Tonight's episode of Flight of the Conchords, in which the guys got an overzealous actor/drycleaner to help cheer Murray up, was much more cringy than usual. Not so much in terms of Office-like awkward pauses, but more that sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when you see something going wrong and know it's going to lead to hurt feelings and a painful confession. Luckily, it was funny enough to get me over my hatred of unfortunate misunderstandings as a plot device, which is just testament to my love of Flight of the Conchords.
Murray needs cheering up after another poorly-attended gig, and the guys' "Cheer Up Murray" song doesn't quite get the job done, despite the really clever photo album-style filming. Murray is just getting sadder and sadder in recent episodes, isn't he? Lost leggy blonde loves, a failed marriage, going broke taking the guys on tour... Poor Murray! The guys agree with me, and decide to enlist Ben, an amateur actor they met at their gig (played by Will Forte), to cheer Murray up by calling him as a record executive who likes the band's music, but feels it isn't right for his label. Unfortunately, at this point in the call Murray starts crying, and Ben offers Conchords a record deal. Whoops. After negotiating an awesome contract involving $2 million, lunchboxes, and a Lord of the Rings-themed music video, Murray's spirits have never been higher.
The guys, on the other hand, are feeling a wee bit guilty, especially when Murray assumes there will be record label money coming and spends all his money on the music video and a big party for the band. Managing the band might actually be a more expensive midlife crisis for Murray than buying a sports car or becoming some hot blonde's sugar daddy would have been. Sad. The "Frodo: Don't Wear the Ring" music video, incidentally, is hilarious. Jemaine makes a shockingly awesome hobbit, and Bret puts his elf portrayal experience to good use. Despite the sweet rapping, however, it could never top the mother of all Lord of the Rings music videos. Sorry, guys, but Leonard Nimoy singing about "the greatest little hobbit of them all" is too much for any mere mortal to take on. Still, check out the second-place hobbit awesomeness:
The guys' confession and Murray's subsequent disappointment is (as expected) pretty hard to take, especially since Murray is now forced to live in the office and use his microwave as a clothesdryer for his underwear. Would that even work? Happily, though, Murray is able to see past his complete humiliation and recount the brilliance with which he handled the (totally fake) contract negotiations. Unhappily, for me at least, next week is the season finale of Conchords, and although it's been renewed for a second season (YAY!), I imagine we'll be Conchords-less for quite some time in between. So be sure and tune in next Sunday!
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