Jesse & Joey Bought The Smash Club Back On 'Fuller House' & It Brought Back So Many Memories

June 2024 · 4 minute read

There are plenty of iconic locations that dedicated Full House fans are familiar with — the Tanner home, the set of Wake Up, San Francisco, and, of course, the Smash Club. The venue was heavily featured in the seventh season of Full House when Jesse learned that he had inherited the club after its owner's passing. Jesse and his band, the Rippers, played the Smash Club more than any other band, leaving him the perfect person to take the place over. And, in the Season 3 finale of Fuller House, Joey and Jesse bought back the Smash Club for one more party.

In the finale, the Tanner family and company were celebrating the 30-year "Dadiversary" of Joey and Jesse moving in with Danny to care for D.J., Stephanie, and Michelle after his wife passed. Not only was it an awesome reason to get everyone back together, including some characters who aren't present in every episode of Fuller House, but they also had a wonderfully nostalgic theme — the 1980s. The cast reentered the iconic club decked out in '80s gear — pink wigs, leather jackets, extremely large perms, and leopard print galore. There were also adorable details hearkening back to the show's original run — old photos of the cast members in their younger years were plastered on the walls, making it seem almost like a return home for the Tanners after a long time away.

It was a welcome and somewhat unexpected return for the Smash Club —though it served a purpose in Full House, it didn't span many seasons — so it was almost like a gift for the fans who are up on every single detail of the show's past. In the original series, Kimmy and D.J. had worked there as waitresses when they were teenagers and it was under Jesse's ownership. During that time, it was a neon-lit, brightly colored club that Jesse had carefully restored to its former glory after a years of neglect. It seems as though Jesse and Joey are about to recreate that journey with the Smash Club in Fuller House, too, given its current state — it's since been turned into a laundromat. But, Jesse promised Becky that they were going to restore it to its former glory once again. After all, they couldn't just take the easy route and buy another existing club and rename it — they had already paid cash for the original place.

The WB

If D.J. and Kimmy seemed like newcomers in a foreign land as they waited tables in the original club decades ago, the group's children were even moreso plopped down into a culture they had never seen before. "Some lady named Madonna," one of the kids responded when asked who she was dressed as. "She wore a lot of crosses, so I'm guessing she was a religious leader." It was a cute twist that made it all the more special — oftentimes the best thing about reliving things from the past is sharing it with a younger generation who didn't get the chance to experience it in the first place. It's reminiscent of how an entirely new group of viewers is enjoying Fuller House today, even if they were too young for the original series when it aired in the '90s.

The party went into full swing with Jesse and the Rippers reunited once more, playing a classic hit — "What I Like About You" — and then with Stephanie singing a song as a way to show love for her family. The entire party seemed to mirror the way that Fuller House has effortlessly blended old and new, tugging at our childhood memories while at the same time keeping things fresh, and that kind of flashback was the perfect way to end the season.

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