‘Brothers & Sisters’: Gilles Marini is a good Luc charm
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I don’t remember what exactly happened in last night’s ‘Brothers & Sisters,’ and Gilles Marini is to blame.
As soon as his sultry bedroom eyes, thick, dark mane and dimples hit the screen, my mind went blank, and I, too, longed to pull up a poolside lounge chair to gawk along with the Walkers. I’ll stop gushing now, but you get the gist. Marini as Luc, Sarah’s cooking, dancing, swimming French lover, rightfully gave the show the sizzle it needed.
Luc’s presence provided lightheartedness after a trio of serious, emotional episodes. From his dance lesson with Justin to that hilarious pool scene, which happily harked back to Marini’s role in the ‘Sex and the City’ movie, we once again saw comedy come out of the Walker house.
It was a hoot to see the female and gay Walkers indulge in their hot new house guest. Their wide-eyed stares mirrored mine. It was a fun way to establish a connection with the audience. My favorite moment was the tango scene. There was movement, music and this performance aspect that we hadn’t seen before on the show. Who knew Rebecca was such a good dancer!
Unfortunately, that scene was also the catalyst for Scotty and Kevin’s blowup.
After some considerable back-and-forth over whether they were ready to have a child, Kevin and Scotty reached a breaking point last night. Surrogacy has been their preference (although I would have loved for them to adopt and give the ‘Modern Family’ guys a run for their money), but the cost alone was valid reason to put the decision on hold.
Money aside, Kevin and Scotty also had a few issues they needed to hash out, including their busy work schedules and frequent power struggles. The tango scene, in which neither was willing to relinquish control and follow the other, was the perfect metaphor for their relationship. Kevin is stubborn, unwilling to consider any viewpoint but his own, and Scotty fights for his beliefs, but they eventually do compromise in a real, believable way.
With the complexity of Scotty and Kevin’s relationship as well as the weighty issue of two men raising a child, I was a little surprised that they handled the decision to choose the surrogate mom in such a casual way. A uterus in exchange for some money to start a handbag line? I understand that surrogacy is essentially a business transaction, but you’d think that someone who is a personal friend of the prospective parents would put some more thought into it. Birthing a child isn’t exactly house sitting. Perhaps it was also the fact that Roxy Olin, the actress who plays the surrogate, Michelle, is concurrently playing herself on MTV’s reality show ‘The City’ that made that scene hard to digest.
It’s your turn to weigh in. What did you think of Gilles Marini’s performance? Were you as charmed with Luc as I was? What are your thoughts on how the show handled surrogacy? Sound off in the comments!
-- Enid Portuguez
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