Wedding Balls is the 22nd episode of the fourth season and 93rd overall.
Grace helps at Will's cousin Alison's wedding but finds herself making preparations for her own non-existent wedding. Will and Karen bond over a book which makes Jack jealous.
Synopsis[]
The Marriage of Equals[]
I hear Will has a tie made out of boogers.
Karen finds out Will is reading the same book she is and they bond over it. This makes Jack feel so neglected and jealous that he comes close "to reading the damn thing".
After Karen blows off her plans with Jack, he goes to the book signing which Will and Karen are attending and causes a scene. To be able to settle Jack's jealousy, Will and Karen stage a fight which Jack witnesses, alleviating his jealous feelings.
Bob and Alison's wedding[]
Grace agrees to help out plan the wedding of Will's cousin Alison with the groom Bob. The excitement gets out of hand for Grace, however and she ends up planning her own non-existent wedding, including trying on Alison's wedding dress. Will intervenes and Grace forces him to admit that she got carried away because she may never get married herself.
Cast[]
Main[]
- Eric McCormack (Will Truman)
- Debra Messing (Grace Adler)
- Sean Hayes (Jack McFarland)
- Megan Mullally (Karen Walker)
Guest[]
- Steven Shenbaum (Bob)
- Tracy Nelson (Alison Pollette)
- Kimberly Scott (Rita Pigeon)
- Stephanie Erb (Mona)
- Nicole Forester (Lucy)
- Tia Riebling (Mute Bride)
- Judy Nazemetz (Clerk)
Notes[]
- Will and Karen bond over The Marriage of Equals by Rita Pigeon, a fictional book. Karen's love of reading is again referenced in I Second That Emotion when she tells about her obsession with the Harry Potter books. She also mentions attending her Christian Book Club in the episode Partners.
- Karen uses her alias Anastasia Beaverhausen again.
- Second time Grace wears a wedding gown, after the pilot.
- Tracy Nelson, daughter of musician Ricky Nelson, plays Alison in this episode.
Cultural references[]
- While using the vacuum, Grace refers to Will as Hazel, after the titular maid in the TV series during the 60s.
- While Jack and Karen act bitchy towards Will, he refers to them as two Heathers, referencing the 1988 high school film Heathers where three popular girls all named Heather bully the entire school.
- Jack and Karen were supposed to go comedian Bea Arthur's one-woman show An Evening with Bea Arthur and yell out "Maude!", after Arthur's famous role on the 70s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude.
- One of the brides in the dressing room has "her jaw wired shut so she could fit in her dress". This is an actual weight-loss procedure to prevent ingestion of solid foods.
A magician. like a prostitute, never reveals her tricks. — Karen, on her card tricks
| Grace: | I think it needs to be taken in. |
| Will: | Honey, I think maybe you need to be taken in. |
Because of your book, my two friends have formed this sick little club... and I've tried everything to get back with them. I even came this close to reading the damn thing! — Jack