The Carmichael Show – Gold Diggers

By starrymag | August 16, 2017

By: Jessica Wolff

 

 

The Carmichael Show wraps its final season after three seasons of tackling tough issues.  Joe Carmichael (David Alan Grier) remarks that Cynthia Carmichael (Loretta Devine) has cashews, the caviar of nuts, lying on the table.  Cynthia forbids him from eating them because she wants to make a good impression on Bobby Carmichael’s (LilRel Howery) new girlfriend.  Jerrod Carmichael (Jerrod Carmichael) and Maxine (Amber Stevens West) arrive, and Jerrod comments on the nuts.  Cynthia declares that nobody is getting nuts until Bobby’s girlfriend arrives, and Maxine comments that the thought the fanciest nut was pistachios.

 

Jerrod shows off Maxine’s engagement ring, and Cynthia asks why the diamond is red.  Maxine explains that it’s a ruby, and Joe asks why he got a ring that indicated that Jerrod couldn’t afford a diamond.  Jerrod tells him that rubies are more expensive than diamonds, and Cynthia says that it looks like a ring pop.  Maxine explains that the diamond trade kills Africans.  Cynthia replies that the person who died for the diamond in the store is already dead and asks if she wants the Africans to have died for nothing.

 

Joe asks Jerrod if Bobby told him anything about his girlfriend, and he says that Bobby said that she was great.  However, Joe is suspicious that a great girl is interested in Bobby and speculates what could be wrong with her.  Cynthia announces that Bobby has arrived, and says that she doesn’t care what’s wrong with her as long as they support him.  Bobby arrives and introduces his girlfriend, Janet (Margaret Avery), who is significantly older than him.  Janet apologizes for having to leave, but hands Cynthia a bottle of wine.  Cynthia thanks her, addressing her as ma’am.  Janet says that she hopes they can reschedule soon and kisses Bobby goodbye.

 

As soon as she leaves, Cynthia tells Bobby that Janet is old as hell.  She criticizes Bobby for dating a senior citizen, and Joe asks why he’s dating her.  Bobby tells them that he is in love with her, and Jerrod comments how soon it is before remarking that he needs to speed things along when he doesn’t know how much time he has left.  Maxine tells Bobby that Janet seemed like a nice, wise woman, and asks what happened to supporting Bobby’s girlfriend no matter what.  Jerrod says that Janet looked good for her age and comments that Bobby wouldn’t be able to get a woman like that at a younger age.

 

Bobby explains that he and Janet have a great relationship, and says that they have good conversation and she laughs at her jokes.  Maxine comments that it sounds like a mature relationship, and Joe points out that she can’t talk about her without using words to describe older people.  Joe tells Bobby that he’s a young strapping man and goes into a long explanation of how old she is.  Bobby gets mad at him for insulting his girlfriend, and Maxine supports Bobby by saying that sometimes age doesn’t matter when you meet the right person.

 

Cynthia declares that she wants grandbabies and there is no way Janet can provide them.  She refuses to have grandchildren through a surrogate because she doesn’t want to grandmother a cyborg.  Maxine points out the double standard of how an older man dating a younger woman is acceptable but the other way around isn’t.  Jerrod notices a Rolex on Bobby’s wrist, and Bobby tells her that Janet bought it for him.  After Bobby tells them that Janet has a hedge fund, Jerrod concludes that Bobby is a gold digger.

 

Joe asks why Bobby didn’t tell them he was dating her because of the money, and says they wouldn’t have insulted her if they had known.  Bobby tells them that he’s not a gold digger, but Jerrod tells him that he’s dating a rich tycoon who buys him things.  Maxine reminds them that Bobby told them he loves Janet, and that her being rich doesn’t make him a gold digger.  Bobby tells them that she didn’t know she was rich before going on a date with her.

 

Joe declares that this is the best thing that’s happened to their family, and tells Bobby to marry her.  Cynthia is torn, but Joe tells her that Janet’s going to be their daughter in law.  Jerrod asks him to admit that he’s dating the watch instead of her, and Bobby accuses him of being jealous since he got a Rolex first.  He struggles to deny his jealousy, and Cynthia tells him that he’s jealous since he bought Maxine a mood ring instead of a diamond.  Maxine reminds them that it’s a ruby, and Joe laughs that she must be mad since her ring is turning red.

 

Jerrod tells Bobby that there’s no way that Janet sees him as an equal, and that the Rolex is a symbol that she owns him.  Maxine tells Bobby that Jerrod bought her the ring and she doesn’t owe him anything.  Jerrod doesn’t agree, and Maxine asks if he’s serious.  He tells her that the ring was expensive and that she can’t get mad at him for the next three months.

 

Nekeisha (Tiffany Haddish) arrives and asks where Janet is.  Cynthia asks if she’s met Janet, and Nekeisha tells her that she has and that Janet went to high school with her grandmother.  Jerrod tells Nekeisha to tell Bobby to stop being a gold digger, and Nekeisha refuses since she’s already reaping the benefits.  She explains that Janet bought Bobby a slow cooker and her brisket has been better lately.  Joe asks why she didn’t bring him any, and she hands him a bag of brisket.

 

Bobby tells them that he doesn’t care what they think and that he cares about Janet.  Jerrod asks why he’s going to give control of his life to somebody else.  Cynthia suggests that being a rich, old woman’s prostitute is all Bobby’s cut out for.  Maxine asks Jerrod what he means about Bobby having no control in the relationship, and Jerrod tells her that the person with more money has the power in the relationship.  Maxine asks if that means he has more power because he makes more money, and he says yes without hesitation.

 

Maxine tells him that he might not always have more money than her, and he doubts it.  She tells him that her grandmother has a trust that she will inherit when she passes.  He asks her how much the trust is, and the family sits on the edge of their seats.  She admits that she didn’t want to say it in front of his family, but him being an ass causes her to reveal that it’s 1.5 million.  Jerrod can’t believe they’re rich, and Joe tells Cynthia they must have done something right.

 

Jerrod takes advantage of his newfound wealth and smokes a cigar on the couch.  Maxine is surprised to see him smoking a cigar, and Jerrod tells her that he smokes cigars now and wears Versace sunglasses indoors.  She tells him to take them off, and reminds him that her grandmother hasn’t passed away yet.  Jerrod believes that it’s likely to happen soon, and then throws away her bananas, declaring that they only buy organic now.  She sees that he bought a Rolex, and asks why he’s doing this.  He tells her that he loves the dough, and Maxine gets frustrated with him.

 

He tells her that he came from the ghetto and never had anything, and shows her the gold chain he bought.  Jerrod comments that it’s ironic that black people came over in chains and they started wearing them again when they got money.  Maxine takes his cigarette and tell him that his Cosby-like appearance is creeping her out.  Jerrod grabs another cigar and tells her that there are a lot of benefits for her as well.  He tells her that she now has all the power in their relationship, and outlines her new privileges.  She tells him that she doesn’t want that, and calls him out for being critical of Bobby being a gold digger.  He asks her if she wants him to leave, telling her that he paid an Uber to wait for him all day.  She tells him to go, and he tells her that he needs her to sign for the life-sized Prince statue he ordered.

 

Cynthia brags about her sons’ newfound wealth to her friend on the phone.  Joe tells Jerrod to sit down and pours him a glass of expensive wine.  Jerrod tells Cynthia that he frustrated Maxine and she asks why he would frustrate such a wonderful woman.  He admits that he went overboard on spending, but Cynthia wants to brag to her friend about his new Rolex.  Jerrod confesses that he thought having more money would be fun, and Joe tells him that he needs a nicer Rolex.

 

Nekeisha yells at Bobby as they come into the house, and she calls him selfish.  Joe asks what’s going on, and Bobby tells him that Janet told him that he couldn’t see Nekeisha anymore.  After assuring Nekeisha that she’s part of the family, Joe tells her that times have changed and she needs to go.  Bobby tells them that he chose Nekeisha and broke up with Janet.  Nekeisha cries that Janet took the slow cooker away and that her brisket isn’t good anymore.  Joe asks Bobby if he’s lost his mind.  Bobby tells them that he chose to be friends with Nekeisha, and she tells him that they could have still seen each other after Janet went to bed at 8PM.

 

Jerrod comments that he has integrity for choosing morals over money.  Bobby tells him that the money meant nothing to him, and Joe calls Bobby stupid.  Joe tells him that Bobby is dead to them, but they still have Maxine.  He tells Jerrod to give her the expensive wine, and Cynthia tells him to tell her that she’s always loved her.  Bobby tries to speak, but Joe tells him that his opinion doesn’t matter anymore.

 

Going home, Jerrod gives Maxine the wine and tells her that his mother has always loved her.  Maxine asks if everyone in the family has gone insane, and Jerrod confesses that he hit rock bottom today when he started to admire Bobby.  Jerrod tells her that he’s learned that he needs to have more integrity when it comes to money, but that he’ll never be able to do it on his own.

 

He asks her to sign a post-nuptial agreement that says he can never touch her grandmother’s fortune.  She laughs and tells him that what’s hers is also his.  Jerrod tells her that the purchase he’s most proud of is the ring he worked to buy her.  She admits that the ring is special and agrees to sign the agreement.  She feels something when she kisses him and he tells her that he bought a grill for his mouth.

 

Joe and Cynthia arrive and greet their favorite son and daughter in law.  Cynthia brings over pistachios for them, and tells Maxine that she was right about them being the quality nut.  Jerrod tells them about the agreement he asked Maxine to sign.  Cynthia throws the nuts in the trash, and Maxine tells her that she’s wasting food.  Joe declares that he raised the stupidest boys in the world, and tells Cynthia they should go back home to their horrible lives.  A delivery guy (Willie Hunter) arrives with the statue, and Jerrod tells Maxine that he wants to keep the statue despite their agreement.