that date. (Based on some of the promos, it seems like something likely to happen!!) Fingers crossed! But while we wait, be sure to tweet me some fun Cougar Town quotes to keep the laughs coming!

One last time…. COCONUT ROCK!

Written by Melissa Miller. Find her on Twitter @serrae

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