"#1 Happy Family USA": Muslim teenager in 2001 deals with crushes, dr*gs, wacky parents, and the FBI. With gay characters and d*cks

 

After 9/11, Islamophobic h* ate crimes in the U.S. increased by 4,000%.  Everyone who was Muslim, Middle Eastern, or vaguely brown-skinned was automatically assumed to be a t*errorist. At the airport, after you went through the usual TSA search, they picked "random" people for a secondary search at the gate.  I had a beard, and was picked at "random" every single time until the beard came off.

Ramy Youssef, who previously starred in Ramy, about his spiritual journey as a Muslim, draws on his "childhood nightmares" after 9/11 for #1 Happy Family USA.  He negotiates losing his friends, being under constant surveillance, and dealing with his crazy parents and older sister.  Oh, and it's a comedy.  I reviewed Episode 1.4, "Egypt is on the Phone."

Scene 1: Rumi (Rami Youssef) is awakened by his parents yelling that his uncle and aunt in Egypt are on the phone.  They want him to go first, to get the terrible things happening in his life over with before his sister Mona describes her perfect life. 

Scene 2: School cafeteria.  Is that a gay couple or some dudebros?  

Rumi criticizes his friend Marcus (Chris Redd) for going to a Pokemon convention instead of to Courtney's pool party.  He doesn't actually want to date Courtney: she's the sun, he would be dissolved by her beauty.  But he can restore his popularity to its pre-9/11 level by going to her party, impressing her with his wit and charm, and getting added to her friend list. 

Left: Chris Redd.  Rumi's other friends are Dev (Akaash Singh) and Garrett (Whitmer Thomas, bottom photo)

Uh-oh, Courtney (Paul Elia) tells Rumi that he can't go to the party because "we need to heal," ad he will just make them uncomfortable: "Thanks for understanding, and please tell Islam not to k* ill me."

His friends think that is harsh. Even Garrett, who has "major cat strangler energy," is invited.

Scene 3: Rumi is called to the guidance counselor's office, where the counselor has him under surveillance, and heard his conversation with Courtney.  He suggests that Rumi could get back into the social sphere by crashing the party, and "bring dr*gs." 

Scene 4: Rumi is preparing to work with his Dad ( Ramy Youssef) on the food cart.  Dad gives him the suitable topics of discussion with customers: basketball, apples, bananas, but not melons -- "very h*omosexual."  I thought melons were ladies' body parts.  "Every conversation you have is about melons!" Does Dad think that Rumi is gay?  

FBI Agent Dan, who moved in across the street to put the family under surveillance, drops by, depressed about his ex.  He creepily offers to drive them into the City.  Dad starts screaming in terror, but has no choice.  

While he is packing up, FBI Agent Dan asks Rumi about his teacher, Miss Malcolm.  Uh-oh, Rumi has a crush on her, and now Dan has a date with her tomorrow night!  He wants to borrow Rumi's jersey, because she is a basketball fan.  

More after the break

Scene 5: On the way into the City, FBI Agent Dan (Timothy Olyphant) drives recklessly as he continues to cry over his ex. She dumped him because he's no good with kids.  This will be important later.

Meanwhile, Mom and Mona look for the guy who scammed them with bad phone cards in the last episode. It can't be an Egyptian, because "Egyptians are noble.  We dont' scam people."  So it must be the Jamaican guy who runs the appliance store.  

She yells at him and threatens to call the police, but of course Muslims can't call or be seen by the police, or they'll be arrested.  So she's stuck.It's not even his phone card -- it was an Egyptian guy's!  So Mom seeks him out and criticizes him for "Arab on Arab" crime.  Everyone starts fighting.

Scene 6: Rumi suggests that FBI Agent Dan back out on the date with his teacher and win back his Ex.  He can prove that he is good with kids taking him to FBI headquarters.

Meanwhile, on the food truck: two suit guys consider buying his hot dogs.  To convince them, Dad  exclaims that he is American; he hates t*errorists.  Dollar signs click in their eyes: "How would you like to be on Fox News?"  Marcus, who happens to be there, talks his way into becoming Dad's agent, and negotiates a contract to make him "The Arab Wolf Blitzer"

Scene 7:  Dad as "Halal Harry" being interviewed: "The t*errorists are bad.  They should stay out of this country."  He also plugs his food truck, where they're selling Freedom Falafel and Solidarity Shwarma.  Result: he gets put on the FBI's list of potential terrorists to put under surveillance.  Wait -- I thought they were already surveilling the family.

Scene 8: Rumi touring the FBI Headquarters.  The Muslim Wing.  Uh-oh, the Ex-Wife!  To convince her to give Dan another chance, Rumi claims that Dan is his "mentor...father figure...he came into my life with his big heart and tiny hands."

She agrees to discuss their relationship, but Dan is overcome with anxiety, so he drags Rumi into the Dr*ug Room.  While he's looking for anti-anxiety medicine, Rumi sees some coke, and asks if he can bring it to the party.  He'll be a hero, and Dan can use it to get back with his Ex or something.

Scene 9: Mom and Mona at the fancy, expensive AT&T Store.  They can't afford the phone cards, so Mona tries yelling at an employee and then crying.  It doesn't work. Mona then tries, telling a customer that she's running for class president, and needs phone cards, but she was swindled, and "almost lost faith in..DEMOCRACY!"  Everyone starts crying and throwing money at her.  For democracy!

Scene 10: Dan and his Ex have slept together in the dr* ug drug room.  Suddenly he notices that Rumi took the poison by mistake.  He rushes out.  This enrages the Ex.

Scene 11: We finally make it to the pool party.  Guests playing in the pool; Courtney opening her gifts; some teens using an inhalant; an ice sculpture being delivered.  Rumi arrives and announces that he brought dr* ugs, but FBI Agent Dan tackles him, and the package hits a boy and a girl who were huffing a moment ago.  They collapse.

Dan takes charge, freezing the sick teens and blaming their collapse on peanut butter.   As he drives away, the other party guests yell at Rumi for his "t* errorist attack."  They eject him; he runs away.

Hey, that kid is wearing a pearl necklace.

Anguished, Rumi yells in the street "Ya Allah!  What have I done!"  The end.

Beefcake: Agent Dan, animated.  

Heterosexism: Rumi's crush on his teacher is a main plot points.  His three friends all have crushes on girls.

Gay Characters:  Rumi's older sister Mona is a lesbian (actress Ali Shawkat is bisexual in real life).  There is no mention in Episode 1.4, but Episode 1.5 has her lying about her relationship, and forcing her girlfriend to lie, so she can be elected class president.  Here we just have the guys hugging and the pearl necklace.

In Ramy, Uncle Naseem is gay, so maybe Rumi's Uncle Ahmed (Paul Elia) will be gay, also.

My Grade: Muslim families are rare on American television, and the setting brings back memories.  But three plots, Rumi bringing dr* ugs to the party, Mom tracking down the phone card scammer, and Dad being interviewed on Fox News, aren't connected thematically.  And there is a lot of gross-out humor.  One of the showrunners was a writer for South Park.  B-.

See also: Deli Boys: Pakistani-American brothers learn a secret about their dad. With lots of gay charactes and Pakistani d*cks

Adam Devine's House Party, Episode 2.9: Adam's or* gasm, Nick Rutherford's bulge, and everybody engaging in....

Said Taghmaoi: Who says you can't be gay and Muslim?