What I’m Watching: SMILF

SMILF: Season 1, Episode 5 “Run, Bridgette, Run or Forty-Eight Burnt Cupcakes and Graveyard Rum” (B)

So, I’ve never seen the 1998 film “Run, Lola, Run,” and therefore I think a good portion of this episode’s formatting was lost on me. I knew immediately that it was being parodying when Bridgette’s hair inexplicably turned red when she took over running, but other than that, I’m not in on the references. The way I interpreted this episode is that it was Bridgette playing out the scenarios that she could have chosen, with the fourth and final option being the one where she takes the high road and decides that it’s worthwhile to give Rafi the benefit of the doubt. That definitely wasn’t how things went during her first three attempts to find Larry’s panda. Connie Britton’s Ally has a remarkable ability to miss everything that’s going on around her, and of course Bridgette would get pulled in to doing things for her when she just needed to get the stuffed animal back for her son. We haven’t yet Mr. Daddy, and something tells me we won’t, with his reputation preceding him. I didn’t expect Gary Anthony Williams from “I’m Sorry” to play Eliza’s father, and I’d say that those mushrooms were quite helpful in allowing her to de-stress before his visit and then undress during it in the second scene. Nelson once again proved her worth by trying to mediate the conflict between her boyfriend and Bridgette, but she didn’t stick around long enough to give it a shot, instead going to the cemetery to watch her mom and her aunt pee on their parents’ graves on Father’s Day for Mothers. I think we should assume that Rafi, Tutu, and Bridgette all didn’t get hit by cars, and we’ll be back to normal storytelling next episode.