Girlfriends (Flight of the Conchords)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Girlfriends" is the eighth episode of the
HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
comedy series ''
Flight of the Conchords Flight of the Conchords is a New Zealand musical comedy duo formed in Wellington in 1998. The band consists of multi-instrumentalists Bret McKenzie and Jemaine Clement. Beginning as a popular live comedy act in the early 2000s, the duo's comed ...
''. This episode first aired in the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
on Sunday, August 5, 2007.


Plot synopsis

Jemaine has his eye on a woman that works at the bakery. He wants Bret to go in the shop with him but Bret is reluctant because he doesn't like
croissant A croissant is a buttery, flaky, Austrian viennoiserie pastry inspired by the shape of the Austrian kipferl but using the French yeast-leavened laminated dough. Croissants are named for their historical crescent shape, the dough is layered wi ...
s. Eventually Jemaine convinces him to be his '
wingman A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation. According to th ...
'. While speaking to the woman and her colleague, Jemaine tries speaking a bit of French and they launch into a 1960s French style music video singing ''"Foux Du Fafa"''. Later, on a double date at a nightclub, Jemaine is having trouble getting Lisa, the woman he liked at the croissant shop, interested in him. He convinces Bret to swap partners, but has no better luck with Felicia. Meanwhile Bret is uncomfortable with Lisa's aggressive advances. At a band meeting Jemaine tells Murray about their new 'girlfriends'. At first a concerned Murray tells them that he thinks bands shouldn't have girlfriends, citing
Wham! Wham! (briefly known in the US as Wham! U.K.) were an English pop duo formed in Bushey in 1981. The duo consisted of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley. They became one of the most commercially successful pop acts of the 1980s, selling more ...
as an example of a successful band that followed that principle. But then he interrogates the guys for the juicy details. He then tells them that he has some good news. He has met A.J. Jones, supposedly the brother of
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
, who has sold him a high-end stereo system for $50. Back at the apartment, Bret finds a message from Lisa on the answerphone. At first he is reluctant to go out with her again, but Jemaine and Eugene convince him to go. Eugene suggests that he show less skin. Murray meets with A.J. to pick up the stereo. The very dodgy-looking A.J. is clearly no relation to Quincy Jones, but Murray is oblivious to the clues. Murray asks A.J. if he can arrange a meeting with Quincy to play him a demo of the band. After hearing the track A.J. offers to use his contacts to get some CDs made and Murray eagerly accepts the offer. On another double date, Lisa aggressively comes onto Bret once again while Jemaine tries awkwardly to make headway with a clearly uninterested Felicia. When Bret tries to leave, Lisa goes with him and invites herself up to the apartment. Lisa demands sex, but Bret refuses. Another music video begins, and Bret sings ''"A Kiss Is Not A Contract"''. The next morning Jemaine queries Bret as to how he managed to get Lisa wanting sex from him. Bret tells him that all he did was say he didn't want it. Meanwhile Murray has received the new CDs from A.J. and sets up a street stall to sell them. The only person who buys one however is an excited Mel. Bret and Jemaine visit Dave for some advice. Bret wants to know how to deal with Lisa. Dave tells him it is his duty to give in to her demands. On their next date, Lisa tells Bret that she is a
Delta Force The 1st Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta (1st SFOD-D), referred to variously as Delta Force, Combat Applications Group (CAG), Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), "The Unit", or within Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), Task Fo ...
sniper A sniper is a military/paramilitary marksman who engages targets from positions of concealment or at distances exceeding the target's detection capabilities. Snipers generally have specialized training and are equipped with high-precision r ...
and that she is being deployed to Iraq the next day. She successfully convinces him that the least he can do is sleep with her on her last night before going to war. The sex that results leaves Bret feeling violated. Elsewhere Jemaine tries out Bret's technique on Felicia, telling her that he doesn't want to have sex. However it backfires when she agrees that she doesn't want to sleep with him either. Murray reports to the band on his disappointing sales. When they examine the boxes of CDs, they discover that A.J. has cheated them: all but one are filled with sawdust. Later Bret and Jemaine see Lisa back working at the bakery. When Bret questions her, she dumps him. There is some good news however. Murray has found a way to recoup some of the money they lost on the CD deal. He sells them to Dave, who plans to delete the music tracks and resell them as blank CDs.


Songs

The following songs are featured in this episode:


"Foux Du Fafa"

"Foux Du Fafa"Flight Of The Conchords album
Sub Pop Sub Pop is a record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the grunge movement. They are often ...
website
(a.k.a. Foux Da Fa FaLyrics from Episode 8: "Girlfriends".
Official HBO Website
), is sung in French but consists almost entirely of beginner French phrases such as "Où est la piscine?" (Where is the swimming pool?), many of which contain grammatical errors. The title itself, "Foux Du Fafa", is just a nonsense phrase and has no meaning in French. The visuals that accompany this song are in the style of a 1960s
Scopitone Scopitone is a type of jukebox featuring a 16 mm film component. Scopitone films were a forerunner of music videos. The 1959 Italian Cinebox/Colorama and Color-Sonics were competing, lesser-known technologies of the time one year before the Scop ...
music video.


"K.I.S.S.I.N.G."

'"K.I.S.S.I.N.G."Track listing of Folk the World Tour album
SmokeCDs

What the Folk! website
(a.k.a. A Kiss Is Not A Contract) is sung by Bret after Lisa wakes him to solicit sex. The song talks about how kissing shouldn't necessarily lead to anything else. The video that accompanies the song mimics the style of the video for the
Serge Gainsbourg Serge Gainsbourg (; born Lucien Ginsburg; 2 April 1928 â€“ 2 March 1991) was a French musician, singer-songwriter, actor, author and filmmaker. Regarded as one of the most important figures in French pop, he was renowned for often provoca ...
song "Ballade De Melody Nelson".Serge Gainsbourg's ''"Ballade de Melody Nelson"'' on YouTube
/ref> Also, there is an instrumental version of "Rock the Party" heard at the beginning of Bret and Lisa's second date.


Cultural references

The episode contains several references to the film ''
Top Gun ''Top Gun'' is a 1986 American action drama film directed by Tony Scott, produced by Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, with distribution by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was written by Jim Cash and Jack Epps Jr., and was inspired by an a ...
'' and the concept of a '
wingman A wingman (or wingmate) is a pilot or UAV who supports another pilot in a potentially dangerous flying environment. ''Wingman'' was originally the plane flying beside and slightly behind the lead plane in an aircraft formation. According to th ...
' where one friend helps another get dates, although Jemaine claims not to know the film. At one point, Murray asks for examples of records Quincy Jones made. Bret then mentions
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
's ''
Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and t ...
'', which Murray mistakes as a comment about Michael Jackson's legendary antics.


Filming locations

The cafe scenes were filmed at Fabiane's Cafe and Pastry in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn Williamsburg is a Neighborhoods in Brooklyn, neighborhood in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn, bordered by Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Greenpoint to the north; Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, Bedford–Stuyvesant to the s ...
.Flight of the Conchords Learn To Avoid Willamsburg Waitresses
(Jaunted.com)
The outdoor scenes during the song "Foux Du Fafa" were filmed in
McGolrick Park Monsignor McGolrick Park is located in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, in New York City, between Driggs Avenue to the south, Russell Street to the west, Nassau Avenue to the north, and Monitor Street to the east. History The land for the park was acquired ...
in
Greenpoint, Brooklyn Greenpoint is the northernmost neighborhood in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, in the U.S. state of New York. It is bordered on the southwest by Williamsburg at Bushwick Inlet Park and McCarren Park; on the southeast by the Brooklyn†...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Girlfriends (Flight Of The Conchords) Flight of the Conchords episodes 2007 American television episodes Television episodes directed by James Bobin