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Grudge
Match
Arnold’s grandparents are the types of characters that really
defy expectations. You normally wouldn’t
expect much from elderly characters, but look of what they’ve
accomplished. They’ve raised their
grandson for most of his life, run a boarding house to this day, and are very
active and full of energy in many activities usually reserved for youth. However, some cartoons show believable
anxieties from them when it comes to certain challenges, particularly Grandpa.
Here, he gets into an incident with the Pataki
family when they both back their cars into each other, damaging them. It’s impossible to tell who’s really to
blame, so they have to settle the matter of who’s going to pay with a
competition. Playing to Big Bob’s
capabilities, it’s golf. Claiming to have
been playing it since he was five, Big Bob no doubt poses as a big challenge
with great attention to detail in his performance. This comes with particular disregard for his
caddie, his own daughter Helga, whom he has to bribe in order to get her to work
for him.
As for Grandpa, for all his
accomplishments despite his age throughout the series, playing golf turns out
to be out of his skillset. There’s even
a funny bit where he thinks he’s really good at the sport, but he turns out to
be thinking of tennis instead. Also, no
matter how hard he trains, he can’t get up to the level he needs to avoid
paying the fine and just causes mishaps.
Out of the despair that he’s going to lose the golf match, Grandpa
decides to run away, but Arnold convinces Grandpa to fight through his
anxieties. This advice is surprisingly honest saying that Grandpa will most likely lose. However, it’s better for Grandpa to face the
challenge instead of cowardly running away from it. The hard cold
facts are considered, but this advice is very beneficial to how much better people can feel if they just
deal with what they fear.
Even if it
also sets up Grandpa to accept the possibility of losing, he gets help to win
anyway. Playing an earlier scene to his
advantage, during the golf game, Grandpa remembers the golf tips picked up from
a golf video he constantly watched.
Muttering the poems to himself at each hole allows him to put up a
strong challenge against Big Bob. This
is no doubt an interesting turn of events regarding how Grandpa surprises
everyone by how good he turns out to be at the sport. There are even a few creative gags like when
his ball ends up in a water hazard and hits a fish out instead, but the ball
still goes into the hole when the fish breathes. All this said, Grandpa’s progress kind of
devalues the message that he should keep playing even if he loses. The cartoon set itself up to teach that you
don’t have to be good at everything which is quite mature. With Grandpa starting to put up a great
competition, it seems like there’s nothing he can’t do. Reality does ensue when at the last hole, he
messes up and has to get the ball in the hole from a cuisse to win. It’s another creative instance, but with the
help of a feeble golf poem, Grandpa makes the shot anyway and wins it all.
Even if it goes against the prior interesting
direction, I do admire Grandpa’s newfound strategy which clearly has good
thought put into it. While on the whole,
this cartoon is pretty basic, it has value in its relatability when it comes to
facing something you’ve never done before.
B+
Polishing
Rhonda
Considering how opinionated and materialistic Rhonda is, it’s
a great turn of events that all her starring roles find new ways to make her
realize the flaws in her worldview. So
far, she’s learned to accept what people look like and how they behave. Here, circumstances have her learn about manners,
something she’s surprised to find she lacks.
This is also an opportunity to bond with the huge tough girl of PS 118,
Big Patty. It’s remarkable how many kids
have learned about how humble she really is.
We’ve already seen Helga and Harold realize this, and now Rhonda does
the same. At the same time, you’d think
the real Big Patty would be better known.
Anyway, everything unfolds with Rhonda showing off one of her latest
styles, a custom fit shoe. Big Patty accidently trips over her scuffing the
shoe, Rhonda insults her fashion in response, and a fight breaks out. It’s after this when fate has them both
attend a polishing academy where kids show and build up their etiquette skills. While Big Patty is mostly here to make new
friends, Rhonda is here as part of family customs. With all this said, even in a high class
setting where her behavior is judged, Rhonda’s etiquette is much less than
desirable. She’s pushy when getting
punch, very particular about what’s offered during tea, and only cares about
talking about herself and her possessions.
Big Patty is basically the opposite of all this, and excels in just a
few sessions. Just by watching her in
all the etiquette exercises it becomes hard to believe that people would ever
think she’s an all-out brute.
As for
Rhonda, she’s horrified at being labeled as a total snob, and for the sake of
her reputation, turns to the most revered student of the academy, Big Patty,
for help. Despite apparent reluctance,
Big Patty does guide Rhonda through the process of good behavior, and it
appears to easily rub off on her. For
good measure, Big Patty even starts legitimately bonding with Rhonda as a
friend, which she could use more of. Her
teachings really prove effective during finals at the polishing academy where
Rhonda acts so polite, the Madame in charge turns her preconceived notions of
her around. That said, I don’t really
see how one good session is enough to name Rhonda class valedictorian when Big
Patty showed great manners right from the start.
Now despite all of Big Patty’s help, Rhonda
still has a bit of snob in her. She not
only turns down an invitation for a slumber party with Big Patty for selfish
reasons, but doesn’t give her any credit for her change in behavior. This would make her despicable, but it’s
thankfully avoided as she looks guilty shortly afterward. Sealing the deal is when Big Patty once again
accidentally scuffs another girl’s nice new shoes. Rhonda notices this, and shows no hesitation
to stand up for Big Patty when she’s berated.
It may not seem like much, but for Rhonda to value friendship over
fashion is pretty big from her perspective.
Moments like this show for all her faults, she can show humanity and
figure out what’s more important. There
just happen to be many aspects of her materialistic worldview for her to
overcome. Even with that, it’s great to
see the tact and genuine development going into doing just that.
A
The Ranking
- Headless Cabbie
- Helga’s Parrot
- Oskar Can’t Read?
- Dinner for Four
- The Beeper Queen
- Stinky’s Pumpkin
- It Girl
- Polishing Rhonda
- Weighing Harold
- Big Gino
- Chocolate Turtles
- Friday the 13th
- Grudge Match
- Phoebe Skips
- Eugene’s Birthday
- Student Teacher
- Love and Cheese
- Jamie O in Love
- Deconstructing Arnold
- Full Moon
The next Hey Arnold review astounds as it covers a holiday special about Veterans' Day.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Night Life" and "Deep Dive" from Star vs the Forces of Evil.
If you would like to check out other Hey Arnold reviews on this blog, click here for the guide made especially for them.
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