My Name is Earl 4.5: “Sweet Johnny”

It’s hard to say exactly what to think of this episode. Compared to the previous 4 that have aired so far this season, “Sweet Johnny” had probably the least amount of pure balls-out comedy. Well, maybe that’s not entirely true. Joy, as always, provided most of the belly laughs, first by running after her carjacked car (does this mean we won’t see it again after this episode?), and then by revealing herself to be one of the most staggeringly inept gun owners in gun-owning history. It takes a lot, after all, to shoot yourself twice, especially when both times you’re just holstering your weapon. Still, the main storyline started off as typical Earl raucousness but then went off in an unusual direction that, even as I type this, I’m still not entirely sure was successful.

It’s not that there was anything wrong with the character of Sweet Johnny. Played, appropriately enough, by David Arquette (Scream), he fit in perfectly with the other denizens of Camden County. An impossibly brave and equally impossibly dimwitted daredevil (which is to say, Steve-O in Evel Knievel’s wardrobe), Sweet Johnny fascinated Earl both because of his optimistic disposition and his hot girlfriend. In one of the meanest things Earl has ever done, he duped his eager yet obtuse friend into trying out increasingly dangerous and pointless stunts so that Earl could spend some time with Johnny’s girl Sheila. We never actually saw most of these (well, except for the exploding chair) but we did see the aftermath, mainly Johnny bedridden in agony while Earl and Sheila rocked his van. Personally, I was curious about the one that Earl referred to as “the simple yet unpredictable Rocket Unicycle”, but maybe that one’s best left to our imaginations. When Earl attempts to make it up to Johnny, he discovers that Johnny suffers from that condition that Hollywood writers will forever value: short-term memory loss. Johnny, injured while putting on his pants one morning, now can never remember anything past the summer of 1999 (hence his constantly repeated greeting: “Wazzzzuuuupppp!”), and always thinks it’s the day before his biggest stunt. After many identical attempts to apologize and atone, all useless because the next day Johnny can’t remember a thing, Earl is finally forced to give up and admit that he may never find a way to make it up to him. Thus, a watershed moment: the first list item Earl has failed in crossing off.

So yes, many funny moments. And yes, a bittersweet ending, much like this season’s earlier “The Magic Hour”. Still, it’s hard to put my finger on why I found this episode somewhat unsatisfying, unlike “The Magic Hour”, which I thought worked better. Part of it, of course, is that it’s meant to be unsatisfying, since Earl failed. And since Earl admits that he has no chance to succeed (and it’s highly unlikely Sweet Johnny will return, since he’s really a one-joke character), the lack of closure is understandable. Nonetheless, I just thought that the second half of this episode, especially the part with all the reiterations, was rather low-key and lacked the energy that the 4 previous episodes delivered in spades. Also, I feel an obligation to point out that, contrary to what Earl said in the episode, Ricky Martin is Puerto Rican, not Cuban, although it makes sense that Earl wouldn’t know or understand the difference. It’s entirely possible, though, that “Sweet Johnny” will grow on me as I watch it again. Last season, for instance, I thought “Creative Writing” was long and repetitive, but watching it again recently I found I enjoyed it much more and it’s now one of my favorites. Plus, I’m certainly not ready to call this one the season’s first clinker, not with Joy and her gun. Let’s just say that if the first 4 episodes averaged out to an A-, then this one falls more in B- range. Good effort, some good parts, but not as sterling as others. No hard feelings, Earl, but do try a little harder next time.