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The season finale of Cougar Town is here, which means it's wedding time! Many expected the show would be canceled after this season, and while its run on ABC is done, fans can look forward to Cougar Town on TBS next fall. The cul-de-sac comedy is TBS' star acquisition and should do well on a network where lower ratings don't mean certain death.
In "My Life, Your World," Jules plans her bachelorette party based on Grayson's complaint that his life is too much like the movie "Groundhog Day." Then the big moment: Will they have a lavish wedding? Will they elope? Will they play Penny Can at the reception? Let's find out!
Crowding Grayson and the Death of Penny Can
The wedding is just a few weeks away, and Grayson is finally putting his house up for sale. Jules has cut the guest list to 80 people, give or take 61, and Grayson wonders why she always needs to be surrounded by people. Cutaway to the gang around Jules' kitchen table at 6:30 a.m. I'm surprised they haven't cracked open the wine yet.
The title banner reads "Hopefully this is only the SEASON finale," but we know better. Thank you, Ted Turner!
As the gals discuss Jules' bachelorette party (see best line #1), Grayson points out that everyone is once again gathered around his kitchen and his life is like "Groundhog Day." It's his favorite movie, but Jules has never seen it (Preposterous I know, but who am I to judge? I've never seen "The Godfather"). Or so she says. She's seen it six times, but just doesn't get it. For her party, she wants to put on a tiara, watch the movie and have the girls explain it to her.
Grayson tries to get some quiet time by reading a book, but the gang somehow finds their way into his bedroom (Andy has to dress like Grayson for a double bounce in Penny Can - See best line #2). I'm sensing a theme here, and wonder how many times someone or everyone will crash Grayson's alone party in a special hour-long finale? Six? Seven? That's a lot of time to fill.
Grayson finds out Jules had keys made for everyone, and he bugs out and punches a hole in the wall. It's off to therapy for the happy couple, where they talk about stress. Therapist Lynn tells Grayson he is not only marrying Jules, but also everyone in her life. And she tells Jules that Grayson needs some privacy, so Jules decides to make the bedroom his own private island. No one else is allowed in, but we'll see how long that lasts.
The bachelorette party is under way, and "Ho-stradamus" Laurie is right, it's lame. Jules really doesn't get "Groundhog Day." She understands that Bill Murray is stuck in the same day, but doesn't get why everyone else doesn't realize they are too. She speculates they must be robots.
Meanwhile, Penny Can is going through an identity crisis with all the new rules Andy and Bobby have added. Travis says it's not fun anymore. He requests a throwback, no-frills game, and it's even less fun. Penny Can, much like what many people expected for the series, is dead. They interrupt the party to break the news, but Jules sends them to bug someone else. And Grayson once again finds everyone in his bedroom (crowd interruption No. 3), even poor Tom, who falls from the ladder without anyone caring. Grayson pulls the pin on Ellie's imaginary grenade and tells Laurie that her co-maid of honor status came purely out of pity.
The Destruction of the Cul-De-Sac
The world is crumbling and everyone is upset. Jules because Grayson hurt her on purpose, Grayson because he can't get any alone time, Laurie because she feels betrayed, Ellie because Grayson used her grenade, Andy and Bobby over the death of Penny Can and Travis because he killed Penny Can! (I just felt like the Micro Machines guy) Oh, and Tom is in a wheelchair. He's the only one whose pain is physical. Good thing he's a doctor. Will they possibly be able to resolve all those issues in the 40 minutes that are left?
Travis desperately tries to come up with a way to reboot Penny Can (see best line No. 3), but Andy and Bobby aren't having it. Laurie, Grayson and Ellie decide it's all Jules' fault, so they scheme a way to get her to realize it. And oh yeah, it's Groundhog Day!
Jules Cobb, Weatherman
Jules' alarm clock goes off and 6 a.m. to Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe," and everyone repeats the exact same conversations as the day before. She hates it.
Travis saves Penny Can by linking it to father-son bonding and getting little Stan to ask big Stan to toss copper with him. Pen-ney Can!
The "Groundhog Day" routine continues into another day. But Jules can't re-live the pain again, so she finally apologizes and takes her share of the blame. Halfway through the finale, she finally figures out why Phil Connors finally gets to move on to the next day. She wants to make Grayson happy, and he wants their relationship to, sometimes, be just theirs. He suggests they elope, and she's on board. So it's off to Napa for a low-key wedding! That is, until everyone else arrives (interruption No. 4). "Not what I meant by just us," Grayson says.
The (called-off?) Napa Wedding
They have one day to plan their wedding (see best line No. 4), and Laurie is making a cul-de-sac cake, since that's where the relationship began. She also wants to use real asphalt. While she works on that, a few sparks fly between her and Travis, the day before his 21st birthday. Jules is getting married on Travis' birthday? Weird. Anyway, it looks like Travis' post Penny Can-saving plot line will be finally getting together with Laurie.
Grayson explains to Jules what he meant by eloping, just the two of them, which she totally missed. So she agrees, in an empty gesture, to ask them all to leave so the wedding can happen in private (which Jules says they'll never agree to). But all she has to do to make Grayson happy is ask. Something tells me this is about to backfire, and ... we get quick interludes of Travis drinking wine at midnight, David Arquette guest-starring as the creepy concierge helping plan the reception, Jules asking her dad to get ordained so he can do the ceremony and Travis and Laurie nearly kissing before Laurie's Army boyfriend suddenly shows up in Napa, and then ... they all agree to leave so the couple can have a private wedding.
Jules is crushed, but Grayson says they were just messing with her and that he realizes marrying her means marrying everyone. He drops to one knee and proposes to the group, and all is right in the world again (although as part of the agreement, he has to finance Bobby and Andy's movie, "Bromancing the Stone").
There are only three obstacles left to the perfect wedding. We've got the Travis-Laurie love triangle, Jules' dad trying to figure how not to cry at the wedding (see best line No. 5) and the effort to get Grayson's daughter to Napa.
Travis gets drunk (and naked) and professes his feelings for Laurie, and Jules decides to stick with the originally planned wedding date so little Tampa can be there. And just like that, we're headed back to Florida.
A Sunshine State Wedding?
Travis goes from Napa couch to Florida couch without waking up, then remembers what he did and is naturally horrified, to everyone else's delight. But they assure him that Laurie will come around one day and won't be able to take her eyes off him.
Jules and Grayson recap the events for Lynn, who tells them that it will always be important for them to stay spontaneous since they're both set in their ways. So cut to: Jules and Grayson wrapped in a blanket on the beach. They throw off said blanket and emerge wearing a wedding dress and a tux (respectively). They call to their friends, Jules' dad rides in on his horse (which he never cries in front of) and we get our wedding! Tom and Tampa are there, but not Lynn (who two seconds ago received a notepad invitation). Photographer Travis apologizes to Laurie, who can't stop staring at him. The cops try and bust up the illegal beach ceremony, so they take it on the move down the shoreline. As they walk along the water, Jules and Grayson are pronounced husband and wife. He kisses the bride, the gang intercepts the police and Grayson and Jules ride the horse off into the sunset (aren't cliches beautiful?).
And so this season of "Cougar Town" is in the books! Without question, this episode would have served well as a series finale as well, if that had been the case, so props to the writers for covering their bases. It'll be interesting to see where they go next season on TBS. What did you think of the finale? Are you glad the show is coming back, or are you basically indifferent? And are you going to watch on TBS?
Best Lines:
"There is this quaint little strip club in Tampa called The Stud Farm. It looks like a stable, all the snacks come in these little feed bags, and for a couple extra bucks, you can ride the guys around like horses and they will nibble sugar cubes off of your bouncies." - Laurie
"Looks like V-necks are all the rage in Douchburg." - Andy
"Let's face it. Penny Can was just a boring game about getting a tiny round thing into a hole, over and over and over. That's just not something a man can do everyone weekend for the rest of his life." - Bobby, while playing golf
"I can't believe we're in Napa. (Chokes up) I'm sorry, it's just, well, I feel like I'm meeting God." - Jules, with wine glass in hand.
"You know how I keep from crying? I have two little secrets. My nuts. Peace out, sir." - Grayson
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