The Neighbors 2.17 “Balle Balle” Recap

Morning comes at the Weaver home and the kids aren’t happy about Debbie making her gluten free flaxseed pancakes. Instead of eating them, Abby eats a face out of hers and creates a mask and things don’t get much better in non-food related business, since Max is doing a volcano for school, Abby is going to use her piggy bank money for a second horse doll rather than rain boots, and Amber makes a steady stream of cracks about her parents being old. As the kids leave to get ready for school, Jackie and Larry come over, the latter waving an envelope that demands an explanation. When asked about it, he explains that he got invited to his co-worker Jay’s authentic Indian wedding and that he plans on being the center of attention, with Jackie chiming in that she wants to wear a white gown.

Jackie and Larry recoil when the Weavers try to explain the finer points of wedding attendance; Larry, in particular, is upset at the Weavers thinking he’s incompetent, but when he returns home to work on his speech and watch a series of Indian wedding movies Reggie rented, he finds that he can’t switch between the TV and DVD on his remote. Over at the Weaver’s, Marty and Debbie marvel at having time to themselves with no alien interruption and decide to use their newfound freedom as an excuse to have a picnic and put their picnic basket, which they got at their wedding, to use. However, none of the kids want to go with them – Max would rather go to a funeral; Amber is too busy making ironic vines; and Abby promised Horsey that they’d have a tea party.

Back at the Bird-Kersee’s, the family watches Bollywood movies to get an idea for their wedding present for Jay and Larry introduces the concept of balle balle – go big or go home. Since the Weavers are always telling them no, Larry suggests they go big with their gift and soon, the family sings and dances around the living room. They get noticed by some of the other aliens and after another brief dance interlude in the living room, they go outside and get all the aliens in the community to sing along. It is then decided that Larry’s gift for Jay will be a big Bollywood musical number and he then gets the dinner orders of the aliens that will be accompanying him to the wedding. Larry takes a few aliens into the house and calls for ideas on how to make their number special, all of which have to do with penguins. He agrees to them all, as well as requests for a gorilla and Justin Bieber, just as Marty and Debbie pack their picnic basket full of rice cakes. They hear a commotion coming from Amber’s room and find Amber filming a lava explosion from Max’s volcano, which is covering some of Debbie’s pancakes and Abby’s dolls in goo. Debbie and Marty try to get the kids to let them stay, but they get a rude awakening when Abby tells them they’re no fun and that’s why the kids don’t want to do anything with them.

Next door, the Bird-Kersees have acquired alpacas, fire eaters, sword swallowers, and a gorilla, among other things, in preparation for their Bollywood number. However, with one hour to go until the wedding, the band is very discordant and the clashing of the elements is becoming more apparent. Jackie thinks that they should get the Weavers to help pare down their exuberance, though Larry won’t admit failure or that he needs the Weavers to help him out. The Weavers, meanwhile, are aching to get involved in what’s going on with Jackie and Larry, as they’re realizing that the kids are right and that they’re now the type of people who eat rice cakes and tuna. When Marty and Debbie try to put on airs that they’re having a great time, Jackie and Larry come over to request that the Weavers shut them down and deploy their fun removal machine. But Marty and Debbie don’t want to be the fun removers anymore.

Instead, they get involved in the musical number that takes the aliens onto a train and through the woods. The kids get involved, as well, and find themselves impressed by Marty and Debbie’s coolness, while the aliens and humans realize that they balance each other out in necessary ways. The group makes it to the wedding where they find out that instead of Indian, Larry’s co-worker is Native American.

Additional thoughts and observations:
-“Breakfast is a lot meaner than it used to be.”
-“Yes, Marty, but this isn’t season one anymore.”
-“I hate you, Elaine.”
-“I promised Horsey we’d have a tea party. You don’t wanna make a liar out of me, do you?”
-“Nothing says Bollywood like penguins.”
-“When did that happen? That sounds like a really good episode.”
-“You see? They’re having a fake laugh contest.”
-So, hey, everybody. I like The Neighbors quite a bit and would have covered it more regularly this season if I didn’t have time conflicts on Fridays. However, with the show’s renewal hanging in the balance, I’m going to recap the remainder of the season and try to do what I can to get us a third season of the show. If you like The Neighbors and want more Weaver/Bird-Kersee hijinx, please tell your friends to watch, watch live (if you have a Nielsen box), watch episodes on ABC.com or Hulu, buy episodes from iTunes, tweet about the show, etc. Anything will help.
-I like how Abby is maybe 6 years old and can make a Silence of the Lambs reference.
-Normally, I’m not a big fan of breaking the fourth wall, but literally every time The Neighbors does it, I laugh. My favorite thus far this season was Larry singing the opening lines of the new theme song during an awkward moment a few episodes back.
-Was Larry doing Pacino-circa-Any-Given-Sunday during his “show ’em what we’re made of” to the family?
-Nobody knows what AUX is, Dick. Nobody.
-Should the show continue, I would appreciate more comments about the Bird/Kersee someday baby Elaine and her vicious rivalry with Dick.
-I love how this episode was the show dialing up its eccentricities to 11 (the medieval executioner, the off-screen gorilla rampage, the multi-colored alpaca, Dick’s green screen during the musical number) while hitting the emotional stuff effectively without being too heavy handed. The show can sometimes veer off course when it tries to service both sides of itself, so it was nice to see everything balanced just right; this was a perfect encapsulation of what The Neighbors is and what it’s capable of doing, so if there’s somebody in your life you think would enjoy it, show them this episode.
-Fantastic outtakes. I always wonder what it takes to make a production like this and The Neighbors seems like it has a really fun set.
-That was an amazing musical number. Joyfully exuberant and silly satire while retaining respect for Bollywood. Turn the light bulb, pet the dog. Indeed.
-Next week on The Neighbors: Marty’s date night with Debbie doesn’t go as expected, while Dick finds himself smitten with his new babysitter.