If you like this review and want to stay updated for what else I have in store, become a follower of this blog, click here to like the official Facebook page, and click here to follow me on Twitter. Now on with today's review:
Net Gains
Whatever your opinion is about Lynn, it’s an unfortunate
truth that she doesn’t have much development.
She’s all about playing extreme sports which often tends to make her
rough around other people. This comes
with a huge desire to win everything she plays complete with extreme
superstitious rituals which usually makes for some of the most divisive or most
hated cartoons. It's
somewhat of a blessing that while it isn’t much, it’s very nice that this cartoon
finally starts giving Lynn some development when it comes to winning.
She goes out for the girls’ basketball league
since that’s a sport she still needs to get a win in as part of something
called FLIBBR. To her dismay, she ends
up coaching a team of girls’ who aren’t very good. If I can be frank, I don’t really see how
some of them are even allowed to play since one has a broken leg and another is
severely narcoleptic. These and other
weaknesses involving lisps and nervous sweating streaks make Lynn see that the
best way to win is if she always has the ball.
It’s her usual flaws at work as she keeps her teammates from getting in
on the action, implying that she has no faith that they can amount to
anything. She could easily train them to
help them be good. At least she never
acts like a jerk to them over their shortcomings. Thankfully, the cartoon’s direction helps her
realize this when the other teams catch onto her strategy, so only giving the
ball to her is not too viable.
However,
she then responds by looking for ringers to fill in for two of her teammates,
though the best ones she can find are two older girls from out of town. Because they’re out of town, Lynn has to make
crazy arrangements to make them eligible for her team, and I can’t exactly
believe that they’d easily go along with them.
At the next game, Lynn gets exactly what she wants with a win thanks to
the ringers, but she also starts understanding how she made her official
teammates feel. The ringers hog the ball
all throughout and even use Lynn’s own words on how a win is a win against
her.
This leads to what’s easily defined
as Lynn developing past her shortcomings.
Now getting the feelings of her teammates, she decides that they deserve
a shot at basketball too. Come their
next game, it’s impressive how all the girls, including the physically disabled,
put up a strong performance and score a couple baskets. All the same, they still lose by a lot, yet
regardless of how beaten they are, Lynn is very content with the outcome and
her team’s performance. It really seals
the deal that she’s discovered that winning isn’t everything. Still, I don’t see anything wrong with Lynn
also working for her team to improve their skills so they can really progress
with the sport. That’s just me though,
for it’s still satisfying that Lynn learns something that she’s honestly needed
to learn for quite some time.
For all
its head-scratchers and basic setups, this cartoon is a pretty good winner in
my way of thinking.
A-
Pipe Dreams
(not to be confused with the Rocko’s Modern Life cartoon of the same
name)
In the beginning, cartoons were mostly about Lincoln’s
challenges of living in the Loud House, then they started looking into
challenges the sisters usually face.
While Mom and Dad have been main characters before, this cartoon is one
all about their challenges with their home.
In this cartoon’s case, it’s all about their frustrations with
constantly having to wait to use the only bathroom in the house. It’s a case showcasing how unethical the
setup of the house really is.
The kids
take a long time in the bathroom for menial things when other people need it
desperately, especially Mom and Dad. Not
only that, but when the parents finally do get the bathroom, it’s so vile you’d
swear they were in the alternate dimension from “One of the Boys.” So much of the first act makes Mom and Dad
fully supportive when they decide to build a second bathroom just for
them. It’s an objectively smart move to
make life in the Loud House easier. On
another note, this is an interesting case where they’re both full of sneakiness
and spunk you’d usually think would be reserved just for the kids. Their searching for parts and stunts to keep
their new bathroom a secret are very elaborate and humorously staged making for
something fun. Through it all, Mom and
Dad have very enjoyable chemistry and are compatible all through their stunts
really proving to be a supportable couple.
By the time their bathroom is complete, it’s impressive and satisfying
that they successfully pulled it off.
As
enjoyable as their plot is, it’s a huge implication that maybe Mom and Dad are
not fit for running a big family.
They’re the adults here, so they should be firm with the kids that they
need time in the bathroom and have truly important matters to prepare for. If the kids complain, they have the authority
to say they’re out of line. I mean, they
have shown backbone before, but given the stunts they pull to keep their second
bathroom a secret, they might as well be kids themselves. This continues into the second part of the
cartoon where the pets find ways into the second bathroom, and Mom and Dad keep
jumping to the conclusion that the kids got in.
This results in elaborate stunts to keep intruders out and survey the
area when they’re not around.
The thing
is, as over-the-top as these security measures are, they would have worked if
not for one boneheaded move. One of the
locks involves a code that needs to be punched in, but Mom and Dad forget it
while using their bathroom. This leads
to them getting locked in with the kids needing to bust them out and the entire
bathroom getting wrecked. Once again,
this all could have been avoided if Mom and Dad just wrote the code down and
kept it hidden. Instead, one bad
decision that didn't need to be made forces the flawed status quo back in
place. I will say that a legit reason of
being strapped for cash justifies not fixing the new bathroom, but can’t Lana
just fix it for free? Also, it’s hard to
find satisfaction knowing the lines for the single bathroom are still too long
and the place is still a mess.
With all
this said, this cartoon is an entertaining one with humorous stunts and
character chemistry. However, while the
faults aren’t total deal breakers, the implications of how poor parents Mom and
Dad are and boneheaded moves that didn’t need to happen really show.
C
The Ranking
1. Roadie to Nowhere
2. Insta-Gran
3. Selfie Improvement
4. Net Gains
5. No Place Like Homeschool
6. City Slickers
7. Fool Me Twice
8. Tripped!
9. White Hare
10. A Fridge Too Far
11. Pipe Dreams
The next Loud House review has Lucy experience a relatable theme of introducing others to her favorite show, and Mom gets out of motherhood by getting herself arrested.
Next time on MC Toon Reviews is "Three Gems and a Baby" from Steven Universe.
No comments:
Post a Comment