Vice Principals, Episode 3.5: Gamby dates a high school boy, and gay rumors destroy your life

 I'm reviewing Vice Principals Episode 3.5 because a casual viewing revealed a strong, if rather discomforting, gay subtext and a lot of homophobia.

Scene 1: Lee (Walton Goggins), scheming principal of North Jackson High, and his wife Christine are having dinner in a restaurant. He is being dismissive and controlling.  Suddenly Kevin Yoon (Keong Sim, below) appears -- they haven't seen him since college!  He barely acknowledges Lee while gazing with absurdly overacted "girl of my dreams" longing at Christine.  He explains: "I had a bit of a rough time in college, with the rumors, but after counseling I got my life together.  I have a wife and kids."  What rumors destroy your life and require counseling? Sexual assault of a minor?

Christine promises to "friend" him on Facebook and keep in touch, which makes Lee roil with jealousy.

Scene 2: On the way home in the car, we learn that Christine was dating Kevin Yoon, so Lee told her that he was gay, and she dumped him. Why didn't she ask Kevin about it? Maybe Lee was lying, or maybe Kevin was bi and still interested in her.  

The rumor spread around and destroyed his life. Christine is upset because "wife and kids" -- he's straight! Or bi, girlfriend.   She could have married him and had a happy life, instead of being stuck with a man she hates. This is utterly ridiculous.  Did they go to college in 1958?  Was it Hate-Gays University?  How homophobic does McBride think that American society is?

Scene 3:  Vice Principal Gamby (Danny McBride) in the high school parking lot, trying to figure out who shot him in the Season 1 finale.  Jen (Edi Patterson), a teacher with an absurdly unstable crush on him, asks him to be her date at Lee's big birthday party.  He refuses. The lesbian security guard comments that she has a nice body: "I'd fuck her."

Scene 4: The guys on exercise bikes.  Lee suggests that Gamby bring "a hot-ass woman" to his big birthday party, to make his crush jealous and get her to fall in love with him. That strategy usually works in junior high.   But Gamby has another strategy: he's going to prove that he's "a charitable man."

Scene 5: Gamby marches into the restroom, where the delinquent Robin is smoking with his buds.  Earlier he was expelled for having drugs in his locker (which Gamby planted), but now he's back, and Gamby wants to redeem him (for his own selfish ends).  He orders Robin to come to the party as his date: "you're going to show everyone there that I made a positive impact on your life and made you a better human being." 

"But I don't want to go to your stupid pedo party!"  Well, technically it's ephebophile, adult erotic interest in adolescents.

Gamby calls him a "whore," and offers to pay him. Adolescent male prostitution.  This gets worse and worse. "You will be polite, you will be cordial, and you will wear this nice outfit I bought you."

Scene 6: Before the party, Lee is ordering around the caterers and being a jackass to Christine, while she forlornly scrolls through Kevin Yoon's social media, thinking of the life she could have had if only she hadn't dumped him the moment Lee said the g-word.  Imagine that conversation: "Your boyfriend is gay." "WHAT? I'm so disgusted, I never want to see him again! Are you free tomorrow night?"

Lee catches her scrolling and shoves a pill in her mouth without her consent.  

Scene 7: Gamby arrives at Robin's slovenly hovel to pick him up for their date.  His mother is nonchalant about it. Apparently adult men often drop by the house to take Robin out on dates.  Robin isn't wearing the outfit Gamby bought him.  He lays down the law:   "If you embarrass me tonight, I will snap your fucking neck.  Now let's go have fun at this party."  Aww, they're already acting like a couple.

Scene 8:  The party.  Extremely heteronormative: the lesbian security guard is dancing with a man, and the gay-vague drama teacher is dancing with a woman. No same-sex couples, except of course Gamby and Robin:  Arm-on-back affection and calling Robin "handsome" as Gamby introduces him around.  They're really making this look like a real date. 

Robin, who appears in seven episodes, is played by Alexandra McVicker.  She transitioned after Vice Principals, so some of her other work and the VP fan wiki still list her as "Conner."  A trans woman playing a possibly-gay high school boy?  Interesting dynamic. 

Scene 9:  Lee orders Christine around; she passively-aggressively ignores him and gets drunk  Wait -- he drugged you.  If it was an opiate, you could die.   He wants to know why she is acting so weird.  Then Kevin Yoon shows up.  Lee has a fit, but Christine invited him, so he's not leaving.  Lee asks the lesbian security guard to kick him out (sorry, her name is never given, and she is not listed on the wikipedia cast list).  

So she accosts him in the bathroom and threatens to rough him up unless he leaves.

Scene 10:  Looking for a secluded spot to smoke marijuana, Robin finds the master bedroom.  Christine is there, sitting on the floor, drunk and miserable because she's married to Lee instead of Kevin Yoon.  They share a joint.  Are they going to make out to demonstrate that Robin is actually straight?

More after the break

Scene 11: Heterosexual couples dancing.  Gamby checks out a lady's butt and gazes forlornly at his crush dancing with someone else. Weird -- why didn't bringing Robin as his date make her fall into his arms?  Maybe he can try the jealousy angle -- he asks the teacher with a crush on him to dance.  Robin shows up.  So he didn't sex up with Christine?

Scene 12: Looking for Christine, Lee goes into the bedroom, and finds it trashed -- including poop on a portrait of Lee!  He rushes downstairs to blame Robin: "You little devil worshipper, how dare you fuck up my home!"  Gamby stands between them so Lee won't attack, but says nothing. 

Then Christine appears and admits that she did the trashing (and the pooping).  She tells the whole party that back in college, Lee told her that Kevin had sex with some fraternity pledges -- thus ruining both of their lives.  

Lee insists that it actually happened: "It's disgusting, Kevin."  Yeah, gay sex is disgusting, got it.  "You use people to get what you want!" Christine exclaims.  "You don't care who you hurt."  Lee counters that he is "a compassionate man."  Call-back to what Gamby said earlier.

She rushes outside and destroys his car with a baseball bat, then collapses sobbing into his arms.

Scene 13:  Lee tells everyone that Christine had too much to drink, but she'll be fine. Back to her horrible marriage with a man she hates.  They all leave. 

Gamby has to take the teacher with a crush on him home, as she's too drunk to drive.  

Scene 14: On the way home, Gamby apologizes for not defending Robin against the accusation that he trashed the room: "I should have said something." Robin counters that he doesn't "give a fuck,"  Gamby drops him off at his house.  

Cut to Lee cleaning the poop from his picture and gazing forlornly at the sleeping Christine.  The end.  This kind of poops out, with no actual resolution. I expected Lee/Christine and Gamby/Robin to acknowledge that they care about each other, but we end with the pairs in disarray.  

Beefcake: None.

Gay Characters: The lesbian security guard, but she dances with a guy.

Gay Subtext:  They push the gay subtext of Gamby and Robin, but then oddly back away from it. Of course they aren't really dating, but they should have at least become friends, maybe said "You're not such a bad guy. Wanna get a milk shake?" . 

Homophobia:  Big time.  One statement about Kevin being gay, and Christine dumps him instantly, and it ruins his life forever?  That is not what American society was like in 1997, even in South Carolina.  

My Grade: C+