TCGS Episode Review: Won’t You Go to the Under the Sea Gender Fluid Poly Prom with Me?
The Chris Gethard Show Episode Review: Won’t You Go to the Under the Sea Gender Fluid Poly Prom with Me?
Along with its silly recurring characters, quirky bits and fan call-ins, The Chris Gethard Show has been consistent with providing an open, welcoming environment since its start on the UCB stage. This show is especially a fit for misfits who, as Chris said at the top of the show, “can let their guards down.”
The one time in life weirdos typically feel left out and insecure? Prom. Remember high school prom? The worst. But Chris wanted to change all that by hosting a laidback, all-inclusive prom for the April 20 episode. And thus, the Under the Sea Gender Fluid Poly Prom was born. Hey, it may be cool and progressive, but it’s still a prom – there’s no escaping a theme.
The “under the sea” part came about thanks to the show’s celebrity guest, Lena Dunham, whose one request for her appearance was to dress as a mermaid. Cue co-host Shannon O’Neill dressed as a turtle (“neither teenage, or mutant, nor ninja”), Bethany Hall as the ocean, and of course Human Fish to round out the aquatic atmosphere. Audience members embraced the theme too, arriving in their wackiest and most metallic prom best. Chris even provided dance breaks in between bits for fans to open up and interact with each other, just like at a real prom (awww!).
The show got underway with callers rather quickly, using the top of the show as a platform for high school kids to ask out their prospective prom dates live on air. Chris and Lena made a conscious effort to emphasize they wanted to support the askers, without putting unwanted pressure on the people they were asking.
“If I think they are sending out good, non-destructive energy I’ll wingman them,” Lena said. “But if I feel like someone is going to be inappropriate with their prom date or do something that could be emotionally destructive, I’m not going to be help them.” Fair enough! Whether it was because of the bold move of asking out their crushes live on a TV show, or their good, happy energy, each of the callers ended the show with a date to prom. Success all around.
There were visits from recurring character Vacation Jason (Riley Soloner), who did a weird bit about the punch bowls, and Human Fish’s mother, a neurotic, religious mom (“You know what the Bible says about mermaids? Nothing! Because if God can’t say something nice, he doesn’t say anything at all.”). But the real gems of the show came when audience members revealed their most awkward prom stories while “dancing” with an immobile, chair-bound Lena (the mermaid fin struggle, amiright?).
One guy got an erection during his first slow dance, and his date left him and his erect penis alone on the dance floor. Another guy took a gas station sex pill to relieve his post-intercourse anxiety, and passed out in an itchy fit on their prom boat. The best was probably the girl who tricked her parents into signing an age of consent form when she was 16, and then marrying her high school boyfriend in front of the whole school. (Yes, they got it annulled the next day.) Each anecdote was funny in its own right, but these true tales really got to the heart of what The Chris Gethard Show is all about: A bunch of weirdos coming together, letting their guards down, sharing something special and hopefully leaving feeling a little bit happier. The same goes for those of us who are watching at home.
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Christina Stiehl
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