10 Things We Learned From Twin Peaks: The Return Part 5
7. The Comedy Of Twin Peaks, Part 2: Way Broad
For all its groundbreaking surreality, Lynch has indulged in genre tropes thus far in The Return. We've seen two canoodling lovebirds shredded by some unspeakable horror in the premiere. And now we have bore witness to Sheriff Frank Truman: henpecked husband.
The scene is salvaged by two things. As heard in their brief phone call, Harry Truman is bravely battling an undisclosed illness. It's a small, good thing, David Lynch refusing to retcon Harry as a result of the actor's non-anticipation. It would be convenient to ostensibly write the character out - it's still heartbreaking that Michael Ontkean didn't return - but Lynch has kept the actor in his thoughts and in doing so has recreated the effect of Twin Peaks as a real, lived-in place. Lucy's comedic stylings were broad in the extreme in Part 4 - but here, heard only over the phone, she is her hilarious, metaphysically-fascinated self. Robert Forster is magnificent, responding to his wife's "Why aren't you in your office?" nag with a forthright, deadpanned "Because I'm here."
But Candy Clark's performance as Doris is going to take some getting used to. The character is meant to be annoying, that much is clear. Her gesticulations and rising inflection, though, don't gel naturally with the offbeat tone elsewhere. It all feels a bit forced.
"You're impossible!" is how she finishes her rant. The irony is that her character is too impossible for the ironic jab to land.