But, as forced as it was, the little speech from Surly Danny does appear to have an impact, as Ronnie and the Meatballs actually show up to work on time the next day, arriving promptly at 10 am. Ronnie and the Meatballs (wasn’t that a Motown group?) really give it their all, right up to the moment when Surly Danny converts back into Pushover Danny and says that the day is over and it’s quitting time. Pushover Danny congratulates the team for putting in a full day of hard work, so the cast leaves the store satisfied, and walks out… into the blinding sunlight. Wait, what? Apparently a full day of hard work in the cut-throat world of t-shirt making is from 10 am to roughly 1:30 pm.
With an entire afternoon left to kill after work, the girls meet up to plan a surprise birthday party for Pauly and Mike. In order to mix it up a bit, the girls decide to have the party at Karma. Also, rather than have Mike and Pauly bring home random skanks, the girls will be paying for specific skanks this time, as they decide to hire strippers. And if you’re in New Jersey and need to get some strippers, who better to call than the “Wizard of Ass”? (It’s a trick question, there is no better option.) While listening to Snookie and Deena discuss what the strippers would be doing at the party, I started to wonder whose parents are less ashamed of their offspring’s life choices: the strippers’ or the Meatballs’? I was going to say clearly the strippers’ parents, but then I remembered that they work for a guy named “The Wizard of Ass.” So let’s just call it a draw, with the winners being every other parent on the planet that suddenly feels better about the way they raised their child.
Next stop for party planning is the party supply store. And hey look! That Snookie character is whacky! Snookie ends up buying a rabbit costume in order to prank her roommates (and also really stretch the definition of a “two bagger”). And by “prank” her roommates, I mean “hump” her roommates. Is this supposed to funny or shocking? I’m not really sure. But if this is the best Snookie can do when she is purposely trying to be funny, coupled with JWow’s recent malaise (does she sleep all day, every day?), I’m less optimistic about the Snookie/JWow spin-off show than ever. The spin-off is about Snookie and JWow living together outside of the Jersey Shore. So the premise of the show is to take two characters that we are already tired of, one of whom may or may not have mono, and put them together in a location with less to do than Seaside Heights? Woww (sans J). Not sure how many episodes that show is supposed to be, but if we’re betting on how many episodes air before it gets cancelled, I’m taking the under.
Ok, on to the party, which, awwwwwwww, was really a touching moment. Mike was really touched that his other housemates cared enough about him to let him share part of Pauly’s 7th party this year. Pauly was touched that the girls knew him well enough to give him the boob cake over the ass cake. And I was touched that Paula let one of the strippers wear her clubbing outfit. So quick birthday recap: the scoring for Pauly – a surprise visit from half of his family, a haircut from his favorite barber, a dinner out with his family and friends, a cake at home, and now the surprise party. The scoring for Mike – his first social security check and half of a surprise party with Pauly. Nonetheless, Mike is happier, and the rest of the cast pretends to care in between telling Pauly how awesome he is.
As expected, both birthday boys get polluted and bring home a girl. Pauly calls an audible and shuns his stripper to bring home a random from the club. Pauly, ever the Casanova, goes for the “I’d like to get into my birthday suit with you” line (what line wouldn’t work for Pauly this season?). Mike takes a less amorous approach and basically tells his stripper it’s time to go home.
