Girls (and Boys) on Film

Girls (and Boys) on Film is the fifteenth episode of Glee's fourth season and the eighty-first episode overall. It premiered on March 7, 2013 after a three week hiatus.

Will states that movies and films are another way to calm people down from the day-to-day anxieties, in this case, himself being left at the altar by Emma in the last episode. He sets up a mash-up Boys Vs. Girls competition, based on songs from films. The Glee Club preps up for the competition as they perform their 500th musical performance on the show. As the Glee Club prepares for the competition, Finn assists Will in finding Emma successfully. Back in New York, Santana gets too comfortable in the Bushwick apartment for Kurt and Rachel's liking. When Adam, Kurt, Rachel, and Santana are snowbound, Santana digs out the dirty secret to who Brody really is and also finds out Rachel's pregnancy test results. Marley and Ezra make confessions about secrets that do not end up well.

It was directed by Ian Brennan and written by Michael Hitchcock.

Plot
In a black-and-white art deco fantasy sequence, Will and Emma duet Fred Astaire-style to You're All the World to Me from Royal Wedding, singing and dancing on the walls and ceiling. But Will wakes up with a start, revealing that it's all a dream after falling asleep with the TV on.

Will's inspired to assign his students a movie-themed assignment - singing songs from their favorite films - while Artie's already got movies on the mind and is about to make his first micro-budgeted film. Finn urges Will to amp up his search for Emma, but Ezra insists that she should have her space and that Emma will come back to him if and when she's ready, because he's worried about Will finding out the truth. Sue reveals that Emma found out about Will cheating, but if she has any insight into her whereabouts, she refuses to tell Finn. Finn is determined to get to the bottom of it confronting Will about the bra. Who promises he didn't sleep with anyone. Will is confused and lost so Ezra suggests finding Emma's parents, Finn questions him on why he changed his mind about helping to which Ezra remains secretive. A suspisious Finn then remembers Ezra sharing a hotel room with Will.



Brittany and Blaine propose kicking off the glee club's guys vs. girls mash-up week with a shared movie number before the gender showdown, with Blaine offering up Shout as it appeared in National Lampoon's Animal House by Otis Day and the Knights (a performance that marks Glee's 500th musical number).



Santana suffers through a snowbound weekend in New York with her roommates gee​king out over musical theater, and her open hostility unnerves Rachel - but not as much as her baby-themed movie marathon choices, as Rachel continues to sweat out the possibility that she's pregnant. Kurt opts for Moulin Rouge!, envisioning himself dueting with Blaine on Come What May. Still, as they watch the real movie scene, Kurt tears up but tries to conceal the reason from possible new guy Adam, though Santana bluntly reveals that it was Kurt and Blaine's dream to sing the song to each other at their wedding.

Santana next expresses her misgivings about Brody, revealing that she found a large stash of cash and a pager among his belongings. She's convinced he's a drug dealer, and when Rachel attempts to prove otherwise, Brody's evasive behavior only bolsters Santana's theory.



Rusty and Rose Pillsbury are lured to McKinley on the belief that an anti-ginger-bullying club founded by Emma is floundering, with Finn and Artie both posing as redheads to wheedle Emma's address out of them.



Paying homage to Tom Cruise films, Blaine, Artie, and Joe don flight suits for their mash-up, leading off with Kenny Loggins Danger Zone, joined by Sam, Jake, and Ryder stripped down to their tighty-whiteys on Bob Segers Old Time Rock &amp; Roll. As the glee girls prepare their own number, Jade and Marley talk about their relationships. When Jade senses something is wrong, Marley confides that Ryder kissed her, but she still likes Jake. A seemingly understanding Jade suggests that she work it out because no one likes a liar Aria stands in the background thinking about what she said. The girls perform their mash-up of Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend, done Marilyn Monroe-style from Gentlemen Prefer Blondes; and Material Girl, from Madonna's own Monroe tribute video.



Adam asks Kurt if he and Blaine really did share the Moulin Rouge! number, and when Kurt's lingering feelings for Blaine are exposed, Adam explains that he can't compete with a fantasy. But when Kurt says he's trying to get over Blaine, Adam suggests they go to the sappiest movie they can find and make that their film. Finn tells Will that Emma's been staying with her sister and tries to inspire Will to make a big movie-style romantic play to win her back.



Will parks outside the house where Emma's holed up, singing Peter Gabriel's In Your Eyes complete with "Say Anything"-type boombox, with New Directions backing him up, and draws Emma to the window. Will and Emma try to work out just why Emma bolted from the wedding: she felt that she barely knew him anymore when he returned from Washington, D.C because before he wasn't the kind of guy who would cheat. A floudered Will is confused to which Emma tells him about the bra stating that Ezra said he'd never seen it before. Will says it wasn't his and she believes him. He also suggests starting to get to know each other all over again, beginning with a Friday-night movie date.



Still pushing her Brody theories, Santana reveals to Rachel that she knows about her pregnancy test. Rachel claims that she doesn't know what Santana's talking about, but Santana continues to push for answers. Rachel breaks down in Santana's arms, and Santana comforts her, looking very concerned. Meanwhile, Jake has Marley meet him in an art classroom, where he confesses that he didn't come up with all his impressive Valentine's Day touches on his own. To make up for using Ryder's ideas, Jake sets up a pottery wheel and plans to sings Marley's favorite song, recreating the iconic scene from Ghost. During the performance, a guilt-ridden Marley has an out-of-body experience, watching in anguish as Ryder replaces Jake at the pottery wheel, singing to and kissing her. At the end of the song, as Jake attempts to kiss her, she stops him and confesses that she let Ryder kiss her. Jake quietly storms out of the room as she pleads for him not to go, leaving her in tears.

Will announces the winner of the movie mash-up competition, once again proclaiming everyone a victor, much to the annoyance of the club. He also asks to speak privately with Finn and Ezra, thanking them for helping save the day with Emma. Ezra breaks down and reveals that he lied to Emma about the bra, Will says he deserves to know who the other person was that ruined his wedding was. Ezra says he can't but urges Will to punch him for messing everything up: "I deserve it." But Will, thrown by the revelation, simply walks away.

Meanwhile, New Directions closes out their lesson with a rendition of Kenny Loggins', Footloose and record the performance for Artie's film.

Guest Stars

 * Jayma Mays as Emma Pillsbury
 * Vanessa Lengies as Sugar Motta
 * Alex Newell as Unique Adams
 * Samuel Larsen as Joe Hart
 * Melissa Benoist as Marley Rose
 * Jacob Artist as Jake Puckerman
 * Blake Jenner as Ryder Lynn
 * Elizabeth Gillies as Jade West
 * Don Most as Rusty Pillsbury
 * Valerie Mahaffey as Rose Pillsbury
 * Oliver Kieran-Jones as Adam Crawford

Absent Cast Members

 * Mark Salling as Noah Puckerman
 * Amber Riley as Mercedes Jones
 * Harry Shum Jr. as Mike Chang

Trivia

 * The title-card is made to look like an old black-and-white movie.
 * This is the only episode to feature brackets in the title.Girlsandboysonfilmtitlecard.gif
 * Shout is the 500th musical number on the show.
 * The episode title is a play on the song "Girls On Film," performed by 80s pop/rock band, Duran Duran.
 * Tina, Brittany, Marley, and Jade were supposed to sing "Maniac" from Flashdance, but it got cut. Source
 * Brody was supposed to have his first released solo in this episode. It was supposed to be El Tango de Roxanne, but it was later replaced by How to Be a Heartbreaker as a duet with Rachel in Feud. Source
 * This is the first time a mash up competition has not taken place during the sixth episode of the season.
 * It is also the first mash up competition after which a result is announced, although this competition resulted in a draw.
 * When Will and Emma are discussing their problems by the car, she can be seen wearing the same coat she wore in Special Education on the scene she tells Will she can't go with the New Directions to Sectionals because of her husband Carl.
 * This episode drew a 2.4 rating. Source
 * Dean Geyer was not credited in this episode, as he did not appear but Brody's voice was heard in a phone call with Rachel.
 * Will has his blue car that he drove to school in Pilot.
 * Emma Bunton (Baby Spice) was present during the filming of the Shout performance as she was filming the mini-documentary "I Heart Glee" for Sky 1. Curiously enough, Glee would make a cover of the Spice Girls' hit, Wannabe two episodes later, with Unique being the one who portrays Baby Spice.
 * The New Directions Girls were supposed to sing Diamonds/Diamonds Are Forever by Rihanna/Shirley Bassey but was changed for unknown reasons.
 * Last time Emma sings in Season Four.
 * Last time that all members of New Directions are present until All or Nothing, seven episodes later.
 * Ian Brennan said they couldn't settle on a title for this episode. They wanted to call the episode "What Ever Happened to Emma Pillsburry" or "Cinema Pare-glee-so" however, they decided on Girls (and boys) On Film.

Quotes
"Ain't nobody got time for that."

"Santana: $1,200 in cash.

Rachel: Where did you find that?

Santana: Last night, when I was rooting through all the pockets and drawers in this apartment."

"Marley: Ryder kissed me.

Jade: Did his humongous donkey teeth bite into your lips?"

Cultural references

 * Unique mentions The Crying Game.
 * Kitty mentions Les Misérables.
 * Sam makes an impression of Nicolas Cage from the movie The Wickerman.
 * Sugar mentions The Artist.
 * Finn mentions Stand and Deliver and Zero Dark Thirty.
 * Artie makes a reference to The Fugitive in which Jane Lynch played Dr. Kathy Wahlund.
 * When Artie talks to Finn about how difficult it'll be to find Emma, Finn is flustered and says "Ain't nobody got time for that" which is a reference to the  viral news video about Sweet Brown.
 * Sam mentions Nightmare on Elm Street, particularly the third installment which is Dream Warriors.
 * Tina mentions Working Girl.
 * Marley mentions Beaches.
 * Though not referenced directly in the episode both of the songs Shout and Unchained Melody that were performed, are also both references to Whoopi Goldberg whom has guess starred in Season 3 & 4 as Carmen Tibideaux, as the song Shout was used as the ending credits song for the movie Sister Act and Unchained Melody was a song used in Ghost, both of which Whoopi has starred in.
 * Santana mentions Eli Roth, the director of the Hostel horror movies. "It's like Eli Roth decided to make a gay horror movie, and this is the scene right before we eat each other."
 * Adam and Kurt mention Downton Abbey.
 * Santana calls Adam "Doctor Who," a reference to a British T.V. show.
 * Santana picked Knocked Up, Rosemary's Baby and She's Having a Baby from the DVD collection.
 * Santana calls Rachel and Brody "Lars and the Real Boy," which is a reference to the movie Lars and the Real Girl. Ironically, in doing this, Santana is calling Brody a sex doll, something that is paid for in exchange for sexual favors. However, Santana doesn't find out that Brody is an escort until later on.
 * Before the performance of Old Time Rock & Roll/Danger Zone, Sugar said that the boys should do a mash-up of "Batdance," a song from the 1986 film Batman and "Howard the Duck" from the film of the same name.
 * Joe says 'You can't handle the truth!' thinking it was Tom Cruise's line. It was actually said by Jack Nicholson from the movie, A Few Good Men.
 * Kurt mentions Newsies saying the movie is lousy with pirouettes.
 * Will mentions Steven Spielberg's Lincoln.
 * Santana called Kurt and Adam The Hardy Boys.
 * Marley mentions The Hunger Games, saying it's her favorite romantic movie of all time, though she was likely joking.
 * Santana called Brody, Pablo Escobar, a Colombian drug lord.