bear club 4: it hurts until it doesn't.
the bear season 3 episode 4
We’ve been playing that Eddie Vedder track (“Save it for Later”) from episode 2 a lot these past few days. Man, it’s really good. So is the original version by The English Beat, but it has this very specific vibe, which is, basically, “movie trailer song.” In college we used to call them “Paul Rudd on a bike” songs. If that doesn’t immediately make sense to you, OK — close your eyes, and imagine a song that would do well accompanying scenes of Paul Rudd on a bike at the start of a movie. Chances are, it sort of sounds like this:
This is not a negative appellation, mind you. “Modern Love” by David Bowie and “Under Pressure” by Queen are also consummate movie trailer songs, though not specifically conjuring Paul Rudd on a bike. More like Paul Rudd on a bike trying to save his friend’s wedding? I don’t know.
Anyway, The Bear.
I’d never seen Molly Gordon in anything before The Bear Season 2. Now, I have seen her in lots of things. Theater Camp, Shiva Baby, and most recently Tig Notaro’s Am I OK? (All are really good. Molly Gordon, batting a thousand!) It’s odd to return to an actor playing their (to you) introductory role and to have it colored with a wider sense of their ability and experience. Not bad! But odd! In a flashback, she tells Carmy a harrowing story. We’re getting really good at these episode openings.
Today, we got ourselves a very unusual episode of The Bear. It was unusual in that it featured multiple scenes. We also checked in on most of our major characters. The scenes took place largely in chronological order. Pretty weird!
Let me say now that I'm aware that a lot of negative reviews about this season of The Bear are popping up this week. To borrow a phrase: I don't give a flying fuck into a rolling doughnut about these takesmen, and their fucking clicks. I know greatness, OK? We’re in the hands of masters. Go ahead and shoot your spitballs up at the Sistine Chapel, fucking Slate dot com. Let’s see where they land.
Some of my favorite flavors this week:
Great little scene with Tina at the farmer’s market, set to the Eno/John Cale jam “Spinning Away.” The farmer tells Tina, “what grows together goes together.” She lets that sit with her for a moment. “Spinning Away” is so good.
Wonderful exchange in the back office between Nat and Richie — an echo of the theme of “what it means to be a parent/what it means to be a kid.” Keep an eye on that!
Josh Hartnett in the house! (“And what a fuckin’ house!”-Richie) Hartnett was so incredibly good and charismatic in Oppenheimer last year, and it’s so exciting to see the momentum continuing. Hartnett was never one of my guys before. I mean, shoutout 40 Days and 40 Nights but nah. He’s one of my guys now, though. Very solidly in the gang from here on out. Quick question though: how did he age SO well? Look at my guy in his supposed heartthrob days looking like he’s playing a young Tommy Lee Jones in a JFK prequel.
OK, now fast-forward 20 years.
HOW THE FUCK!?! COUSIN—C’MON.
The other Fak brother (not Matty Matheson) is as delighted to be working at The Bear as I am to have him. “Do you think he respects me?” “No.” “As a man, not a friend.” “No.”
Obviously I gotta give it up for the Weezer needledrop — “Getchoo,” from Pinkerton, their gnarliest record, a record that expanded my mind about how rip-roaring guitars could really get. Such a perfect end-credits song that it feels like there’s no way The Bear got there first. But maybe they did!
What else? Syd got a new apartment, which feels like really the only reason we got that scene with her dad last time, but that’s fine. I like her dad. Marcus saw a flower. Was I supposed to get what the beeping was about? It was one of those things where you assume you’re just supposed to wait for an answer and I’m realizing now we never got one. Let me know if you know! See you tomorrow! The Bear!