Review
“Cult/Perfect Body”
Season 2, Episode 4
Don’t you want to lead a five star life?
Every so often a show is capable of tying together threads from previous episodes but continue to maintain a significant arc within one episode. Review does just that in “Cult/Perfect Body” with the return of Lennon Parham as Ms. Greenfield, the teacher from Iowa Forrest stalked. In this same episode, we find Forrest still slipping down a treacherous slope of idiocy and denial while Ms. Greenfield is revealed to be more of a free spirit than previously thought. It is also shown that the three characters live in MacNeil senior’s timeshare cottage. The first review of the night deals with running a cult and Forrest seems at home as a leader.
Who knew the host had it in him? Forrest is surrounded by people who only want to help. From AJ, to his dad and whatever woman he’s sleeping with, Forrest has all the support he needs. When his dad urges him not to lead another group – there was an incident in model airplane club – Forrest insists the two situations are completely different. The way the hapless host goes about researching cults is to make a cult leader vision board (with a picture of Dr. Phil added no less). His ignorance is only exemplified as other people begin to follow him. He uses a review-like motto in order to recruit them. Counting is also a huge thing with them; “One, two, three, four, five!” the followers shout as Forrest “absolves” them of their sins. But even the details of the cult prove to be too difficult past the uniforms and sex. MacNeil decides to leave Ms. Greenfield in charge and soon she takes over eventually kicking Forrest out.
But, as his job entails, Forrest accepts his banishment, moving on to the next review. Again, Forrest finds himself with a chance to use his veto (as suggested by AJ) but he decides to move on with creating perfect body. Actually working on the body proves to be a fruitlessly tiring endeavor for him, however, so Forrest elects to have prosthetic surgery. Fake teeth and a spray on tan lead him to getting fake muscles and a larger penis which then leads to him actually wanting to workout in order to use the fake muscles. Forrest is incorrigible, of course, proving he can’t be persuaded into stopping this dangerous mix of prosthetics and growing anger. Producer Grant pushes him further from a “good body” to a “perfect body.” It’s a scary scene when Forrest rampages on the cult compound he used to run. He even quotes the poem “Ozymandias” which shows how much false sense of power Forrest has received. A shootout begins and Forrest reverts to his simple, weak self. And the death of his ex-lover seems to have no effect on him.
Should you watch “Cult/Perfect Body?”
Something strange is happening in Forrest MacNeil’s head. He was easily moved to a ranging beast and frail man. He accepts help from no one, not even those who consistently want to help him. It seems as though those two vetos will never be used. A closeness to death can’t shake the host. And hulked out Forrest is the best Forrest.