What I’m Watching: I Love That For You (Season Finale)

I Love That For You: Season 1, Episode 8 “Shop Cancer’s Ass” (B+)

This show has yet to be renewed for a second season, but it’s good to know that Joanna has embroiled herself in another big lie that’s going to make another round just as uncomfortable to watch if it does happen. Patricia yelling that they were going live meant that there was no time for anyone to process what Joanna had just said, and Jackie gave her plenty of guilt during their subsequent segment when she kept digging in about how people trusted her. Patricia’s concern about FCC fraud territory meant that she had a good plan to keep Joanna’s spontaneous apology off-air and instead have her announce that she was cured, and it also involved her announcing her own diagnosis. She may have found a way to get Jackie back as a friend, provided her agreement to that HSN meeting doesn’t mess everything up, but she’ll have a harder time winning over everyone else, including a very hurt and angry Jordan. Beth Ann also has a copy of her confessing on-air which she’ll surely use at some point, though her anger will likely be targeted at Darcy since he and Perry appear to have become an item. I thoroughly enjoyed the eggs-as-dairy debate, something I know well since, according to kosher laws, eggs are not considered dairy. Ryan Phillippe seemed angriest at Joanna but also appeared to have no strange presence, particularly when it came to changing the pronunciation of his last name to rhyme with steaks and filets. Even though it’s cringeworthy a lot of the time, I’m all for a second season of this show.

Season grade: B+
Season MVPs: Vanessa Bayer as Joanna, Molly Shannon as Jackie, and Jenifer Lewis as Patricia

What I’m Watching: I Love That For You

I Love That For You: Season 1, Episode 7 “Point of No Returns” (B+)

I was worried that Joanna was going to blurt out the truth on-air during the telethon, and while this wasn’t quite as bad, it was still not the way it all should have happened. Beth Ann, who was having trouble remaining tethered to reality when it came to her love life and the so-so sex she had with Perry, nailed it perfectly when she confronted Joanna and realized that she wanted her to tell Patricia so that she didn’t have to be the one to do it. Jeremy telling her he loved her would have been an appropriate moment to be honest, but it’s too late for that now. I have a feeling that Jackie might also reconsider her retirement given that everything she thought was true has now shown itself not to be, and I’m curious to see how Patricia is going to react since I think she’ll be able to see past the lie and look to what Joanna did by spinning it, proving herself to be resilient even if it wasn’t for a genuine reason. Having Ryan Phillippe be the one to call out her betrayal was admittedly pretty funny, and a great way to end this episode. I liked that Perry stepped in to so casually help Darcy out of his impossible situation and did it with ease, speaking French fluently and threatening to weaponize his social media followers against them, and that he seemed much more into the idea of sleeping with Darcy than he had with Beth Ann, a less major secret that is going to soon come out after the shock of Joanna’s big admission dies down.

What I’m Watching: I Love That For You

I Love That For You: Season 1, Episode 6 “Crystal Buddiez” (B+)

There were a number of reasons that Joanna being forced by Patricia to go on-air wasn’t a good thing, and she saw one of them realized right away when Jackie called in to comment on her betrayal. They were able to get past it so that Joanna could come over to her house and see just how much stuff she’s been collecting for years, but the bigger issue is that she ended up bumping Beth Ann, who already has it out for her. Joanna bragging about having sex with Jordan got her upset and made her unleash the dirt she thought she had about her doctor, and even though she’s way off, Joanna is in rabidly protective mode, ready with a comeback that was intense enough to force Beth Ann to spill the salad she was obsessively shaking. All of this is affecting Beth Ann quite a bit, and now she’s resorted to ferocious sex at work with Perry, who initially seemed uninterested but then decided to go for it. Perry had a passionate reaction to the arrival of his luxur bag, and Patricia getting it for him as a gift is going to mess with his head and force him to confess even if she’s not playing mind games on him because she already knows. I’m enjoying the rapport Joanna and Jordan have now that they’ve had sex, and it was entertaining to hear Beena respond to Darcy and Jordan offering suggestions she had obviously already tried for how to find the missing Jackie.

What I’m Watching: I Love That For You

I Love That For You: Season 1, Episode 5 “Daddy’s Lil’ Cookies” (B+)

It’s not going to be easy for Joanna to keep this story going now that Patricia is letting her in to her life in a small way. Having her father come in to pose as her doctor wasn’t a terrible idea since he was able was speak from personal experience of having a daughter who had cancer and then got better, but he wasn’t happy with Joanna that she made him do that, because he had to relive all of the fear that he had then which he had kept hidden from her. Beth Ann snapping photos of the two of them won’t be a good thing since she’ll likely be able to dig into her past and realize that Joanna’s story doesn’t add up. When Patricia tried to reduce her to her cancer and said that’s all she would ever be, Joanna took that advice in a big way and went over to get things going with Jordan, which was certainly awkward and will surely change how things are at work. I was thrilled to see the always terrific Martha Kelly on yet another show following her appearances on “Hacks” and “Euphoria,” and I like that she knew the number, and then letter, that Joanna was thinking of to prove that she wasn’t actually a psychic. Jackie’s $25,000 tab is definitely a red flag of addictive behavior, and Darcy being so cruelly talked down to by Patricia when she took another thing away from him isn’t going to help his mental state.

What I’m Watching: I Love That For You

I Love That For You: Season 1, Episode 4 “Impeccable She Casuals” (B+)

It’s not helpful for Joanna to think proactively about how to get out of her very awkward and inescapable situation when one of the only people who does know the truth, her mom, pivoted immediately to the positives of her hair looking straight, the fact that she’s having fun, and that she’s ultimately still raising real money for real kids with cancer. It probably also isn’t a good thing that Patricia now does have cancer and isn’t eager to talk about it, since Joanna is now at risk both of telling someone else that information and confessing to Patricia that she’s been making this up all along. Beth Ann is closest to the truth out of anyone, but Darcy isn’t putting much weight in that theory, which might be enough to get her to move on. Beth Ann has her own issues at home related to not having had sex for ten months, something that seemed to horrify and disgust Darcy, and he’s about to make a very bad decision by buying an expensive bag on Patricia’s titanium card. This episode was a fantastic showcase for Molly Shannon, who got out of the car and screamed at the speaker at McDonald’s because the woman wouldn’t just give her a McFlurry without the ice cream, and then she started being uncooperative on the air, earning her a near-immediate reprimand from an unamused Patricia, who has no interest in having her hand forced by noncompliance. There may be hope for romance between Joanna and Jordan after all, provided the circumstances don’t get too complicated and Joanna doesn’t lean too heavily into the relationship.

Take Three: I Love That For You

I Love That For You: Season 1, Episode 3 “#JoannaStrong” (B+)

I enjoyed the opportunity to see Jason Schwartzman back as Ethan at the start of this episode, rubbing his new girlfriend in Joanna’s face before a fan wanted a picture with her and then holding four boxes of condoms as he proposed with an insanely shiny ring. This did propel her to try to make things happen with Jordan, which was an uncomfortable series of events that found her being way too into Jordan’s band’s show and marketing it to a much wider audience that he wanted. Fortunately, after initially lashing out because he was overwhelmed by the size of the crowd, it all ended up being pretty wonderful, and they even almost got to kiss! Patricia pushing a cancerthon is only going to make things more complicated since the truth will inevitably come to light. She also has a tremendous social media following now that she’s on the show, and while that consists mostly of adoring fans, they’ll also surely do some research into her background that could be revealing. I like the spotlight on some of the supporting characters, like Patricia, who has her butler deliver a gift basket to her overnight houseguests, and Darcy, who is planning to go to a wedding and didn’t get quite the emotional support he might have liked from his friend Beth Ann. I also liked Joanna’s reaction to being forced to Venmo a coworker a dollar for eating her personal fruit without realizing it, apparently something that happens quite often there.

Round Two: I Love That For You

I Love That For You: Season 1, Episode 2 “Faux Florals” (B+)

It’s no surprise that Joanna is being told to continually mention her cancer on-air, and I think she’s aware of how it sounds for her to casually say it in the middle of a sales pitch which, on its own, would likely be very effective. It’s interesting to hear how her parents feel about her having lied since they know that she doesn’t have cancer anymore, with her mom supportive and her dad not into it. But as Darcy and Beth Ann continue to feign kindness and practice anything but, she’s seeing how she can be equally petty and get what she wants, like getting Beth Ann’s dressing room taken away from her when she went to her number one fan Patricia to ask for it. Jordan went way overboard with stocking her room, and though he seems sincere in his affection, I do hope it doesn’t result in Joanna getting embarrassed or hurt. She’s found a great ally in Jackie but the terror on her face was palpable when Jackie repeated to her just how much she hated liars when they went out together in wigs. While I can’t imagine this show’s depiction of the home shopping television industry is meant to be entirely accurate, I did appreciate that Patricia insisted that “Jack-adversary” was intentionally mispronounced so that people would use the wrong code at checkout. That was a less explicitly deliberate tactic than the one she used to get Marty to call in and pretend they were still a happy couple, something that got Jackie furious and ready to take a stand.

Pilot Review: I Love That For You

Check out my one-minute take on every new pilot, which is embedded below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.