The Pop Culture Pundit

^{Summer may be ending, but Sabrina Carpenter Autumn is just beginning (Sabrina Carpenter via YouTube)}

Kate’s Greats are awards given to movies, TV shows, and music that the author has viewed and/or listened to over the past month. These awards may celebrate underrated, overlooked, or obscure moments of pop culture that may not otherwise get the attention they deserve. Other times, they will celebrate the buzziest pop culture–but will always have a fresh take. Award categories may include, but are not limited to, ‘Goofiest Thriller’ and ‘Tiniest Mustache’ (the latter of which Timothée Chalamet wins by a landslide). May the best, worst, boldest, and weirdest win. 

Best Pop Song: “Jealous Type,” Doja Cat

^{Doja Cat via YouTube}

Tragically, it has been an “Ordinary” summer for music–quite literally considering Alex Warren’s song of the same name has spent what has felt like a million weeks atop of the Billboard Hot 100. Though KPop Demon Hunter’s “Golden” dethroned Warren’s Christian-tinged “Ho Hey” knockoff a couple weeks ago, it seems to have some new competition in the form of Doja Cat’s “Jealous Type,” the lead single off her upcoming album, Vie. The energetic pop jam wastes no time jumping straight into the chorus and dropping the title within the first verse, before veering off into some “Say So”-esque rap, all packaged in glittery synths right out of the ‘80s. Doja has a great track record with three solid albums in a row – Hot Pink, Woman, and even the darker, rap-heavy Scarlet – and I’m excited to hear what’s next with her musical evolution. She’s painted the town red before–maybe she’ll paint it “golden” with more #1 hits (KPop Demon Hunters sure did, after all). 

Standout Movie Performance: Owen Wilson as Kevin Rawley, Meet the Parents (2000)

^{Movieclips via YouTube}

Sure, it’s Ben Stiller who is tasked with meeting the parents of his fiancée, Pam (Teri Polo), in the movie Meet the Parents. But it’s Pam’s ex-fiancé Kevin Rawley, played to a tee by Owen Wilson, who steals the show. Wilson’s Kevin is everything Stiller’s Greg isn’t: rich, chill, talented at seemingly everything–and perhaps most importantly, friends with Pam’s often disapproving father, Jack (Robert De Niro). Wilson deftly balances Kevin as being overly charming yet subtly passive aggressive. He shows off his woodworking skills, explaining he took up the hobby to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, and flaunts an altar he made out of a single piece of wood for Pam’s sister’s wedding. Yet while this is impressive, he belittles Greg at every turn, from correcting the way he says “carpentry” to believing Greg’s occupation as a nurse is simply volunteer work. Wilson’s calm voice yet cutting commentary makes for the perfect character in a comedy movie. Hopefully he returns for Meet the Parents 4–where naturally, he’ll wear Sabrina Carpenter’s “Jesus was a Carpenter” t-shirt without knowing it’s actually a reference to one of the most famous popstars on the planet and not his hero. 

Standout TV performance: Luke Macfarlane, Platonic– “Jeopardy!” (Season 2, Episode 5) (AppleTV+)

Rose Byrne and Seth Rogen may be the platonic friends in question on AppleTV+’s show about two besties that reconnect after years apart–but Luke Macfarlane is a comedic powerhouse that should not be ignored. After Macfarlane’s Charlie ruins his dreams of being a Jeopardy! champ during taping due to an unfortunate case of stage fright, he goes on to have what can only be described as a personal crisis. Over drinks with Will (Rogen), Charlie decides he will break into a Jeopardy! producer’s home to try and get the episode pulled from airing (if it sounds ridiculous, that’s because it is). Macfarlane shows off both his vulnerability and physical comedy here as Charlie subsequently tries and fails to break into the house in question. First, he jumps over a fence to sneak in–but immediately regrets it once he sees kids’ toys in the backyard. His adrenaline turning to desperation, Charlie tries to pull himself up and back over the fence–but fails, which is especially ironic given we watched a workout montage of him earlier (on the bench press, no less). Defeated, Charlie then curls up in a ball and puts his hoodie over his head like a teenager in a timeout. In order to actually leave, he has to sneak inside the house–but not before catching the attention of some kids. Mortified, he runs out of the house, but injures himself in the process. When he finally gets home hours later, now sporting a boot on his foot, his wife Sylvia (Byrne) asks him what happened–and though he explains “beast mode,” you could say this really translates to “I lost on Jeopardy.” In showing Charlie’s vulnerability through different layers of physicality (the moment he realizes he’s doomed on Jeopardy!, the break-in sequence), Macfarlane becomes one of the main draws of watching Platonic. I can’t wait until the next episode. 

Most Disappointing Series Finale: And Just Like That…, “Party of One” (Season 3, Episode 12) (HBO Max)

^{The series finale made me feel like I’ve been broken up with via Post-It Note (Screenshot/HBO via YouTube)}

My hopes for a good series finale from And Just Like That… went quickly down the toilet–quite literally once Miranda’s (Cynthia Nixon) bathroom started overflowing in graphic detail courtesy of a new tertiary character named Epcot (Spike Einbinder) we only met this episode and seemed to take up more screen time than many main characters, including franchise staple Charlotte (Kristin Davis). No amount of interviews from Michael Patrick King, Sarah Jessica Parker, or the writers defending the finale can convince me it was 100% planned to be the last episode. There simply were too many dangling plot threads, from Miranda’s impending grandmotherhood to Seema’s (Sarita Choudhury) blooming relationship with Adam (Logan Marshall-Green) to the obvious hints that the writers were attempting to manifest a Michelle Obama cameo (call me crazy, but she did also cameo on iCarly, a show where Harry Styles contracted a fake illness called Jungle Worms, so anything could happen at this point). 

And as far as Carrie? She spent the last two episodes dreading the thought of being alone (an emotional support doll named Tommy Tomato did no favors), only for her to dance in her apartment by herself in what felt like a tacked on ending. The last line of her book that we’ll now never get to see published is “the woman was not alone. She was on her own.” But this is not in fact true given she is surrounded by her friends–yet maybe this point would’ve been driven home better if her, Miranda, Charlotte, Seema, and Lisa (Nicole Ari Parker) had actually spent a single scene in the same room in the episode, which they did not. The series finale of And Just Like That… was truly an insult to characters and fans alike. The woman couldn’t help but wonder why she even bothered to watch this show in the first place. 

Most Moving Season Finale: It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, “The Golden Bachelor Live” (Season 17, episode 8) (FXX) 

^{FXX via YouTube}

Out of all the shows that you might think would make you tear up, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia probably never crosses one’s mind. Yet here we are. The latter half of the season has been teasing Frank’s (Danny DeVito) appearance on The Golden Bachelor–and the finale featuring it did not disappoint. There was the iconic Bachelor mansion, the classic entrance limo, and even host Jesse Palmer–but the treats didn’t stop there. DeVito’s former Taxi co-star Carol Kane made an appearance as one of Frank’s women on The Bachelor, and the only one he keeps that’s the same age as him (naturally, Frank’s episode wouldn’t make it past any network sensor in real life…or maybe it’s not that different after all). Kane’s Sam is the only one that sees through Frank’s BS and calls him out–all the while confessing vulnerable topics such as why she shortened her name from Samantha. Though at first Frank chooses twenty-something Cock Chewa (an obvious parody of Hawk Tuah), he ends up getting on a bus and running through the rain to profess his love to Sam. It’s all so sincerely delivered, thanks in part to DeVito and Kane’s electric chemistry–and it’s even more special considering it’s such a rarity for Sunny to end on a note of vulnerability (the only other time I can think of is the season 13 finale “Mac Finds His Pride”). To add on to the tears at the end is a touching tribute to Lynne Marie Stewart, who played Charlie’s mom on Sunny and passed away earlier this year. If there’s one thing that’s true about It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, it’s that it always surprises–and that is why viewers like me keep tuning in every year.