Review: Two and a Half Men - Yay, No Polyps

(S07E13) There was a strange break in this episode of Two and a Half Men, like it might have been written by a couple of people who weren't communicating with each other at the time. For the most part, one half of it was very funny. For the other part, however, the jokes were lame and the situation strained. It all added up to an odd night, which is probably kind of how Charlie felt when he got himself cornered into a tricky situation. More after the jump.

Charlie is a lying scumbag. No surprise there. But when faced with the prospect of spending time with Chelsea's parents in Illinois, he scrambled for an excuse and came up with -- wait for it -- a colonoscopy! Oh yes, he volunteered to have a camera snaked into his intestines rather than meet the parents.

How funny that it took Alan to question the wisdom of Charlie's plan. Normally, Charlie is the mocker, not the mockee.

Of course, he wasn't fooling Chelsea one iota. That was the smartest thing about his episode. I think it's becoming clear that Chelsea knows Charlie better than he thinks she does. Could we be further surprised that Charlie is being manipulated and doesn't realize it till the wedding? Wouldn't that be the ultimate twist? Even better would be if Rose were involved. Maybe she's the master behind Charlie's year-long engagement to Chelsea, just to make him realize that Rose was the right woman all along... Any thoughts?

The future in-laws, Tom and Martha, showed up anyway for a visit, and this is where Two and a Half Men made a weird turn and became a comic version of Brokeback Mountain meets Ice Station Zebra. The thought of Chelsea's dad reclaiming his gay soul and deciding that he has to reunite with his 1966 sailor soulmate was unforeseen, but dumb. Quicker than you can say, Jake Gyllenhaal, Chelsea's father left his wife and was settling down with his old Navy buddy.

Far fetched? You betcha. And not particularly funny as it spun further and further away from the basic situation that was vulgar but funny, Charlie's colonscopy. Stacy Keach is a fine actor, but like a lot of other guest stars, he's just pushed into a bizarre characterization. When the parents turned into bigoted, small-minded zealots, they lost all credibility.

In the end -- no pun intended -- Charlie was in the clear. He thinks he's off the hook for lying to Chelsea, but really, is he? The bottom line is that Charlie really doesn't want to get married so why is this engagement lingering on?

[Watch clips from Two and a Half Men on SlashControl.]