Mom – A Bouncy Castle and an Aneurysm

By: Julie Mante

Christy (Anna Faris) borrowed an expensive necklace from Jill (Jaime Pressly) for a date and now she cannot find it. Bonnie (Allison Janney) walks into the kitchen and sees Christy looking for it, but does not offer to help. Bonnie is excited because she and her boyfriend Adam (William Fichtner) have plans to go to the food and wine festival this weekend. When she goes to check on Adam, she is disappointed to see that he is still in bed and he is hungover. She comes back to the kitchen to complain to Christy about Adam’s behavior. Christy suggests that she go to the festival by herself. Bonnie asks Christy if she can come with her, but Christy says no. When Adam finally gets up, Bonnie tells him that she is going alone. After she leaves, Adam is relieved that he does not have to go.

Bonnie meets a handsome stranger named Joe (David James Elliott) who is also a recovering alcoholic. Since they cannot consume alcohol, the two have a good time enjoying the food at the festival. Bonnie feels attracted to Joe, but she tells him that she has a boyfriend. Joe tells Bonnie about how his drinking ended his marriage. When he was an alcoholic, he burned his restaurant down, but now eighteen months sober he has opened a new restaurant.

A few days later, Bonnie asks Christy if she found Jill’s necklace at their AA meeting. Christy has still not found it and she does not know what to say to Jill. When Jill asks Christy about the necklace, Christy pretends that she forgot it and tells Jill that she will give it to her tomorrow. Bonnie is surprised to see Joe at the meeting. She introduces Christy and her friends to him. Before Bonnie goes to find a seat, Christy and the girls want more information about Joe. Bonnie tries to downplay Joe’s significance, but Christy, Jill, Marjorie (Mimi Kennedy) and Wendy (Beth Hall) want answers. When Christy asks if Adam and Joe know about each other, Bonnie tells her that she told Joe that she had a boyfriend. Bonnie says she did not tell Adam about Joe because she did not want to make him jealous for no reason.

At home, Bonnie is texting Joe while Adam is reading a magazine and listening to music in bed. When he asks Bonnie who she is texting, she lies and says she is chatting with a fake friend named Suzanne. Bonnie tries to tell Adam that he met her before. Adam is positive that he has never met Suzanne, but believes what Bonnie is telling him. Feeling guilty, Bonnie tells Adam that she is getting something to drink and goes to kitchen. Christy tells her that she still has not found Jill’s necklace. When Bonnie’s phone pings, Christy asks who she is texting with and Bonnie tells her that it is just a friend. Christy asks if it is Joe and Bonnie assures her that nothing inappropriate is going on. Joe invited Bonnie to eat at his new restaurant. Christy says that if everything is innocent then Bonnie should invite Adam. Bonnie says it is a bad idea because the men have nothing in common. Bonnie no longer wants to continue the conversation so she goes back to her room.

The next night, Bonnie is walking with Joe to her car after eating at his restaurant. Bonnie enjoyed the food and tells Joe that she had a good time. Joe asks her if they can hang out again and Bonnie agrees. Bonnie admits to him that her friends think it is a bad idea for them to be hanging out together because they believe something is going on between them. Joe says that he thinks her friends are right and he kisses Bonnie and she kisses him back. When the kiss ends, Joe apologizes for kissing Bonnie. Immediately, the two kiss again. Bonnie tells him they have to stop. She has a boyfriend and this is wrong. Joe agrees, but he feels there is a connection between them. When he asks her if Adam knows where she is right now, Bonnie admits that she screwed up. While she is attracted to Joe, she tells him that she loves Adam and goes home.

When Christy arrives home after work, she sees Adam waiting outside their door. Adam is confused why Christy is here because Bonnie told him that she and Christy were having dinner. Quickly, Christy tells him that their plans were canceled when she got called into work. Adam asks Christy where Bonnie is and she tells him that Bonnie had dinner with Marjorie instead. He asks Christy if he can wait until Bonnie gets home and Christy says that is fine. Christy goes to the kitchen to text Bonnie so Bonnie knows the lie Christy told Adam. When Bonnie gets home, she is surprised to see Adam there. Luckily, she sees Christy’s text so she is able to tell Adam the same lie Christy told him. Christy shows Bonnie the flowers he brought for Bonnie and she quickly leaves to hide in her room. When Adam presses for more details on her dinner, Bonnie is vague. Bonnie makes an excuse of brushing her teeth so she can calm herself down.

Christy has given up finding Jill’s necklace and Bonnie tells her that Joe kissed her. Christy says it should not be a surprise because Bonnie was on a date with Joe. Bonnie is adamant that it was not a date until she realizes that Christy is right. She does not know how she will tell Adam what happened. Christy advises her not to say anything. As long as things are over with Joe, which Bonnie says they are, then Adam does not need to know. Bonnie thanks Christy for her advice and goes downstairs to hang out with Adam.

Bonnie thanks Adam for the flowers and he apologizes for his behavior last weekend. He promises that if he tells her that he is going to do something, then he will do it because he can count on her and she should be able to count on him. Bonnie’s guilt has now quadrupled so she comes clean with Adam. She tells him that she did not have dinner with Marjorie, but with a guy she met at the food festival. Adam is stunned that she is seeing someone else. Bonnie assures him that she and Joe are just friends. Bonnie tells him the important thing is that she stopped things from going further. She knows that the “old Bonnie” would have slept with Joe without thinking about Adam’s feelings. Adam sees the situation very differently. Adam wants to know why she is attracted to Joe and wonders if she is tired of being with a guy in a wheelchair. Bonnie tells him what she liked about Joe was that he was sober. She tells him, “Sometimes when you’re drinking, you can be right next to me and I feel completely alone.” Adam says that she can be alone right now and tells her that being in a relationship with someone sober is very hard, too.

At the diner, Christy gives Jill back her necklace. When Wendy remarks how beautiful the necklace is, Jill gives it to her and Christy is stunned. Jill reveals that the necklace is a fake and she keeps the real one in a safe deposit box. When Christy asks why she did not tell her the necklace was a fake, Jill said she wanted Christy to feel special. Jill promises to let her borrow the real one next time. Marjorie tells Bonnie to stop checking her phone as she waits for Adam to call her. Bonnie realizes she made a mistake with Joe and hopes Adam will forgive her. Marjorie says that Bonnie’s attraction to Joe is about creating drama in her life. When Bonnie asks why she says that, Marjorie says that drinking brought drama into their lives so sometimes people will do find ways to make their sober lives more exciting. Finally, Bonnie’s phone rings and it is not good news. Adam lets her know that he will be out so she can come to his apartment to get her things. As Bonnie cries, her friends comfort her.