The Goldbergs Review: Dinner With The Goldbergs (Season 5 Episode 12)

On The Goldbergs Season 5 Episode 12, “Dinner With The Goldbergs,” Erica’s birthday celebration quickly turns into a horror show.

The Goldbergs going out to eat at a restaurant are truly a nightmare, and this episode highlights that.

It is presented in a kind of scary movie format with the title cards announcing each horrific phase of the process. This does well to emphasize the gravity of the situation which Erica tries desperately to impart to Geoff.

Geoff is an incredibly patient and understanding person, and he puts up with a lot before he eventually—inevitably—snaps.

The lead up to his outburst is filled with cringe-worthy public displays of awfulness. If we didn’t know this family, we would be appalled.

Luckily, we do know them, so their bad behavior is entertaining to watch.

It begins well before they are even seated, and then a veritable deluge of nitpicking and rudeness follows. Murray is laying on strangers (“My husband’s blood sugar is in free fall. We are on borrowed time.”), they are demanding dinner rolls (“No pumpernickel!”), and no table in the restaurant is good enough for Beverly (“This one is right under the air-conditioner. We want dinner not pneumonia.”)

As always, Wendi McClendon-Covey shines as Beverly, taking some really despicable traits and making them hilarious.

They make a mockery out of everything from ordering to paying the bill, and most of it is pretty funny. Although, some things don’t quite work. For example, Barry creating a fuss over not being accommodated for being a southpaw and Murray’s bizarre choke-eating thing seems a bit forced.

The rest flows nicely—right into Geoff’s eruption. I, like Murray, appreciate Geoff showing some backbone. He calls each one of them out in brilliant form, and it still ends well.

The Goldbergs are unfazed by it because they know they are awful in fine dining establishments. They’ve accepted it. Geoff just has to go through the difficult process of getting there on his own.

Stray Observations:

• Beverly stealing practically everything—rolls, sugar packets, straws, etc.—is relatable to me, albeit in a really extreme way.
• Murray’s Menu Rules: “No prime cuts, no fancy sides, no out of season vegetables, no market prices, no salad bar, no items in French, no dry-aged anything, and most importantly, no appetizers of any kind because that’s how they screw you.” And apparently, no soup. The look of disgust he gives Geoff at the mere suggestion is priceless. “You know what? I don’t trust anyone. Hand me your spoons.”
• Beverly is When Harry Met Sally’s Sally Albright on crack. “To her the menu is just a vague suggestion.”
• “What in the actual f***?!” is Beverly’s response to another table getting their food instead of them. We’ve all been there, right?

What did you think of this episode of The Goldbergs? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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The Goldbergs airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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