Review: The Awesomes ‘Destination Deading’

Spoilers Below:

I can relate to the feelings about destination weddings expressed in the latest episode of The Awesomes, entitled “Destination Deading.” Indeed, they really are “like a vacation, but at an inconvenient time, twice as expensive, not where you actually want to go, and instead of a having a vacation, you go to a wedding.” Although sometimes they can be a blast (Dana: If you happen to be reading this, I can’t wait to go to your wedding in South Carolina in October) sometimes the trip can just be a drag.

In this week’s installment, the gang headed to Catalina Island for the union of Muscle Man’s sister Abby, and a talking ape-man named David Apelstein. During the ceremony, an ape assassin (wonderfully voiced by Colin Quinn) attempted to take out The Awesomes, but was of course thwarted by the crew.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that Malocchio is currently with Mr. Awesome in a spaceship somewhere. The latter saved the former from the explosion because he believed Malocchio still had some good inside him. They bonded over food & their families.

In Case You Missed It:

1) Dr. Malocchio believed he might get into heaven because he “once did a 5k run for breast cancer.”

2) Malocchio commented that his daughter, Hotwire, “Was saved from the explosion by a teleporting alcoholic.” We miss you, Larry. Please come back.

3) David Apelstein is from Apesylvania, and went to Ape Elementary, Ape High School, and Monkey College (not to be confused with Montclair College.)

4) Muscle Man tried to convince Prock the wedding would be great by saying, “There are going to be so many hot, single girls there – only half of which are apes.”

5) Frantic accepts everyone’s friend request – even Malocchio Jr.

6) Was it just me, or did it seem like almost every ape was played by Bobby Moynihan? Including the one that chided Prock, saying, “I’m Disappointment Man, I’m too important to talk to my fans.”

7) Perfect Man, while impersonating Gadget Gal, mentioned Ty Cobb, Winston Churchill, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Orson Wells, in what we can only assume is a list of people she has boned. However, I preferred his impression of Impresario better. (“Someone conjure up my mommy.”)

8) I loved when the ape assassin missed his opportunity to object during the wedding ceremony but was told by the official, “I guess it’s okay, you were pretty close.”

I had a couple minor issues with this episode. First, the conflict felt a little flat. Malocchio Jr. didn’t have any direct contact with any of the Awesomes, so the whole ape assassin/ape army thing was a bit of a cop-out. I understand they need to stretch this new antagonist’s role out to a full season, but Junior/Purseman is best when shown as the weenie that he truly is. Still, I enjoyed the ample opportunities for his mom to have dialogue, because I loved Maya Rudolph’s annoying voice for the character.

Also, there was barely any advancement of the plot. Jaclyn was barely shown, Hotwire only received a passing mention, and the only progression involved Dr. Malocchio and Mr. Awesome.

In the end, though, it’s hard to deduct more than a couple points, because the episode was very funny. Every character had at least one funny line, and most of them had numerous ones. Muscle Man, his family, and David’s family provided lots of opportunities for laughs, and the running “children discouraged” jokes with Sumo were a good source of humor as well.

Although this episode didn’t feel as complete or fulfilling as it could have been, it was still a fun time.

Kind of like a destination wedding.