Main cast: David L Lander (James Self), Keith MacKechnie (Robert Self), Karen Haber (Elegy Kaiser), Edye Byrde (Velma), and Rich Hall (Dr Blackman)
Director: Frank De Palma
James and Robert Self are conjoined Twin Brothers that loathe one another. Okay, they are obviously two actor standing side by side under an over-sized shirt and suit, but it’s rude to point that out. Not every show can have a big budget, after all!
They were retired stand-up comedians, mostly due to the surlier, most resentful brother Robert no wishing to cooperate anymore with the self-aggrandizing, haughty James in their act some eight months ago.
They now spend their lives since their retirement cozily ensconced in their big manor, tended to by their housekeeper Velma and mothered by Elegy, a kooky woman that claims to love them both.
Elegy has had enough of the constant fighting between the brothers, however, and in this Episode, she invites psychiatrist Dr Blackman decide to spend the night at the house, in an effort to help the two brothers get along.
What can go wrong, right? Will everyone hold hands and have an orgy of roses and sunshine?
The title of this episode, Their Divided Self, is the only smart thing about this episode.
Oh, the premise isn’t dumb. James and Robert have pretty valid reasons to detest one another, and the rest of the world, and all their resentments and self-loathing manifest as petty squabbling that drive the people around them crazy.
David L Lander and Keith MacKechnie actually do pretty good job here as two unlikable but still entertaining twin brothers, while Rich Hall, Edye Byrde, and Karen Haber are also solid. This episode has everything to be a great episode, especially the solid cast part, as so many other episodes of Monsters suffer from abysmal acting.
The problem is the script. It goes way too slapstick and cartoon-y, and I’m not even talking about good slapstick comedy. Rather, it’s a predictable kind that comes complete with sound effects more at home in a Scooby-Doo episode, making this episode more cringe than comedy.
So much of the episode is wasted on tiresome squabbling and juvenile antics, thus squandering whatever goodwill generated by the cast members that try very hard to elevate the material.
It’s a pity, really, to see a potentially great episode, which is in short supply so far on this show, to end up instead being such a misfire.
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