'Ugly Betty' gets tapped
With Valentine's Day around the corner, Ugly Betty gets to the bottom of what attracts women. Warning: Don't try this with anyone who watches the show ... or just anyone. Puh-leeze.
Spoilers ahead with a sister you never knew about.
Betty is finally back on track writing again and has an assignment reporting for Mode no less. The wackiness comes in when she realizes the interviewee is the author of the cerebral and totally classy self-help book Tap That: How to Score With Hot Bitches. His thesis? Insult women to kill their esteem, and they'll be all over you to prove themselves.
Naturally, Betty is horrified, but agrees to read the book when Daniel questions her openmindedness. Somehow, Henry and Gio go head-to-head to test the technique in the field, and lo, and behold -- Henry wins. Uh, yeah ... never mind that he has a girlfriend. You heard him mutter "genius" and saw that light in his eye? Methinks this geek has found his inner player. But then, he's rightfully feeling threatened by Gio, whose crush on Betty didn't really factor into his hookups with the girls at the club. Hey, he's not the one dating Betty.
Meanwhile, Daniel gets picked up by the very hot Renee (Gabrielle Union), whom he discovers is Wilhelmina's sister. At first, he's totally turned off, but when Renee woos him with flowers and sweet words, he's back in the saddle. Funny thing is, she has the reins. Wil warns him that he's being used and then later refers to Rene's "secret." Since Renee's former name was Rhonda, I guess she wasn't a man ... what could it be?
Wilhelmina has her own problems though, watching over Christina to ensure a healthy pregnancy. But Xtina is acting mighty weird herself. What's with the stealthy action and looking in mirrors? She overheard Renee call Wil by her original name Wanda. Is there any way she can outsmart Wil, get the money she needs for Stuart and not harm the Meades with this baby? What about the health of the baby?
Speaking of illegitimate kids, Amanda was on a mission to get Gene Simmons' attention by recording a song about his hookup with Fey Sommers and putting it on YouTube. Luckily, he heard about her show and showed up, making for a very strange reunion. I dunno. That just seemed way too easy and neat. Oh and the tongues! I was transfixed and a little repulsed.
Finally, I wasn't sure where this was going, but it was brilliant. Now that Claire's a free woman, she's not quite sure what to do with herself since her former country club pals snub her (What's a little prison and being on the lam?) and Bradford is dead. Her brainstorm: to serve women like her with a new magazine called Hot Flash. Catchy, appropriate yet ambiguous and kinda gross -- I think I like it.
Thoughts and highlights:
- Are there even any new episodes left? Jeez, I hope the writers get some concessions soon so that these new plotlines are put back into action.
- Once again, very little of the Suarez household, except for a couple cute scenes with Hilda. Bring them back!
- Betty ran next door from the Beer Hole to the Bear Hole. Ha! I love it.
- Marc and Amanda back together again, and Marc gives her just the emotional support she needs: "I can only hope that someday I'd have an illegitimate daughter who'll sing me a song that's that beautiful." Awww.
- Wanda. Rhonda. Who's next: Honda? Oh hey, that's me.
- Betty: "You have a girlfriend." Henry: "Not tonight I don't." Hmmm.
- A man's favorite line ever, uttered by 
Renee: "I promise the next time I use you, it'll just be for the sex."
- Once again, I hate it when Betty says stuff to Henry like, "I love you more than chicken salad." This is all going to end, folks. Stop with the "I love yous" already.
- Slightly sexually stilted line by Gene Simmons: "I Google myself every day."
Your thoughts? What's Renee hiding, and what's up with Christina?
Justin's reaction to the hairstyle that Hilda gave Betty was spectacular.
I also loved the way that Marc was trying to get Amanda's attention that Gene Simmons was there and Amanda used the gestures as dance moves.
Also, bringing back the greatest warm-up song ever was nice (for those that don't know that's "It Takes 2 To Make A Thing Go Right" - although I can't imagine anyone over the age of 2 not knowing that).
Lastly, major cgs to Becki Newton for staying in character and not just destroying every take by laughing in the coming up with a song scene with her and Marc.
This was a great episode, which was made even better with the additions of Gabrielle Union and Gene Simmons. I would have liked to learn more about Gene being Amanda's real father, but I guess it will come up again after the Writer's strike is resolved. I don't read spoilers, so I have no idea what Renee's big secret is. My guess would be that she is already married?
I love the "competiton" between Gio and Henry at the bar. Believe it or not, those insulting lines actually work on some women! I ***ume that the UB writers were basing their "Tap That" book on the real life best-selling book "The Game" by Neil Strauss, which taught men how to use pick-up lines and strategies to meet women.
There wasn't too much screentime for Ignacio and Justin, but I loved it when Justin caught Henry and Betty reading the "Tap That" book. They told him it was about tap dancing, and poor Justin seemed even more interested in reading it. ;-)
Great ep. My favorite scenes involved Claire or Henry (of course) but everyone was worth seeing tonight.
I think Christina's a bit grossed out by the whole "having my enemy's baby" thing and she was just taking in the lay of the land, so to speak, on this week's episode. I love that she told Betty about Renee and Daniel's hookup/breakup in enough time for her to talk to him about it later that day. She's an excellent spy.
I didn't get the impression that Henry's gleam and "not tonight I don't" comment were meant as signs of the immediate demise of his relationship with Betty. He's just geeky enough to get excited about being a macho pig for the night. Plus, he was determined to outshine Gio. I thought it was all quite funny and a great way for him to illustrate to Betty how he feels about Gio hanging around her.
Yes. We all know that this relationship is scheduled to end once his baby is born. In the meantime, though, I think their love is wonderful. Go BetRy.
Of course insulting people gets their attention! Of course this causes some people to want to prove you wrong! That's a no-brainer and it works on both women and men. But -- and here's the catch -- it works best on INSECURE women and men.
Trust me, insulting people with self-esteem in order to get into their pants will either get you ignored or hit. Soo ... good luck with that!
I did enjoy Hilda's remarks about the book, though. It's true that some men have a hard time talking to women and it is good that these tactics (and I use the term here loosely) get them into a conversation with a woman they find attractive. It's just too bad that it encourages bad behavior.
Where are the books that teach men how to talk to women in beautiful ways? Are they all in Italian or French? Come on!
I know of women who accept bad male behavior and "Tap That" would totally work on them. But I don't think they have the healthiest of relationships with men and I don't think their men are very emotionally healthy.
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that Renee's big secret that will ruin her chances with Daniel is that she has also had sex with his father and/or brother (now sister). There. Now I wait to see what the writers want us to know about her past.
There has to be more to the Gene Simmons thing than what we saw. At least, I hope there is because what we did see was a bit thin and I'm skeptical. I find it hard to believe that GS would tattoo Tweety on his butt. A naked girl à la the one on truck mudflaps, perhaps, but a Tweety bird?
Naw.
Betty was really annoying this week about the interview. First she begs to do it and then she doesn't want to do it because it isn't what she expected. I love that Betty has layers to her personality, but these particular layers showed off her sheltered and spoiled sides and they were a bit hard to take.
I'm glad that Daniel spoke to her about this at the end of the show. Someone needs to call Betty on her crap and Daniel's perfect because she calls him on his crap all the time ...
Love their friendship!
Gee, Wanda Rhonda could it be that Wil and Renee are acturally twins. Plastic surgeons can do wonders these days.
I also dont beleive that Henry is going to leave for good. The baby will turn out not to be his in the end. That doesnt mean that Betty and Gio wont get together though.
What if Renee has STDs or something?
And speaking of stds with the long list of women Daniel has slept it's a wonder he hasn't gotten an std. And to top that, he's never gotten any girl pregnant *coughhenrycough* It's like Daniel Meade is the poster kid for safe sex. ;)