The Other Two, on MAX,
are the struggling, closeted actor Cary (Drew Tarver, left) and his sister, failed dancer Brooke. When their little brother Chase (Case Walker) suddenly becomes the pop sensation ChaseDreams, the Other Two are torn between jealousy, pride, and over-protectiveness: "You can't perform at the White House unless your math grades improve."
I prefer the first season, when the family dynamics take precedence, and we can see some genuine affection between the siblings and their teen idol brother. In later seasons, delayed due to COVID, Chase is grown up and wacky, and eventually doesn't appear at all, as episodes concentrate on the stardom of the siblings and their Mom Pat.
I'm reviewing Episode 1.6, because of guest star Patrick Wilson, Prince Orm in the Aquaman series. There are two plotlines, featuring Cary/Mom and Brooke/Chase, so I'll review each separately.
Cary/Mom's Plot: Chase recently outed Cary with the music video "My Brother's Gay, and That's OK." This led to an offer to play Shirtless Bartender on the real-life talk show
Watch What Happens Live, hosted by Andy Cohen (playing himself)
He complains that he doesn't have any lines; they just hired him for his looks. "Big deal, you'll be seen, and you can meet the guest stars." Who are they, anyway? He looks it up: Patrick Wilson...and Mom Pat! She'll be talking about her children's book based on Chase's rise to fame. Uh-oh, being shirtless in front of his Mom!
Plus he was cast without anyone asking him to take his shirt off. What if he doesn't have the pecs for the job?
The only gay guy on Earth who never works out, Cary drops into a gym and asks to "get jacked fast" for his Shirtless Bartender gig.
Um..it's going to take at least a year, buddy. Turns out that the Receptionist (David Arquilla) has been the Shirtless Bartender, too; he's not an actor, but he has pecs.
Uh-oh.We cut to Cary using the equipment wrong and getting sneered at by muscle studs. The staff will be happy to demonstrate. He wants to give up after one minute, but he can't leave and have the Receptionist see him, so he hides out in the locker room and runs into Lance (Josh Segarra), his sister's on-off boyfriend.
Lance encourages Cary to pose, and gives him a self-actualization talk: "You are a beautiful man, thin but tight."
We cut to filming Watch What Happens. Andy Cohen introduces Patrick Wilson as the star of Candy Land, and Pat Dubek, as mother of ChaseDreams -- "I'm obsessed with your son," he admits. In a non-erotic way: unlike most teen idols, Chase has fans in every age group. Nearly everyone the siblings meet gushes over him.
Next Andy introduces Pat's other son, the Shirtless Bartender, and asks: "What do you have for us tonight?"
Uh-oh, Cary didn't know that he would have to perform. He doesn't have anything ready except an angsty monologue from Rosencranz and Guildenstern are Dead: "We are born with an intuition of mortality..." Ulp, Andy meant what cocktail is he preparing.
As the interviews continue, Cary knows that he's supposed to just look hot and laugh at the guests' jokes, but he can't help interrupting with bits of his own. Patrick takes pity on him and asks if he has any projects he would like to promote -- but he doesn't.
Later they bond while waiting for the elevator. Well, Cary thinks that they bond; Patrick is just trying to get rid of him.
My grade: I didn't feel the stakes, and Patrick suddenly withdrawing support seemed a little forced, but I liked seeing Cary shirtless for the entire scene. B+
Brooke/Chases Plot after the break
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