Howie Mendel pulls his first reverse mobbing, springing a flash mob on a man trying to enlist his crew.
Flip Mobbed
I've gleaned two things about the Mobbed production process from following the show thus far: 1) everyone on the crew does everything Howie says, and 2) Howie is a little nuts. So far, that's translated to some strange aesthetic choices and pretty nonsensical mobbing narratives, but tonight his crazy idea sort of makes sense: he flips the flash mob on his mob requester, secretly ensuring that both parties are onboard. It strips the show of its awkward suspense, but it allows for a more controlled and resonant finish.
Father and Son
Tonight's mob request comes from a man named Art hoping to meet his father. The Mobbed crew tracks down the father pretty quickly, but instead of mobbing him on behalf of Art, they decide that Art will be mobbed himself.
Art's father agrees to help, and they begin planning to ambush him while he thinks he's still in the audition process.
Art of Dance
To throw him off the trail, Mandel and company convince Art that all eligible contestants must be expert dancers. Art doesn't fare well against the professionals planted as his rivals, and is understandably discouraged.
He's called in to meet with Howie personally in a bowling alley, where he is informed that he will not be meeting his father -- didn't dance nearly well enough, must not have really wanted it.
Turning Tables
Then, however, the music kicks in. Art is treated to a private cosmic-bowling-themed dance number, and then led outside to a private courtyard to the tune of "Get Ready" by the Temptations. From there he gets his tearful reunion, finally embracing his father to the strains of "I'll Be There" by the Jackson 5.
It's a poignant high for this silly show.Actually, I thought this was perhaps Mobbed's strongest episode yet, mostly for the fact that it felt most genuine. Previous episodes have focused on eliciting emotions from the victims by overwhelming them, rendering the big moments decidedly superficial. This episode was different in that we watched both sides prepare: Art wore his feelings on his sleeve the whole time, and his father's gratitude wasn't simply a product of overstimulation, it was genuine, considered emotion. That allowed the spectacle of the finale to serve as icing on the cake, resulting in a very sweet, honest hour of prank flash mobbing.
Recommendations
Punk'd: http://www.mtv.com/shows/punkd/series.jhtml
Glee: http://www.fox.com/glee/
Flight of the Conchords: http://www.hbo.com/flight-of-the-conchords/index.html
