Kevin Can Wait – Kevin vs. the Dutch Elm

By: Julie Mante

When Donna (Erinn Hayes) is talking to her daughter Kendra (Taylor Spreitler) and Kendra’s fiance Chale (Ryan Cartwright). She tells them that she has a plan. As a school nurse, Donna has to give the children flu shots so she is getting them ready at home. Before she goes to work, she wants to give a shot to her husband Kevin (Kevin James). Kevin always faints when he sees a needle so she came up with a plan. She is going to give him the shot while he is sleeping. When she sneaks into their bedroom and finds her husband still sleeping, she jabs him with the needle. When Kevin feels the prick, he gets up immediately and ends up hitting Donna in the face. Obviously, Kevin asks his wife what is going on and she apologizes for giving him the shot while he was sleeping. As soon as Kevin sees the needle, he faints.

As Kevin is ready to head to Enzo’s, Donna wants to know where he is going. Today, Kevin’s daily trip to the bar and pizzeria is different because he is feasting on Enzo’s grandmother’s icebox cake. Every five years she sends it to Enzo to serve in the restaurant and Kevin is eager for his slice. Donna tells Kevin to tell his friend Duffy (Lenny Venito) to bring his truck tomorrow. When Kevin asks why, she tells him that he is moving the pool. Kevin is not looking forward to doing it and Donna lets him know that she is not failing for any of his excuses. The pool will be moved. Period.

At Enzo’s, Kevin is with his buddies and they are eager to taste the cake. The cake turns out to be disappointing, but they eat it anyway. Kevin asks his friends for help moving his pool tomorrow. Duffy suggests that they cut down the tree near the pool instead of moving it. Later that night, Kevin tells Donna that he wants to cut down the tree instead. While Donna wishes they could cut down the tree, they cannot. The tree belongs to their neighbor Mrs. Hoost (Suzanne Petri) who will not allow them to do it. Kevin believes that he can persuade Mrs. Hoost to let him cut down the tree. Donna does not think he can get the job done, but Kevin is determined.

At Mrs. Hoost’s place, Kevin is feeling nervous. Kevin tries to be friendly to the older woman, but she never cracks a smile. She is traveling to Florida the next day so she wants him to leave. When he offers to cut the down the tree while she is away, she says the tree is not dead and not to cut it down. Kevin ends his nice guy routine and starts to be more firm. He tells his neighbor that he could call the town and they will declare the tree a hazard and it will be cut down anyway then charge her for the bill. At least he is offering to pay half if he cuts the tree down himself. Either way, the tree is history. Mrs. Hoost calls for Rutger (Bas Rutten), her nephew. As the two talk in Dutch, Kevin laughs uncomfortably. He tells them that he will table the tree discussion for now and leaves his neighbor’s house.

When Kevin returns home, he admits that Donna was right. Their neighbor is a difficult and stubborn woman. When Kevin mistakenly tells Donna that they were making fun of her chest (they were making fun of Kevin’s), Donna wants to take the tree down as payback. Kevin knows that if they do, when Mrs. Hoost returns from Florida and sees the tree gone she will know it was them. Kevin decides to only move the pool as planned and Donna says he cannot because there is a storm coming. A light bulb goes off in Donna’s head. They can get rid of the tree after all. When Mrs. Hoost comes back, they will tell her that storm knocked the tree down.

Kevin and Donna hold a family meeting to tell the kids about what they are going to do to the tree. Kendra does not want them to cut down the tree because squirrels live in it. She says that if they cut it down, then they have to make sure that the squirrels are safe. A bag in hand, Kevin climbs up a ladder to the top of the tree. He tells Chale to hit the tree so the squirrels will move up to where he is. The plan works and the squirrels are in the bag. Kevin tries to tell Chale to stop hitting the tree, but Chale cannot hear him. Kevin ends up dropping the bag full of squirrels and bag lands on Chale’s head and the scared squirrels attack his face. Later, they move the squirrels to another tree.

Now that the squirrels are relocated, Kevin’s friends come to his house to help him cut down the tree. Kevin thanks Chale, whose face is scratched up because of the squirrels, for his help. When Kevin, Donna and their friends are getting ready to get rid of the tree, a light turns on at Mrs. Hoost’s house. Donna goes to window to investigate and tells them that their neighbor is gone and that the light is on a timer. When Donna sees “MH+SH” in a heart on the tree, Donna yells to Kevin so she can talk to him. She tells him that they cannot tear down the tree. She believes that the initials belong to Mrs. Hoost and her late husband. This tree is all she has to remember him by and it would be cruel to cut it down. Kevin does not feel the same way and feels this is their only opportunity to get rid of the tree. When Kevin tells his friends to call off the job, they mistakenly think he means for them to start removing the tree. The tree falls down and destroys their pool.

The closer takes place on New Year’s Eve 2017. Donna and Kevin are so sleepy and they both know they will never make it to midnight. The doorbell rings and Mrs. Hoost and Rutger appear. It looks like they took Kevin’s e-vite seriously and are there to party.