Bosom Buddies: On the Road to Monte Carlo

Bosom Buddies: On the Road to Monte Carlo
ABC
December 4, 1981
Sitcom
DVD/VHS
B

Gary H. Miller wrote this story that covers a wide range of moods and images and food for thought.  If I can't go higher on it, it's because one, I'm not sure how well it all hangs together, and two, I feel sorry for Amy.  (But we'll get to that.)

• Kip tries to get Henry to talk about his date the previous night, while they're in drag and waiting for the elevator;
• The elevator plummets I think three floors, nearly crushing them;
• It's played for laughs, with Isabelle ordering everyone in the lobby around;
• Amy, with adrenaline that she later says she could sell on the street, comes to their rescue;
• Buffy and Hildy head up the stairs, apparently forgetting their promise to take Amy to breakfast;
• At work, where they're filming a cat food commercial, Ruth wonders if the guys are having an acid flashback because their minds are not on the job;
• We see a couple cute cats (this was definitely a show for cat-people rather than dog-people);
• Kip wants to go out and do crazy things like get naked on a cross-town bus, while Henry is feeling more philosophical;
• They meet again three days later in their apartment, where Henry has somehow put all their furniture into the bathroom so as not to be distracted by material things, and he's wearing harem pants and a general "eastern" outfit;
• Kip is dressed as if he's the "middleweight champion of the Holy Roman Empire," and there's no explanation how he got to their apartment without being in drag;
• He helps Henry, who's cramped from the lotus position, walk off the stiffness, holding him under the arms, while they try to explain their recent experiences, and there's a Gilligan "Little Buddha" pun;
• Isabelle comes to the door and leaves them a certified letter, remarking, "I was just getting used to you two dressing as women";
• Kip says that the elevator company has sent them checks (yes, this is very fast);
• Henry goes from doing the "om" of meditation to "Papa Oom Mow Mow," singing and dancing with Kip (left out of the DVD, so it's never explained how Henry gives up anti-materialism);
• The five friends sit around and talk about how they would spend the money;
• Amy and Isabelle leave because they're going to spend the weekend with Amy's parents in Hoboken;
• Kip, Henry, and Sonny agree to attempt to break the bank at Monte Carlo, although Henry (including over airplane footage) can't believe they're doing this;
• They indeed go to a Monte Carlo casino, where a French prostitute latches on to Henry but she's presented nonjudgmentally;
• Not very impressive in retrospect look-alikes of Charles and Diana show up;
• The guys bet at various tables, winning until they lose it all on the roulette wheel;
• They feel no regret-- Kip calls it the best night of his life-- because they value the experience and life can be short;
• In the tag, Amy and Isabelle think the guys are lying because they're jealous about Hoboken.

Joe Mantegna, who was Juan One earlier in the year, is the Shiek here.  Arnold Turner, who plays Doug, would be the Graves Registration Assistant on M*A*S*H.