Life in Pieces – #TBT: Y2K Sophia Honeymoon Critter

By: Julie Mante

Story One: #TBT 2YK

We begin with a flashback to 1999 on New Year’s Eve. Around this time, many people were worried about Y2K or the Millennium Bug. This was the fear that there were would be problems with computer systems because the computers would be going from 99 to 00 which would be seen as going backwards and not forwards. With this backdrop, John (James Brolin) feels that this New Year’s Eve will be the family’s last. His other family members are not worried. In 1999, Heather (Betsy Brandt) is a stay-at-home mom to toddler Tyler (Niall Cunningham) while Tim (Dan Bakkedahl) is a medical student. Greg (Colin Hanks) is in college. Matt (Thomas Sadoski) is working on his artwork. To prepare for Y2K, John has a generator outside the house and stored seventeen thousand dollars in the wall of the house. When the ball drops, the family counts down to the new year. Once it is officially 2000, the power goes out. Everyone is shocked. Was John really right? Y2K is real?! Nope. It turns out that the generator knocked all the power and set off a fire that burned the cash stashed in the house. When everything settles down, John tells his wife Joan (Dianne Wiest) that he secretly wished that Y2K was real because it would force everyone to come home and things would go back to the way it used to be. Joan suggests a weekly brunch that would “lure everyone with plates of free food.”

Story Two: #TBT Sophia

It’s 2008 and Heather is pregnant with Sophia (Giselle Eisenberg), her third child. As she is getting ready for her c-section, she gives her parents instructions on how to handle her other two children while she and husband Tim are at the hospital. She and Tim are “new age” parents. Their children only eat organic and healthy food. There is no TV in the household. The kids only listen to classical music. In 2008, Tim is constantly working out. He also has a long ponytail. When Sophia is born, this “perfect” household is thrown into chaos. Sophia will not stop crying and her discomfort transfers to her other family members. Tyler and Sam were two well-mannered angels, but now they are angry, aggressive and throwing things around the house. Tim wants to get a TV, but Heather is not ready to make changes to the household. She suggests letting her brother Matt babysit the two older children while they handle taking care of the noisy infant. The audience discover where Tyler found his love for music when he hears non-classical music for the first time as Matt takes the children out to a bar. The kids eat French fries for the first time. When Heather complains to her mom, Joan reveals that Heather was a difficult baby. Joan leaves Heather with advice she got from her mother: “I’ve already done this crap. You figure it out.” Heather and Tim officially “give up.” They get a TV and the start eating fast food. The household may be less structured but the Hughes family is definitely happier. Besides, as Heather says, “Principles are for losers.”

Story Three: #TBT Honeymoon

It’s 2011 and Greg and Jen (Zoe Lister-Jones) are married! When the couple settles into their hotel room, Jen notices champagne on ice and is impressed with her new husband. Greg bursts her bubble when he reveals that the bubbly did not come from him. It was actually a gift from his mother Joan. Jen is not comfortable with that. Later, Greg is on the phone with his mother when Jen steps out of the bathroom in a sexy chemise. Greg is too distracted to notice until she has to hit him with a pillow. After staying at the hotel, the couple is ready to start their honeymoon in Bora Bora, but they have to go home and pack. Jen points out that her mother-in-law has been around the couple a lot and that it makes her uncomfortable but Greg assures Jen that she will always have his support. As Jen is packing, she sees Joan packing Greg’s suitcase. Jen finds her new husband watching TV with his father and wants to talk to him privately. Jen tells Greg that “as my man, I just…I need you to be your own man.” A man that is his own man packs his own suitcase so Greg packed his own suitcase. In Bora Bora, the couple is ready to eat. The hostess says that she cannot serve the couple because Greg is not dressed properly. Jen asks her to make an exception because this is the first time that Greg has packed his own suitcase. The hostess mistakenly thinks that Greg is mentally challenged, but Jen tells him to not correct her so they can enjoy their meal.

Story Four: Matt’s Bottom

It’s 2013 and Matt is living at home in his parent’s garage, but only is mom knows about it. Joan tries to suggest he look for a job, but Matt is not interested. He does not want his mother to tell the rest of the family about his dire situation. During Sunday brunch, John tells Joan that he has set traps in the garage because he has been hearing some animal making noise. Jen asks why Matt and his wife Bonnie did not show up for the family brunch. Joan tries to warn Matt about the traps by loudly pounding on the wall, but this draws more attention to her bizarre behavior. Caught in a trap, Matt steps into the kitchen. He is too embarrassed to talk about his living situation so Joan tells everyone that his wife left him and took all his money; he is not making any money as an artist and he’s homeless. Later, Matt finds John putting his old bed in the garage. John says that if Matt will not move back into his old bedroom, he will move his bed into the garage. John tries to get his son to find the positive in his negative situation. Matt sees this setback as a sign to focus more on his art. John disagrees and has arranged for Matt to get a job from a friend whose company makes tasty airline snacks. On Matt’s first day he meets Will, an annoying crass man with terrible jokes. Matt is not interested working with the lewd man so he quits. When he throws his termination letter in a room, he hears a “hey.” When he walks into the room, he meets future fiancée Colleen (Angelique Cabral) for the first time. The attraction is instant. Matt knows that he cannot quit now so he does not. Looks like Matt is not on the bottom anymore.