THE WEDDING, PART 2

Production #177-961
Tape: November 12, 2004
Air: January 14, 2005

Starring
Amanda Bynes (Holly Tyler)
Jennie Garth (Valerie Tyler)
Wesley Jonathan (Gary Thorpe) 
Leslie Grossman (Lauren)
Nick Zano (Vince)
Allison Munn (Tina Haven)

Special Appearance By
Gavin DeGraw 

Guest Starring
David de Lautour (Ben Sheffield)
Ed Kerr (Rick Allen)

Co-Starring
 Ron Ostrow (Minister)
 Susan Dallan (Melody)

Written by 
Caryn Lucas

Directed by
Shelley Jensen

EPISODE SYNOPSIS/REVIEW

     Something we never wanted to see at the end of this episode of "What I Like About You" -- the closest a Jennie Garth-portrayed character has come to wedded bliss, but shot down. But we did enjoy that she ended it on her own terms, and in surprising manner, on the "What I Like About You" episode that aired tonight on the WB, "The Wedding, Part Two".

     The first part that aired back in the dark ages (seemingly), 49 days ago, ended with Holly's revelation that the tryst between Rick and Julie was totally engineered by him, not her as he had said. With not much time to weigh the "he said, she said" aspects of Rick and Julie's comments about the get-together, Val and Holly are faced with quite the dilemma. Val thinks Julie is lying. Holly thinks there's still time to Val to bail out. As soon as Val is set to say "I do", Val asks Rick, "Did you call Julie or did Julie call you?" In a private room, Val demands to know the truth. "I screwed up!" said Rick. "I was freaking out." Rick tries to reaffirm his love for Val, but Val's not buying. "Fears?" questions Val. Meanwhile, outside Holly is trying to play "Win, Lose or Draw" with the wedding invitees. (Only in America.)  Rick says marrying Val is taking a "chance". But Val wants a sure thing. She says "I can't do this," handing him back her engagement ring and walking away. 

     Holly and Val (gradually getting drunk) then try to make sense of it all. "Anybody else would have married him," says Holly. Val misses her reception she missed out on, and Holly recommends she celebrate anyway. But it does nothing to perk up Val. However, one person does perk up Val: Gavin DeGraw. She starts talking with him and suggests he play "Follow Through". And right in the middle, she kisses Gavin. There is someone who worked with Rick, Gary's new friend Melody, who brands Rick a "control freak" and also tells Gary about Vince and Tina. Later in the episode, Gary claims to have hooked up with Tina last night, therefore outing Gary. Vince tells Gary to not tell Holly, despite Gary's track record for keeping secrets. (Example: Vince once wrote Celine Dion a fan letter.) 

     Back at the loft, Val can't stop thinking about "what if", and that Val intimates that Holly ruined her wedding. "I was saving you!" And Val tells Holly that she will spend two months with someone who loves her -- Ben, as he shoves off for the Jack Johnson tour with Holly in tow. We see a gleeful Holly getting her things ready -- maybe too gleeful, though. Ben sees that Holly is sad inside about her sister's busted wedding, and that maybe she needs her sister more than she needs to go away with Ben for two months. Holly then goes back to the loft to pick up Ben's songbook, and finds Val on the terrace, still in her wedding dress. Val says "I need you." The sisters make up from her "off day". Val admits she's glad Holly told her. And Holly reinforces that someday Val will find someone who's as ready as she is. And then Ben comes back and tells Holly he never really left his songbook at the loft. It was a ruse, really, to get Holly to go back and realize that yes, she needs her sister.    

     Perhaps the biggest supporter of Val's romances of late has been Holly, and you see how much more protective she's become of her big sis over the past season. After all, it was Holly who blew the lid off of the Rick/Julie meeting, and took the initiative to get Julie's story during a visit to Julie's analyst. So comparatively, how do we rank Rick along with the other "greats" Val has been associated with in the past two and a half years of the series? Assuming this is his last episode, Ed Kerr fleshed out a wonderful portrait of a guy who, though engaged, still had feelings for his old school chum Val. You could say Val's actions are payback for (a) what he did to Julie at the altar and (b) his tryst with her at the pizzeria -- which he initiated -- and then apparently proceeded to lie to Val about. Compared to the amicable split of Jeff and Val over his commitment phobia, and the gradual disappearance of Peter, the Rick-Val split is really the crushing of an unwanted bug with a four-inch spike heel. The slimy, lying Rick almost makes the bald guy from "The Odd Couple" look like a prize catch.

     There ain't a whole lot you can say about this episode except I hope to God your friends weren't watching Amber Tamblyn try to sing. Tonight, more than any night, it was about the sisters being there for each other, with wonderfully evocative performances by both Amanda Bynes and Jennie Garth. Taking full advantage of a Caryn Lucas script that needed to exude warmth and love, the girls proved their mettle not just as comedic actresses, but as actresses. Over the course of the two parts of this episode, there were more opportunities for the peripheral cast to get noticed, including great give and take by Nick Zano and Allison Munn before and after their tryst, and Leslie Grossman fighting a losing battle with her bridesmaid dress. The only thing missing was having Holly get some digs in at Rick, because she would have taken it very personally. Give this series full credit for knocking off a two-parter in the course of one week, since it gives Amanda a clear slate now for promotion of "Robots" and filming her next movie.

SHOW NOTES

Valerie is referred to in the wedding vows as Valerie Kelly. This may be a reference to Val's old "Beverly Hills 90210" role as Kelly Taylor; but we aren't sure of the change in nomenclature.

From "What I Like About You" Fan Site at ABNOW! (http://www.amandabynesnow.com/wb/)