'Cougar Town' recap: The kiss heard 'round the block

You know a sitcom is good when you laugh out loud even when you’re watching alone, and when you actually care about the characters enough to say, “No, no, no!” when they do something they shouldn’t, like Grayson and Laurie kissing at the end of last night’s episode. But let’s back up.

I believe Cougar Town is the only show on TV that serves more wine than Brothers & Sisters. A bottle of red loosened Jules up enough to tell Jeff (guest star Scott Foley, you will be missed!) “You’d make a pretty girl… Seriously, I have a skirt that’s a little too big for me, and god knows, you’ve got the legs. All we got to do is shave you down, and then tuck some stuff back up…” At first, Jeff resisted, but ultimately, he tried it on. This, plus his willingness to carry Jules up stairs (notice the space there, which means lazy me sees this as beneficial outside the home), and the fact that he laughed off Jules tearing into him for being 11 minutes late for dinner and did the “does this look ridiculous” naked shimmy, makes Jeff a keeper in my book. Jules, however, thought they were getting too comfortable too fast — and even though she didn’t want to see Jeff with other women, and she wasn’t seeing anyone but him, she couldn’t handle the pressure of the word “exclusive” and had to break it off. For the sake of the show, which is supposed to be about a fortysomething woman on the prowl, this relationship couldn’t last forever. And I suppose it’s nice to see the message that a playboy can get to the point that he’s looking for commitment. But seriously, I don’t know how Jules, who’s only been divorced for eight months, turns away a man that can be that sweet and still retain some of his bad-boy sexiness. (I also can’t believe I just called Scotty Foley bad-boy sexy. Good for him.)

Now, we can move on to Laurie… She woke up in bed with Smith, her new law student beau. “I feel a little weird.” “Why? Because you spent the night on the second date?” “Because you didn’t try to have sex with me. I mean, I guess it’s nice to wake up with my panties on, I just don’t know what to make of it. Are you gay? It’s okay if you are. I have turned a lot of gay dudes straight, although that could just be a line that guys use on me because they know how much I love a challenge.” Actually, it was because he likes her and thought if they slept together and he disappeared for three months, they wouldn’t be able to pick up when he returned. Laurie, who processed his leaving as a break-up, felt the need to handle it accordingly, by kicking things spray painting something and sleeping with one of his friends. Grayson tried to talk her out of the latter, and sent Travis to save her (which he did) when she went off with Smith’s friend Doug (wave, Doug!), but then Laurie went to thank Grayson for looking out for her. He was in a fragile place, having heard Jules say that she and Jeff were getting serious (the look on Josh Hopkins’ face was heartbreaking) and telling Bobby all about his marriage. Somehow, they ended up back at his place and kissing, which Andy saw as he took Stan on a midnight walk so Jules could talk to Ellie about how they should just kill Andy so they could get married. Ellie told Jules she wouldn’t have let Jeff go if he was the right guy (true) and that there is a man for her — he may even be right under her nose. Do you think Ellie, who wasn’t surprised when Andy finally revealed that Grayson and Bobby have feelings for Jules, actually believes Grayson is the man for her?

More great lines from last night’s episode:

“I’ve already done six things to it in my head. May I touch it?” — Barb to Jules, after Jules asked her what she thought of Jeff

“Oh, that’s why I married you. He gets a couple drinks in him and he starts dropping the question bombs.” — Ellie about Andy, after he asked Jules and Jeff if they were in love. (And P.S. Thanks, Cougar Town writers, for having Ellie answer that question. I buy that as a reason why she would be attracted to Andy.)

“Are you guys playing Penny Can? Is it finally real?”— Andy to the dudes, playing Bobby’s comically primitive game

“[singing] Little pregnant girl. What? In my head, the song is about teenage pregnancy…. I want to write music that matters, Jeff.” — Jules, performing the first single, “Girl, Don’t Hold That Against Me” from Jeff’s college boy band, Da Booty Crew, with Jeff and Grayson

“Seriously, want him more.” “I can’t!” — Ellie to Andy, after Andy begged Bobby not to leave

“I was being ironic… First time.” — Bobby, explaining why he put the key to his golf cart on a Ferrari key chain

Your turn. What’s your favorite line from last night? What do you think of the Grayson/Laurie pairing? How should it play out?

Photo credit: Randy Holmes/ABC