Valentine’s Day is a 24-hour period that we’re told is supposed to be filled with little pink and red paper hearts, chirping birds, champagne, roses, and those chalky little candies that say “Be Mine” and – the romantic hallmark of the 21st century – “Email me.” But, if you’ve ever experienced real life or spent Valentine’s Day with your television instead of a loved one, you know that V-day isn’t all Godiva chocolates and sweet nothings. Usually, the hallmark holiday gets a little messy, out of hand, or awkward. And if the premise for tonight’s episode of Happy Endings is any indication, we’re in for quite the Valentine’s debacle.
“The St. Valentine’s Day Maxssacre” – The road to romance is rocky for the gang, as Penny has a new boyfriend she wants to dump; Dave is afraid his new girlfriend is about to dump him; Alex, an expert on all things Valentine’s, goes looking for a party in the sketchy part of town; and Brad’s hopes for a perfect night out for Jane are dashed when a dental appointment goes terribly wrong. But they don’t have anything on Max, who picks up a couple with his limo only to find that one of the passengers is Grant (guest star James Wolk), the boyfriend he broke up with a year ago — on Valentine’s Day.
And to set us up for the not-so-romantic episode, guest star James Wolk (Lone Star, Shameless) hopped on a call to give us some insight into Grant’s relationship with the lovable Max – including a possible smooch in the near future – and what he’ll be up to during his three-episode stint on the ABC comedy.
On Happy Endings’ reputation for respectfully portraying gay characters:
“Well, you know, when I initially read about the role and, you know, I knew about the show, I’ve watched the show. And Adam Pally plays Max as Max. Max happened to be gay but that doesn’t define who he is…And for me as an actor I thought hey that is a great, you know, obviously the writers and the creators of the show are creating, you know, real characters.”
On Max’s relationship with Grant:
“It’s totally opposites attract. I mean, you know, Max is go with the flow, laid back, unkempt at times. Grant is kind of like, you know, always immaculately dressed. You’ll see he has some great vest/tie combos. And, you know, ultimately I think what they see in each other is the complete opposite. I think Grant loves the fact that Max doesn’t care about what people think of him. And we’ll find that, you know, Grant has his own setbacks also. So I think it’ll be an interesting character to watch. And I think it’ll be a fun relationship to watch.”
Wait, who is this Grant guy?:
“He’s a guy who tries to exude and project an exterior perfectness. And all the while there’s things about him that aren’t. And I think that that’s definitely something that we can all relate to but in particular I found really interesting about him because that’s such a truth. That’s so true in so many of us. And so I thought and that’s a real cool side that I can explore in ways that we all can relate to.”
And what’s that about a kiss?:
“Let’s say yes, there is a kiss in the works. And yes, [Adam Pally is] a great kisser, absolutely.”
So are Max and Grant back together? What’s the deal here?:
“Well let’s just say this. Whenever you meet someone who’s a little too perfect you always go wait a minute, something’s going on here. Come on.
You know it’s not all roses. And that’s certainly a play for Grant as well…Max and Grant are – they’re in love and sometimes…you just can’t fight it. You just can’t fight it.”
“St. Valentine’s Day Maxssacre” premires tonight, Feb. 8 on ABC at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT and Wolk will appear on the following two episodes as well.
[Reporting contributed by Michael Arbeiter.]
