27th
In a post-Mad Men world, Laura’s constant attempts in Dick Van Dyke to please her husband in meals, companionship, and appearance seem desperate, hinting at an underlying angst and ennui driven by her meaningless suburban lifestyle. She stuffs envelopes for pointless causes and worries more about the PTA than why her child spends most of his time in closets and cupboards.
Rob (the titular Van Dyke) has a barely controlled temper, a rage at a system that has left him in charge of a middling talk show — the Jay Leno of his day — instead of becoming the next Oscar Wilde. He raises his voice constantly at his buffoonish staff: a vaguely ethnic ne’er-do-well and a woman who only pines for a fairy tale marriage instead of stating her true desires: “My name is Sally Rogers, and I’d like to smoke some marijuana.”
Rob berates his wife often, orders her around like a slave, and tells her to check her emotions. In response, she fusses and whines, her whole life defined by her desire to please her husband. Despite her crushing existence, there’s still a sparkle in Laura’s eye that says she knows once the kid’s in college she’s moving to the city to report the real news.
