Glee returns this week with “Girls (and Boys) On Film,” the show’s long-awaited tribute to the music of the movies. In Lima, it’s boys against girls competing to re-create their favorite movie moments, and Finn convinces Will to find the still-missing Emma. Snowed into their apartment in New York, Kurt faces some feelings and Santana attempts to make Rachel face some facts. Read our full recap below.
The episode opens, fittingly, into a scene straight out of a movie, where Will and Emma, both in tuxedos, pay homage to Fred Astaire’s Royal Wedding, speaking poetically of their love for one another. They then break into “You’re All The World To Me,” replicating the zero-gravity song-and-dance number from the film as they dance on the walls and ceiling. It quickly becomes apparent that this is a dream of Will’s, as he wakes up startled and turns off the television in his bedroom.
Apparently this emotional trauma serves as inspiration, as, the next day, he tells the glee club that their weekly assignment is music from the movies, an idea which is met with much enthusiasm. Will also tells the club that the assignment will be a boys-against-girls mash-up competition, which doesn’t make a great deal of sense for this particular theme, but I am pretty sure Ryan Murphy had the Constitution of the United States amended to include that every season of Glee must include a boys-vs-girls mash-up episode. Artie announces that the winning team will get starring roles in his first “micro-budget feature,” and as the groups split up to discuss movie choices (“We should do The Artist so we don’t have to sing.” Sugar Motta, I missed you so much,) Finn, who’s still co-coaching the club, asks to speak with Will privately in the hall. He enquires about Will’s progress tracking down Emma. Emma’s parents won’t tell Will anything, and with no other leads, Will feels that it is now time to sit around, do nothing, and give Emma space. He says she’ll come back if she wants to, but Finn, urgent with determination and probably guilt, objects, saying Will should take action.
Will tells Finn to let it go, but Finn doesn’t – he goes to Sue privately to try and wangle information out of her. Finn’s gentle enquiries result in a rage attack from Sue, who still resents Finn and says that even if she did know, she wouldn’t give the information to a “flop-sweat smelling, fake-teen teaching, army-deserting, high-school-lurking, Sectionals-losing, special-needs-baby hating…” Finn recounts the conversation to Artie, who, since Sue isn’t talking, suggests an old-fashioned movie manhunt, searching everywhere in town. Finn pulls out a slightly forced “ain’t nobody got time for that!” so Artie recommends talking to Emma’s parents themselves, seeing as it’s their only lead.
Speaking of slightly forced scenes, next up Blaine and Brittany catch up with the rest of the club in the hallway, saying oh, isn’t it a shame that the guys and the girls can’t do a number together, we should totally do one as a warm-up, oh, and Blaine happens to have one in mind: “a little ditty from the seminal American college comedy, Animal House?” Wow, Anderson, did you read that off the DVD box? Everyone looks excited, so I will pause to remind you that these are kids who are meant to have been born in approximately 1996. I challenge you to go ask a bunch of actual 17 years olds, today, if Animal House is a general point of reference for them. Anyway, after what has to be the most awkward set-up to a “singing in the hallways” number ever, Brittany and Blaine lead the group in the Isley Brothers “Shout,” trotting through the school, collecting more glee club members (and total randoms, Blaine leaves a classroom being piggy-backed by a dark-haired girl that I’ve never seen before in my life) as they get “a little bit softer now” through the library and “a little bit louder now” dancing on the tables in the cafeteria. Shout is known to be Glee’s 500th performance, and it’s a high-energy number, so I am going to go out on a limb and guess that the collection of extras trailing the glee club and being involved in the choreography are possibly crew and dancers who have been with the show for a long while. “I realise this number wasn’t in competition, but you do know it’s not even a mash-up, right?” Artie snipes cynically at Blaine as they finish.
In New York City, the residents of the Bushwick loft – Rachel, Kurt and Santana, plus a bonus Adam, are snowed in. Santana looks as if she’s in physical pain as she watches Adam do Downton Abbey impressions for Kurt, and interrupts them to quiz Adam about where he’s from and Kurt about whether he’s actually dating Adam. She has no qualms about bringing up Kurt’s wedding-hookup with Blaine, though he shushes her, and when Santana turns her sniping on Rachel’s apparent chubbiness, that lady busts out of the bathroom, exclaiming that Santana will have to move out because she makes Rachel feel uncomfortable, and that she makes Brody – who’s apparently at work – feel uncomfortable too. Kurt tells them to sheathe their claws, seeing as they’re trapped there, and asks for the progress on DVD selection for their movie marathon. Santana holds up a selection of choices – Rosemary’s Baby, She’s Having A Baby, and Knocked Up – hmm, subtle. Unsurprisingly Rachel uncomfortably rejects all of these and Kurt makes the final selection – Moulin Rouge – “we love those dancin’ hos!” Santana looks around, probably for someone to shoot her and put her out of her misery.
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