***Spoilers Ahead***
Who's Vroomin' Who?
Credit: Fox |
After an episode that delved deeper into Duncan's relationship with his father Jack, it only makes sense that mother Annie gets her chance to form a tighter bond with the titular character. 'Who's Vroomin' Who?' fully embraces the racecourse backdrop that happens to be the main setting of the installment. As a result, the episode showcases some unbridled chaos in the form of violent car crashes and fiery turmoil. That wild energy ultimately makes up for a story that mostly plays it safe, resulting in an exhilarating twenty-two minutes.
Following her failed attempt at trying to reconnect with Duncan through bowling, Annie is able to build a closer connection with her son through their shared interest of stock car racing. What really drives this simplistic storyline to solid status is the addition of explosive racing sequences that are peppered throughout the half-hour. A great deal of excitement comes from seeing Duncan and Annie zoom past other cars while sabotaging unexpecting drivers, thus leading them to a fiery crash. This type of lawless cartoon violence fits perfectly in Duncanville's wheelhouse, with the series knowing not to steer into outright gory territory like the average Seth MacFarlane toon.
Even as Duncan achieves success on the racetrack, he becomes embarrassed with the fact that his fans fondly refer to him as "Momma's Boy". This detail only seems to come up for the sake of adding some conflict in the second-act, and it gets resolved rather quickly when it turns out that Duncan is an awful driver without Annie's assistance. Nonetheless, this detour leads to the storyline closing out in a pleasant manner. Duncan realizes he may need his mom more than he thinks and Annie decides to give her son more space to hang with his friends and be a teenager. These development will likely be erased by the time the next episode rolls around, but it still works as a satisfying way to cap things off. The eccentric comedic elements coupled with a dash of heart results in an enjoyable ride, even if the emotional beats are rather predictable.
The side-plot of this installment once again focuses on the pairing of Kimberly and Jing. As Jack attempts to renovate Jing's room, the youngest Harris sibling moves in with Kimberly and ends up growing much closer to her. Considering the two were having a great time just an episode earlier in 'Duncan's New Word', it feels a bit off-putting that they initially have a difficult time connecting with one another. But, it's commonplace for sitcoms with low stakes to reset relationship dynamics at the start of a new outing, and the comedy more than makes up for the inconsistency in continuity. Jing has been the breakout character since the show's debut and her easygoing, happy-go-lucky attitude bounces off the stressed, agitated Kimberly rather well, even getting the latter to soften up as a result of her cheerful attitude. In the midst, Jack works on Jing's room and ends up having a meltdown over what role model he wants his daughter to see on her walls. Since he has always been the most well-meaning character in the series, it makes perfect sense that Jack would become so frustrated with this task. Despite that, it would be nice if some of that confidence from the confrontation with his father spilled into his current demeanor.
'Who's Vrooming Who?' may not appear as ambitious as 'Duncan's New Word' in the storytelling department, but it definitely packs in more action than the previous two installments. On top of supplying a nice amount of amusing pop culture references and callbacks, Duncanville plays around with its format just enough to continuously keep its episodes fresh. 'Who's Vrooming Who?' confirms that the series is still firing on all cylinders and further reaffirms that the Amy Poehler cartoon remains worthy of weekly viewing.
Stray Thoughts
- Annie doing a perfect Duncan impression is a great reference to the fact that Amy Poehler voices both characters.
- The Stay at Gnome dads from season 1's "Red Head Redemption" could be seen in the bleachers.
- The driver crashing his car after Annie flashed him with a "Hillary 2024" shirt caught me completely off-guard. Might be the best joke of the night.
Grade: A-
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