“Cowboys and Iranians,” last night’s episode of Will & Grace (nicknamed “Brokeback Jack”) was a no-laugh mountain.  In the “Cowboys” ‘A Story,’ Jack guilts Will into visiting Cowpokes, a gay country-western dance bar, to meet his new flame Travis.  While dancing with Travis, Will learns that Jack’s new love has a cheating, self-centered heart.

In the “Iranians” ‘B Story,’ Grace aspires to culture sensitivity, hiring Pam, a prickly Iranian assistant who is all attitude. Grace tolerates the inefficient, insufferable woman until she learns that, like herself, Pam is Jewish.  In the episode’s ‘Button,’ Grace laments, “Too bad I’m not Republican, then I wouldn’t have to worry about being sensitive to anyone.  I’d just have to worry about being indicted.”

Overall, the script fell short of the series’ award-winning standards.  But the laugh anemic “Cowboys” storyline benefited substantially from the appearance of Leslie Jordan in his recurring role as Munchkin closet queen Beverly Leslie.  Beverly denies knowing that Cowpokes is a gay bar, then he once again tries to pass off his hot male companion as a “business associate.”  In its eighth and final season, Will & Grace has delivered a few riotous episodes, most notably the one in which the cast attends a The Sound of Music Sing-a-long.  “Cowboys and Iranians” is not among these gems.  Ang Lee himself would have been hard-pressed to mold “Brokeback Jack” into a jewel in the Will & Grace crown.