Pink House – The premiere episode opens with an older Asian lady opening a Long Beach donut shop. A Long Beach Officer Boucher (Scott MacArthur) arrives to pick up his regular order before returning to his cruiser to resume his Harry Potter reading. This is soon interrupted by a speeding Mercedes Benz G Wagon. When the officer catches up and phones in the plates, the dispatcher claims that the owner might be an Abbott Elementary actor. It turns out to be Vince Staples (Vince Staples), who ends up in lockup thanks to an outstanding warrant.

It’s not long before Vince is recognized and approached by a charismatic inmate named Robb (Christopher Meyer), looking to make a name for himself in the music industry. Robb doesn’t have a problem talking up his musical talent, but Robb tells him that he doesn’t really mess with the music like that because of what it did to Michael Jackson. Vince eventually has to come straight out and tell Robb that he’s not in the mood to talk about or listen to music right now. Although Robb appears to get the hint and leaves, he’s beatboxing and singing his tune. It’s awful enough to send Vince to the front of the cell to seek a guard. Instead, he’s recognized by another inmate, Poke (Rafael Castillo) outside the cell, who threatens him. Vince later learns from Robb that Poke isn’t much of a fighter, but he doesn’t shank a lot of people.

The threat only adds to Vince’s urgency to make bail. His first option is Bri (Nate’ Jones), who appears to be in the middle of a real estate scam when she answers her phone. It immediately becomes clear that Bri wants no part of his troubles and suggests calling Deja (Andrea Ellsworth). Vince claims he doesn’t want to bother her, knowing that she is scheduled for a double shift today.

Vine is returned to the cell and greeted by a much older inmate, Walter (Teddy Lane Jr.), who can’t stop reminiscing about the “cat and mouse” thrill he used to get from being locked up. Walter carries on much of the conversation for the next few minutes until he reveals that he was stabbed by Poke. This leads to Vince calling on a guard (Bryan Greenburg), who turns out to be a fan. Although Vince is given a bit of VIP treatment in the guard’s break room, he is eventually returned to an empty holding cell.

Vince doesn’t get too much time alone thanks to the arrival of Robb, who is excited about the reunion. Vince practically wastes his next call on his mother, Anita (Vanessa Bell Calloway) who not only refuses to bail him out but seen him get arrested. Their quick conversation reveals that Vince bailed her out of jail last week. Being that she is sipping a drink by the pool, it’s very much alluded to that Anita is also enjoying Vince’s successes. Before the call ends, Vince is encouraged yet again to call Deja, which he refuses to do.

Vince not only finds Robb in the cell when he’s returned, but it appears to be nearly overflowing with new arrivals. It also appears to be mealtime judging from the way Vince is aimlessly staring at his unappetizingly plain sandwich. Without taking a bite, he discovers a yellow Uno game card. He ultimately gives the sandwich to Robb, who attempts to learn more about Vince’s arrest. Vince only explains his arrest by saying that everyone makes mistakes. Robb responds by claiming that jail isn’t that bad and can even be used as a networking tool for the right people. Before their conversation ends, Robb asks Vince if he wants to room up if and when they are sent to the back. Vince claims he won’t be in long enough to be sent back.

When Robb is gone, Vince finds his attention averted to an inmate on the toilet, attempting to retrieve a joint from his bowels. He’s not only successful, but he smokes it right there in the cell. The whole encounter appears to give Vince the idea of removing a piece of the toilet and shaping it into a shank. After several hours of grinding, he appears to have a fairly sharp edge but decides to talk things through with Poke. The conversation doesn’t go as Vince intended, but it doesn’t matter because Officer Boucher soon arrives to let Vince know he’s being released. As he’s being processed out, Officer Gutierrez (Arturo Castro) alludes to Vince’s arrest being a case of mistaken identity. Vince doesn’t respond but turns down an offer to be driven to his vehicle.

Later, Vince returns to his vehicle to only discover that it has been towed due to his parking in a tow zone. The episode ends with him walking home to find Deja cooking dinner. He claims his day was boring when asked.

 

The Vince Staples Show Review

Thank goodness for shorter runtime because I don’t know how much more I could have taken. I suppose I shouldn’t be that harsh because I’d give 4.3 out of 10 and parts were kind of comical. It wasn’t anywhere near as racist as I had expected. This was my introduction to Vince Staples, although I recognized him from some other things, I wasn’t familiar with his work. He certainly isn’t old-school, Dave Chappelle, but I might be encouraged to check out some of his comedy.

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