The theme of this season of Flipping Out is clearly firing! And last night Jeff Lewis was at it again – canning contractor Randy over money issues and disrespect for his authority. Another one bites the California dust!
Cat in a bag! Did you guys catch the cute scene of Monkey in the shopping bag? I love cat in a bag! In other animal news, Casey is acting strangely and it has nothing to do with the fact that she is surrounded by neurotics all day. Driving to Spring Oak, Jenni enthusiastically describes her friend Star, an “animal communicator” to Jeff. Can I have one for my Basset Hound?
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Arriving at Spring Oak, Jeff explains the project was initially a remodel, but after finalizing the plans, owners Mike and Laura decided to add a dream master bedroom requiring an addition. Jeff goes over things with his go-to contractor, Randy, a former set-designer – turned builder – turned contractor who he also worked with on the Cole Bungalow. Randy brings up the ol’ devil – money. He wants to make sure he will get paid on time, which Jeff understands since haggling over funds is one of the drawbacks of their industry.
Star, the animal communicator arrives to brave the wilds of Jeff Lewis’s house. Jeff is hoping Star can provide some insights into his four-legged crazies. Star begins with some relaxing music to put her in a meditative state. Gage and Zoila are unable to take pet psychics seriously and get the giggles. Jeff feels the session was a success because he learned so much about his animal broods, but Gage is kinda dubious.
Closing her eyes, Star visualizes the animals’ thoughts or something. Interestingly Chris is requesting a name change to Angelo? Star alerts Jeff that Casey likes to be privy to his intimate time with Gage and enjoys sitting outside the door to listen (eeks!), but unfortunately sexytimes aren’t happening very often. Jeff and Casey are both in agreement that should change. Star also reveals Casey has been having problems with her hind-flanks.
Jeff and co. meet with Cesar Stone about a possible partnership. Jeff and Jenni joke around comparing the credibility of Jeff being a spokesmodel for Cesar Stone to her endorsing birth control or maxi pads. Jeff, in case you didn’t know really, really likes Cesar Stone. Gage is frustrated that Jeff is being silly instead of oh, so serious about his business happenings. Lighten up, Gage! Despite the sillies, Cesar Stone is interested in having Jeff endorse their product and want him to choose some color names. I guess the deal is still in action, given the product pimping Jeff was doing!
To celebrate the new business arrangement JLD and the Cesar Stone folks grab lunch and in the car on the way to restaurant Jeff and Jenni revert to their true selves – fifteen year old Beavis & Butthead fans and start brainstorming color names: Diarreah! Period stain! Skid mark! Yeast infection! Fromunda cheese! Discharge! Chlamydia! Jenni even plans a product pitch: I’m Jeff Lewis, debuting my new Cesar Stone color Skid Mark…”
Jenni gives CEO Arik the rundown of some of her picks. Like, Kitty Litter? And Jeff jumps into the mix. Gage nearly chokes on a piece of teriyaki imagining the deal falling apart. Arik looks offended at first, but then finds his sense of humor in his pocket or something. In fact, Arik even supports Jenni dressing up as a slut slab to promote the company. Perhaps Jeff is right and that Gage is just protective of his business interests, but I think it’s more than likely that he is protective of the cash filling up in Jeff’s bank accounts!
At Spring Oak, Jeff and Jenni are checking on the demo progress and Randy is no where to be found. Jeff gives some history on how building styles mid-century consisted of many small rooms, which no longer work in the modern era, so he works with people to develop open concept floorplans, including taking walls down to let in more natural light. On their way out, Jeff and Jenni do a drive-by discussion with Randy who is anxious to cash his check and is already planning for the next one on Friday. Jeff is bothered by Randy always harping on him about money, money, money. Jeff tells Jenni, that Randy has disclosed his entire financial history, which isn’t exactly umm… in the black.
A few days later, Randy’s money problems persist when Jenni gives him a call and reports that progress on Spring Oak isn’t up to schedule and therefore they aren’t able to issue another “progress payment.” Randy attempts to negotiate, explaining he needs the money to pay employees, but Jeff has a no advances policy. Jeff gets on the phone to explain why JLD does not issue advances because he works strictly on the progress pay scale, meaning when Phase 1 is completed a check is issued and so on…
Jeff relays a story about getting burned by a contractor in the past and reiterates that he works for his clients and needs to protect their interests. Jeff handles the delicate situation as an utmost professional, but privately worries if Randy may desperately need the money to pay other bills not related to Spring Oak!
Prepping Jenni to visit Casey at the vet’s, he warns her not to cry. Sadly, Casey slipped a disc and it burst, so she needed to be rushed into surgery. Jeff is extremely terse and emotional when discussing Casey’s progress. Jenni relays that Jeff is so close to his animals because they provide him a connection to his mom, who died when he was very young and he considers them his children.
Casey can barely get up to greet her people even though she dearly wants to. Zoila is deeply saddened by seeing Casey suffer. The Vet issues the bad news that while her life is spared she could possibly be paralyzed, which is extremely upsetting since Casey’s favorite thing to do is play outside. Poor doggy. Jeff is of course, optimistic she will walk again.
Jeff finds out Cesar Stone wants to include him in their commercial, which has already been created so he will be featured drawing at the end. And oh, lord that commercial is cheeserific! Especially the horrid sappy song which includes the lyrics “When I was a little girl…” Jeff goes on a rant about how embarrassing the song is and what people will think of him based on the um… musical choice. It really is b-a-d, Cesar Stone! I think you have awesome products, but that commercial is hideous. Did they buy that song from Mattel? Unfortunately, the song can’t even be altered because it is already licensed and everything has to stay as is. I guess Jeff better learn to relate to little girls with big dreams…
Jeff is once again all amped up about Randy’s slow work and his financial distress. Apparently, Randy is paying $13,000 grand a month to hold onto a spec house that is valued in the millions with the hope to sell once the economy picks up. Checking in on progress at Spring Oak, Jeff discovers NONE has been made. Since the owners are currently in Marin, Jeff is sending them weekly photos and this week’s pictures look exactly like last week’s, which isn’t exactly going to prompt them to write more checks!
Picking up Casey from the vet, she gets a dose of what she missed as Jeff freaks out over Randy’s finances some more. Casey’s face was like Seriously? I just got out of surgery and I have to listen to this crap about some a-hole’s mortgage problems?
At home, Jeff is very tender to Casey and excited about the care she will receive from Dr. Chavez! Dog Treats, Stat! Jenni explains this is a side of Jeff people need to see more of, and speaking of sides we need to see more of, Gage exposes his human qualities! Giving some insight into his relationship with Jeff, Gage describes his love for Jeff’s pets children and admits initially they were pretty distant to him, but he now is very close to Casey and is shown helping her learn to walk again on her doggy crutches. Jeff shares how this experience will help them prepare for raising children without fur and he knows he can count on Gage to be a really great parent, unlike the neglectful Zoila!
Since Casey is constipated, Jenni whips out her “stinky pinkie” to help stimulate a bowel movement. How Jenni knows what to do is a mystery to all – particularly Jeff, who imagines this might be a glimpse into Jenni’s intimate moments. TMI, Lewis, TMI.
Taking a break from dog potty issues, Jeff shoots his Cesar Stone commercial. Gage worked some magicals and was able to convince the execs to have Jeff narrate throughout the commercial so his voice connects with his image at the end and it distracts from the My Little Pony Anthem. After recording his V.O. lines, Jeff is antsy about his commercial debut for a product that isn’t himself on a reality show, but he is able to pull off the silent scene with only one malfunction – a broken pencil.
Star returns to help combat Casey’s post-surgical depression. Star tells Casey why she went to the hospital and helps communicate her sadness to Gage and Jeff. Casey lets Star know she feels an over-whelming sense of love for her people and knows that home is where she needs to be. Gage, changing his tune, decides it was worth it for Star to visit, if only because she calms Jeff down!
Regarding Spring Oak, Randy has requested a $5,000 materials advance for framing materials even though the inspector said they couldn’t begin framing until plumbing was completed and that is two weeks away. Jeff deduces that perhaps, just perhaps, Randy is planning to use the money for something else and Jenni has put Nancy Drew him on the case to figure it out! Jeff takes issue with this, because he wants to be a boy detective not a girl one! He’s not a girl people, didn’t you know!? So McGuiver, it is!
Jeff realizes he needs to work out a solution with Randy, so he goes to Spring Oak to discuss where the material monies are going. Randy becomes instantly defensive and angry, insisting that Jeff is withholding the check. McGuiver Jeff quickly realizes that Randy isn’t exactly being truthful with his intentions for this 5 grand. Randy isn’t able to adjust to having a boss instead of being self-employed, and seems to have a real issue with authority; insisting that he doesn’t work for Jeff.
Jeff and Randy get into a battle of wills over Randy’s attitude and his financial issues. Clearly Randy is incredibly stressed out and cracking under the pressure. After not being able to make any headway, Jeff fires Randy from the site. Jeff is shocked by Randy’s self-sabotage and allowing his ego to get in the way of employment. Jeff is also worried about replacing Randy immediately to avoid delays on the site. In the car following the firing, Jenni and Gage are supportive of Jeff’s decision to let Randy go and surprised it didn’t come to blows, because Jenni was worried she might have to jump in between Jeff and Randy since Gage is such a weakling!
Next Week: More drama with Randy and his money. Jeff develops his own paint line, but it requires a very costly investment.
Was Jeff right to fire Randy? Do you believe Star was really communicating with the animals? Did you enjoy seeing a softer side of Gage?
