Will & Grace, LGBT, Madonna, Will & Grace New Season, Harry Connick Jr.
Last week, Will & Grace aired an episode where they insulted Madonna and her relationship with the gay community by calling her a “gay dinosaur.” They also body-shamed her. Some fans were offended, but others said it was “just a joke.” Of course, age-shaming and body-shaming in the LGBT community is so rampant that it’s anything but a joke. Perhaps people would have forgotten about this had the next episode “Emergency Contact” been any better.
Unfortunately, this episode came across as one from the 2005 and 2006 seasons. In other words, the dialogue was remote, the acting was robotic, and by the end of the episode, you become depressed after wasting time watching it. At least the first two episodes had their moments. But this one is totally forgettable.
At the very beginning of the episode, Jack gets a gig as a dog food spokesperson (sort of). But the main plot of the episode occurs as Grace goes to the gynecologist’s checkup to discover that she may have breast cancer. Thanks to Karen’s lack of attention to her medical documents, ex-hubby Leo is still listed as the emergency contact. Grace is upset when she finds out Leo is there to pick her up, and this is for a good reason as they both tear into each other about their failed marriage.
Leo takes Grace home and walks in with her. Grace complains to Will that she might have cancer, and Leo complains that Will broke up their marriage by still being too close to Grace. At the end of the episode, Grace walks in to Leo’s office. They end up making out. And the viewer ends up wondering how this one-time brilliant show has turned into such a joke. Furthermore, they wonder how a new season was funded 11 years after Will & Grace ended on a very poor note.
The last scene with Leo and Grace is supposed to make the viewer emotional. But as many fans noted at the end of Will & Grace’s first run, Leo (Harry Connick Jr.) and Grace (Debrah Messing) have absolutely no chemistry. There have been (unproven) rumors of conflict on the set, and perhaps this episode, more than any other, gives more credence to that rumor. Perhaps they should not have these two appear with each other on a show ever again.
What’s more disturbing is the fact that Will (Eric McCormack) and Jack (Sean Hayes) don’t have chemistry either. When they talk about the difference between a “platinum-star gay” and a “gold-star gay,” there is not only a sense of awkwardness, but the scene brings negative gay stereotypes back to the early 1990s.
It’s too early to call this new season of Will & Grace a complete failure, but it’s not too early to say that the show isn’t quite receiving the warm welcome back that it wanted. A smart decision would be to end Will & Grace now to preserve its legacy, but that won’t happen since there is a lot of money involved. The best thing left for viewers to do is simply tune out.
[Featured Image by Cindy Ord/Getty Images]
