Life in Pieces – Favorite Vision Miguel Matchmaker

By: Julie Mante

Story One: Playing Favorites

When Greg (Colin Hanks) hears his daughter Lark (Addison Carroll) saying “Mommy,” he decides to see how she is doing. He realizes that his daughter cannot understand the difference between Mommy and Daddy. When Larks says, “No Daddy. Mommy,” he realizes that Lark likes Jen (Zoe Lister-Jones) more than him. When he tries to get Lark to say “Dada,” she continues to say “Mommy.” At the breakfast table, Greg tells Jen that he feels Lark is rejecting him. Jen tells Greg that he is overreacting, but Greg is sure that Lark knows exactly what she is doing. Jen believes this is a phase Lark is going through and Greg should not take it seriously. Greg does not follow his wife’s advice and tries to win his daughter’s love by trying to feed her strawberries and wearing Jen’s perfume.

When Jen and Lark walk out of the room, John (James Brolin) tells his son that, “Chicks like you more if you ignore them. Lark is no different. If you want to win her back, just make her jealous.” Greg thinks it is ridiculous to play mind games with a baby. John is positive that his idea will make Lark like Greg again. At the park, Greg takes his father’s advice and starts ignoring his daughter and starts to push another little girl on the swing. The little girl’s mom (Amrita Dhaliwal) tells Greg that she is no longer comfortable with Greg interacting with her child. She says, “You have to stop pushing my kid. I thought I was going to be okay with this, but it’s just weird.” Greg’s lame attempt to make Lark jealous is not a success.

Back at home, Greg tries another strategy to win Lark over. He puts a plate full of candy in front of Lark and offers her treats for her love and affection. Even candy is not enough for Lark to change her mind. Greg tells Jen that he is worried that this phase will never end. Lark says to Greg, “Up Daddy. Up.” Greg is shocked that Lark wants him to carry her. Greg is so excited that he wants to take a picture with Lark before she changes her mind. When Greg leaves, Jen talks to Lark and says, “Thanks Larky. That was amazing acting. The thing is that most daddies are just very sensitive.” Jen gets the biggest shock of her life when Lark says, “No Mommy. Daddy.” Both mother and daughter start crying for different reasons. Lark wants Greg and Jen is upset that now she is the least favorite parent.

Story Two: Heather Gives In

Heather (Betsy Brandt) and Tim (Dan Bakkedahl) go out to dinner and Heather has trouble reading the menu. She says that the restaurant’s lightening makes it difficult for her to read the menu. Tim tells his wife that he believes that she needs glasses, but Heather thinks the notion is ridiculous. Tim takes advantage of Heather’s situation by ordering dessert for dinner. The next morning, Heather pours egg white mix instead of milk into Sam’s (Holly J. Barrett) cereal bowl. Heather tries to pretend that she did that on purpose. She even pours the egg whites in Sophia’s (Giselle Eisenberg) bowl to reinforce the point. When Sam asks Tim what is going on, Tim tells his kids that Heather is afraid that she is losing her eyesight and will have to wear glasses. Quickly, the kids decide to use Heather’s eye problems against her. Without knowing it, Heather agreed to allow Sam to be an exchange student in Barcelona and allowed Tyler (Niall Cunningham) to empty his septic tank into their backyard. Tim tells Heather again that she really needs to wear glasses. Heather wants to table the discussion because she is feeling awful after taking aspirin for a headache. Tim tells Heather that she did not take aspirin, but took their dead dog Lucky’s heartworm medicine.

When Tim walks into the bedroom he shares with Heather later, he is pleasantly surprised to see Heather wearing glasses. Tim says she looks like a sexy librarian, but Heather is not feeling sexy at all. Tim assures Heather that no matter how old they get they will be experiencing it together. Heather goes downstairs and finds Sam and her friend Jenna (Ashley Wolff) there. Heather is excited to see that she has the same glasses as Jenna. After Heather leaves, Jenna quickly throws away her “old lady glasses” in the trash.

Story Three: Father’s Blessing

Colleen (Angelique Cabral) is feeling anxious as she and her fiancé Matt (Thomas Sadoski) meet her father Miguel (Daniel Zacapa) at his boat. Colleen values her father’s opinion and she hopes he will give his blessing for their wedding. Matt tells her that he is nervous meeting her father, too. Miguel introduces them to his wife Sangria (Anne Stedman). Colleen and Matt give Miguel a copy of their children’s book, which Matt did the illustrations. Miguel is happy that Colleen will marry an artist like him. Miguel invites Matt to see his latest piece. Matt tells Miguel that he loves Colleen and he wants to know if Miguel will give them his blessing. Miguel says no. Miguel believes that Matt’s talent as an artist would be diminished if he settled down with one woman. Matt reminds Miguel that he is a married man and this causes Miguel to wonder if his career has halted because he got married. After throwing his latest painting into the water, Miguel tells Sangria that their relationship is over.

After Sangria leaves, Colleen asks Matt if he got Miguel’s blessing. Matt has a hard time admitting to her that he did not get it. After looking at the children’s book, Miguel tells Matt that he has reconsidered. He has decided to give the couple his blessing because he does not see Matt’s career going anywhere so Colleen is the best thing he will ever accomplish. While Colleen is relieved that her father supports their wedding, Matt feels insulted. Matt wants to show him more of his work, but Miguel is not interested. Colleen cannot understand why Matt is arguing with her dad over this. After Miguel goes back inside his boat, Colleen is happy yet Matt is not.

Story Four: Mikey’s Girlfriend

After his girlfriend left him, Mikey (Greg Grunberg) is staying at his Aunt Joan’s (Dianne Wiest) and Uncle John’s house. Joan assures him that he has their support. Joan wants to set Mikey up with Candace (Marla Mindelle) who works at the coffee shop. Joan sends Mikey to the salon to get his hair done. There he meets hairdresser Gittel (Artemis Pebdani) and instantly the two have a connection. Joan goes to the coffee shop to say nice things about Mikey to Candace. When Mikey arrives at the coffee shop, he is not alone. He and Gittel are holding hands. When Mikey says that he has invited Gittel to join them at the coffee shop, Joan does not want her there. Gittel invites Mikey to her nephew’s bar mitzvah. He asks Joan if it is okay for him to leave and she reluctantly agrees. When Candace returns from dumping her boyfriend, she asks Joan if Mikey has arrived. Joan lies to her and told her that Mikey could not come today.

Later, Gittel and Mikey cannot keep their hands off each other. Their makeout session on the couch is awkward because John and Joan are still in the room. After Joan and John leave the room, Joan complains about the two most annoying people in her life becoming a couple. John feels uncomfortable because he wonders if they are having sex on his couch. Mikey walks into their bedroom and tells them that he cannot sleep with Gittel because she will know that he is not circumcised. He lied to her that he was Jewish because she only dates Jewish guys. Joan tells him that he cannot build a relationship with Gittel that is based on a lie. He decides to tell her the truth. Later, Joan and John wake up when they hear an angry Mikey enter their room. He is upset that Gittel dumped him after he told her the truth. He crawls into their bed and cries. When Joan suggests that he could date Candace, Mikey is not interested. He tells them that he will live with them forever. At Sunday brunch, Joan invites Candace so she can meet Mikey. When Mikey enters the house, he is not alone. Joan is disappointed to see Gittel with him. After she talked with Rabbi David (Kerry Stein), she decided to date Mikey again. Mikey announces to the family that Rabbi David will circumcise him to show he committed to Gittel and her faith.