Workaholics (2011-17)
, about a trio of clueless dudebros led by Adam Devine (left), has gotten very, very bad press: gayness as an insult, weird, reprehensible; the possibility of bromantic partners being attracted to each other presented as "hilarious and absurd." Devine responded that critics were heterosexual snowflakes looking for a fight; "The gays have a sense of humor. They get us."
I'm not usually very forgiving about casual homophobia, but I'll check it out. Episode 5.5, described variously as: "When they go to a gay pride party in the neighborhood, they make fools of themselves pretending to be gay." or "a wild night at a neighbor's house leads the guys to question their relationship." Sounds cringy from the get-go.
Note: Workaholics contains a lot of humiliation nudity, both rear and obscured-frontal.
Scene 1: Telemarketing company boss (the always amazing Jerry O'Connell) is giving a speech about teamwork when the guys come in late; he calls them "young bucks," but they counter that they are "hung bucks....because our things are huge" Well, whip them out. Tomorrow they have a team-building contest: he demonstrates by falling into the arms of an employee, who catches him. The guys try falling backwards, but no one catches them, har har.
Scene 2: The office bullies brag that they have a "mature adult relationship": they know each other's biggest regrets and deepest fears. The guys try to prove that they know about feelings and stuff. "Adam, what's Der's biggest fear?" "That his dick is smaller than mine."
So, their schtick is a dick joke every five seconds. I forgive Keefe for learning about "hard woods" at Woodpecker's Carpentry.Left: Der (Anders Holm)
That night, while drinking beer on the roof of their house, they try and fail to connect on a deeper level, so they can win the contest. Suddenly a guy approaches who is working valet for the Pride party down the street, wanting to park cars in their yard. They think "pride" means MMA, and ask why they weren't invited. He doesn't answer, so they put on their martial arts t-shirts and crash the party.
Scene 3: Still thinking that it is a MMA party, they are shocked to see that it's all guys, and there's a giant rainbow "Happy Pride" banner.
"Ugh... rainbows! Let's get out of here!" But then the host points out the hors d'ouvres, and Anders lets out a shrill fruity "Helllooo!"
The reactions are only mildly homophobic: they are uncomfortable around gay men, but not so uncomfortable that they won't stick around for free food.Left: Blake (Blake Anderson)
They discuss: "Dude, are you pretending to be gay?" "Well, it's a pretty sweet party. We don't want to be kicked out."
The hosts are played by Michael Urie and Tim Bagley, both gay in real life.
The guys continue to pretend that they are gay: "Oh, we're very involved in the scene. The having sex with guys scene. We're three-way gay with each other." The hosts wonder why they're pretending: straight guys are welcome.
Scene 4: Getting drunk on free booze, the guys continue their attempt to connect on an emotional level. Meanwhile Adam drinks booze out of a dolphin's snout and exclaims: "If ejack tasted this good, I'd drink it by the gallon!" Wait, does that mean you know what it tastes like? They start chanting "We're here, we're queer, we want to drink beer!", to the embarrassment of the other guests.
The pride cake comes out, and of course the guys crash into it. "What the fuck is wrong with you!" the host exclaims.
More after the break
