TV Review: Parks and Recreation 4.05-- Meet & Greet

So much to say about this episode, starting with how glad I am that we got to see an actual Halloween episode this season, and that it highlighted some of the best this wacky bunch of lovable misfits (and Chris) have to offer.

We open with April and Andy planning the Halloween bash of a lifetime, which for Andy means lots of fun and candy and for April seems to mean something much more macabre.  One fun addition in this scene is the return of Food n Stuff, where, as the name indicates, you can get "all of your food, and most of your stuff."  Also, like Andy, I did not know what a "blood orphan" is.  I looked it up, and let's just say April, you are even more disturbing than I imagined.

We cut over to see what Leslie is up to this week, and find her prepping for a meeting with the owners of local businesses.  What's more, Tom has appointed himself her adviser so that she can better hype herself up and secure votes.  He is, naturally, doing this in exchange for some free exposure for Entertainment 720, which can only spell disaster.  Oh, and just when you're sure the deck isn't stacked against Leslie enough, Tom gets a clearly disturbing phone call from Jean Ralphio just before the meeting. 

I'd like to interject here and voice my disappointment that this is the second Halloween-centric episode this show has aired, and for the second time, Leslie doesn't get to partake in the festivities.  And while I enjoyed the story arc for her in both season 2's "Greg Pikitis" and this week's episode, I can't help but wonder if this is a missed opportunity.  Leslie seems like exactly the type of gal to get extremely invested in over-celebrating Halloween.

We cut back over to April and Andy's, where we are introduced to the very first version of Ben that I do not find remotely attractive, and that is passive-aggressive Ben.  He's pissed that Andy and April have decided to plan and execute this party without him, but rather than saying that like a grown person he decides to be petulant about it.  I get that you learned this behavior from your estranged parents, Ben (and nice drop-in with the backstory there, writers), but when Andy and April are both behaving more maturely than you are, you're doing something wrong.

The party quickly gets into full swing, and there are a ton of little fun things going on.  Orin, April's infinitely creepy friend (who is apparently a "genius"), makes an appearance, and Ron shows up in his pirate Halloween costume (he literally has one costume he wears every year).  The latter quickly becomes distracted by the many things wrong with Andy and April's ramshackle house, and appoints himself handyman, purchasing tools for them (and the sequence where he goes through their existing "toolbox" is hilarious), and then making the necessary repairs while everyone else dances and drinks the night away.  Ron does, however, need a sidekick with "small hands", and selects none other than Ann Perkins, which makes her (and me) incredibly happy.  I loved her and Ron's bonding in this episode, and I hope that this is some progress for both of their characters that doesn't get erased or ignored in future.

Back at Leslie's meeting, Tom is skillfully steering things downhill, at least for Leslie.  His attempts to publicize E720, which it is pretty clear by now is tanking, overshadow all of Leslie's efforts to appeal to the business community.  She tries to turn it around without losing her cool, but Tom is in rare form and she (understandably) gets frustrated, leading to one of their worst arguments/fights to date.

The next few scenes are filled with an almost unprecedented level of violence for this show, although it is all done in the name of hilarity and, oddly, character development.  First we see both Andy and April try to push Ben to confront his annoyance with them, each using different tactics.  I love that they both approach him like a sibling, because it indicates something about their current dynamic, and I love the idea of forcing Ben, who is probably the least physically aggressive character on the show, into an absurdly extended wrestling match (that was Andy's tactic, not April's, just to be clear).  And as if that dose of rough-housing isn't enough, we go back to a super angry Leslie who nearly drowns Tom for his attempted hijacking of her campaign event.  Luckily, no permanent damage appears to be done, and when Tom confesses that his company is bankrupt, the friendship seems repaired as well.

Back at the party, Andy finally pushes Ben to fight back, and earns himself a broken nose for his troubles.  It's okay, though, because the entire experience brings the bizarre co-habitating trio closer together than ever, with Ben asking for some basic respect ("Stop referring to my bedroom as a common space!"), and Andy and April asking that he not be such a little bitch in future (okay, that last part was my wording, not theirs).

How does Tom make things up to Leslie?  Well, by showing her the video biography he had originally made to air at the meeting.  This video, judging by the brief clips of it we saw, is a masterpiece on par with the phenomenal Lil' Sebastian memorial tribute, complete with Tom's ridiculously accented voiceover (it's Southern this time!).  For Leslie, though, this is a huge gesture, and it actually brings her to tears.  Once again, Tom surprises not with his douchiness, but with the surprisingly thoughtful gestures of which he occasionally proves capable.

Overall, this episode was both funny and sweet, and it moved several plots forward as well as giving insight into several characters.  Translation:  pretty much the best Halloween episode you could ask for.  Oh, except for the sub-plot with Chris.  I think I might have fallen asleep during that one, except for the moments where I felt really, really bad for Jerry for having to put up with "Sherlock Traeger."

Some favorite quotes:

"My parents would keep everything bottled up and subtly hint at what's bothering them, and after 36 years they are still....divorced!"  --Ben

"I stand by my decision to avoid salad and other disgusting things."  --Leslie

"This looks like a party for Tom's face."  --Leslie

"I don't like to throw around the word butthead too often, but....Tom is being a real dick."  --Leslie

"There are no rules."  --April, on dealing with her sister

"We're brothers."  --Andy, after Ben broke his nose

TV Review: Community 3.05-- Horror Fiction in Seven Spooky Steps

This was probably the weakest of this show's three Halloween episodes (but let's face it, topping last year's zombie mania was pretty much never going to happen), however, it was still pretty hilarious.  I liked this episode for many of the same reasons I liked last week's installment, "Remedial Chaos Theory."  It gave us the group in a bottle-episode situation with a twist, and we got a little bit of insight into each character (and their potential homicidal tendencies) with each scary story.

The premise is straightforward:  Britta is throwing a pre-party for Halloween with just the study group so that she can figure out who among them ranked alarmingly high on her psychology survey, indicating that the person in question may be "deeply disturbed" and possess "homicidal tendencies."  She naturally decides that the best way to out this person is to trade horror stories, trusting that the most deranged study group member will out themselves in the course of telling their tale.  The gang is pretty bummed about missing the school's Halloween dance, but it is probably a blessing in disguise, as the dance is serving taco meat from the Army surplus store (and we all remember what happened last time...).

Britta tells the most generic and dispassionate possible story, and is pronounced "embarrassing" by Abed for being so darn unoriginal.  Abed goes next, weaving a very logical, believable tale with textbook screenwriting elements, which concludes with the two protagonists standing back to back in the middle of the room holding knives (which, of course, is the obvious solution to just about every horror movie scenario).  Annie goes next, and her largely nauseating story involves Jeff as a vampire who just wants to become literate, and the innocent tutor who turns out to be...a werewolf!  Oh, and she also describes murdering the vampire in gruesome, graphic detail.  Also, this show's werewolf transformation effects are just plain bonkers.

Troy wants to one-up Annie, and his tale has Pierce as an old, racist doctor who sews Abed and Troy together, also inadvertently granting them the power of telepathic communication, which of course is a pretty happy ending.  Pierce follows with the grossest story yet, and one which isn't even scary (which is definitely not the most cringe-worthy thing about it).  But Shirley's story takes the cake, primarily because it is so obviously the product of her imagination and no one else's.  The gang is doing drugs and engaging in all manner of debauchery, when a radio report reveals that "all the good Christians have been raptured up to heaven" and that "the world is over."  They are then visited by angel-Shirley, who smugly forgives them, but insists that she can't save them.  I think the most frightening part of this story is that this is almost exactly how Shirley acts in reality.

The debate continues over who is the maniac in the group.  Is it Britta?  Is it somehow Chang, which Jeff posits in his tale, intended to distract the gang from turning on one another?  Is it Jeff himself, who reveals that he filled out the test at random, which likely yielded the singular batch of wacky results?  But the answer comes in the form of a kind of Occam's razor solution (the simplest explanation is usually the right one):  Britta "britta'ed" the test by feeding them into the reading machine upside down.  I have to admit, the coining of this as a term for messing up really does make me feel bad for Britta; she has consistently gotten the short end of the character stick for a while now, and I'd like to see that change.

With story time now over and the gang having thoroughly abused Britta for her failures as a "practitioner of the mental arts," we get the biggest twist of all, and one that is at the same time wholly unsurprising:  the tests actually yielded only one set of normal results.  Which means the gang, as we all know more than well by now, is chock full of lovable, yet sometimes worrying, crazy.  So all in all, a charming and feel-good Halloween episode.

TV Review: Once Upon a Time, Pilot

This blog entry is brought to you by the writers of LOST.  Just kidding (I wish).  Anyway, this show has been much-hyped, and there have been equal amounts of anticipation and skepticism surrounding its premise.  However, the pilot is absolutely stunning, a great start to a story I can't wait to experience.  
This is a fantastic pilot for the balance it strikes.  It's got mystery without being confusing, a certain degree of dazzle without being over-the-top, and characters who are equal parts fantastical and realistic (thanks surely in part to the fact that most of them have fairy tale alter-egos).

We start off in the fairy tale world with Snow White and her Prince, and the Evil Queen who vows to subject them to suffering in a world more terrible than any they can possibly imagine-- ours.  Cut to Jennifer Morrison's Emma, a bail bondsperson who is fiercely independent and "kind of a loner."  She's busy celebrating her 28th birthday all by her lonesome when who should knock at the door but a ten year old boy who says he's the son she gave up for adoption.  He, naturally, wants her to accompany him to one Storybrook, Maine where, we will soon learn, all of our favorite fairy tale characters are living, completely unaware of their true identities.

ABC is taking full advantage of the ease with which they've been able to link this show to the fan base of shows like LOST.  For one thing, throughout the episode we see numerous fun little references to the show that launched a million theories, as well as many similar elements of mystery.  After all, the pilot already brought us a prophecy (not to mention the creepy, inscrutable Rumpelstiltskin, who made it), magical memory loss, several ambiguous characters who may prove to be either friend or foe, and a love story between two characters who've been separated by the Queen's spell.  This show definitely has the potential to emulate LOST's weekly cliffhanger/boatload of unanswered questions design as well, and with maybe even a little more mass appeal (because much as I love the show in question, not everyone shares my fascination with things like time travel and polar bears well outside their natural habitat).  I'm already excited to go back and look for details I missed before, and speculate wildly on the meaning they might hold.

The vote is generally split on Jennifer Morrison as an actress-- some people like her, others can't stand her.  I think her performance here is a lot more dimensional than I was expecting, and I think I can definitely get on board with her as our heroine.  The rest of the cast fits their respective roles just about perfectly-- Ginnifer Goodwin is particularly adorable as a princess-turned-schoolteacher.  Everyone brings their absolute best, and it is a trend I hope will continue throughout the season. 

I also really love the emphasis the pilot places on the importance of stories.  One of my favorite scenes in the pilot features Emma and Snow White's schoolteacher persona in a conversation about the power of fairy tales to take us out of our own reality, particularly if that reality is a disappointing one.  Not only do I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment, I have a sneaky suspicion that this show may just have the power to play the same role for those who watch it.

What can we expect to see this season?  Well, apart from trying to solve the mystery of everyone's fairy tale identities, I'm already wondering what the Queen's deal is (she's got to have more to her than simply wanting to punish everyone, especially going to the length of inserting herself in Storybrook with them), as well as what, exactly, Rumpelstiltskin is up to, and how Emma becomes more active in the events with which she is prophesied to be involved.

Mid-Week Mediocre TV Roundup

This week has been a bit of a letdown on most of our favorite shows, and because I'm feeling miffed about that, I'm not granting each of them a separate review.  Yes, I know the producers of these shows must be in tears over their inability to read my extended commentary (sure to be witty and not at all meandering), but they shall overcome, I'm sure.  I recall a similar slump around this time last year-- now that all the dust from premiere season has settled, the shows can rest up in preparation for Halloween episodes (if applicable) and of course, November sweeps, which are only a few short weeks away.  How I Met Your Mother, 2 Broke Girls, and Up All Night were each funny but underwhelming, and I'm pretty sure NBC is running repeats of its Thursday night lineup, so that should indicate the kind of week it's been.  My hope is that seeing these usually strong shows phone it in this week means that we've got a lot to look forward to in the near future.


How I Met Your Mother 7.06-- Mystery vs. History:  This show is famous for having some episodes that are very sitcom-y in that they really are just filler, there to issue a few laughs and maybe, just maybe move a subplot along by baby steps.  And that's exactly what we got from HIMYM this week (no pun intended on the baby steps thing).  We found out that Marshall and Lily are having a BOY, and...well, that's pretty much everything of note that happened.  The rest of the episode had Kevin noting some of the gang's less than psychologically sound behaviors, which for me threw up a red flag that he and Robin may be headed for trouble soon (not that I was expecting them to last, since the writers are kind of already slowly ruining the character, as they do whenever we aren't supposed to get too attached).  Oh, and also, they painted the baby's room a truly hideous shade of yellow.  Oh yeah, and Ted went on a date with a girl he did not research on the Internet, and who is also...not the mother.

2 Broke Girls 1.05-- ...And the 90's Horse Party:  More clever banter, more hipster bashing, more crazy antics involving the girls' adorably awkward boss.  Overall, this episode was definitely chock full of things I enjoy...except for forward momentum.  This show needs to get a thread that can tie episodes together, something slightly more significant than the running total of funds for their cupcake shop. 

Up All Night 1.05-- The Birth:  I was skeptical going into this about having the birth as an entire flashback episode, but this actually turned out to be the best show of the week (though as discussed, the competition was far from stiff).  All three of the lead actors were charming and hilarious as usual, and it was admittedly fun to get to see what happened before the beginning, in a sense.  Maya Rudolph was especially funny as Ava in pre-baby meltdown mode (and she wasn't even the one having a kid), and bonus points to the writers for not dragging out the actual labor scenes, which are always, always tedious to watch.

Two additional thoughts:  pretty sure whatever reruns they dig up of Parks and Community will be better than the new episodes of most of these shows.  Additionally, New Girl has been on hiatus for two weeks, and isn't coming back till November 1st, and I...don't really miss it at all.  Oh well.

Movie Review: The Ides of March

This is by far the most outstanding film I've seen this year.  All the elements are in place, and it is clear that George Clooney and company are not fucking around this time.  They are gunning for an award (or ten), and this movie makes an absolutely compelling case that they deserve one.

First, let's talk about the fundamentals.  This is one of the most well-written movies I've seen in a very long time.  I honestly don't remember the last time that thought rang so thoroughly through my mind while I was in the midst of watching a film, but it did this time on several occasions.  The script does a brilliant job of plowing right into the meat of the plot, no time for dumbing-down or explanations.  Words are rarely, if ever, wasted in this script, and the various twists and turns are set up with such careful precision that they are unexpected and yet completely logical.  No one is going for sheer shock value or flash here, just plain good storytelling. 

The cast of this film is impeccable, starting with the supporting players.  Phillip Seymour-Hoffman and Paul Giamatti play campaign advisers on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but who both have the same brand of sleaze just oozing from them.  Both play their parts perfectly, giving the audience a simultaneous disgust for their tactics as well as a dull appreciation for their cleverness.  Evan Rachel Wood also has a surprisingly impressive turn in this film as a young intern working on the Mike Morris (the character played by Clooney) campaign alongside Hoffman and Ryan Gosling.  She is perfect in this role, and it is far and away the best performance I've ever seen from her.  And of course, George Clooney plays the handsome, good-natured politician in a part it seems he was born to play.  Though his performance as Morris is somewhat understated (though no less compelling for that), his influence on the film is pervasive, not merely in credit (he directed, produced, and co-wrote the film), but in style.  It is clear that he has pushed everyone, including himself, to be their very best in this film.

And speaking of performers at their best.. no one is more on top of their game in this movie than Ryan Gosling. It is possible that I actually have too many good things to say about Gosling's performance in this film.  I have said in the past that he gets better with each film he appears in (well, the serious ones, anyway), and Ides of March does nothing to disprove this theory.  Gosling's character Steven goes on an incredible and nuanced journey in this film, and capturing the essence of his transformation would be a challenge for any actor, but Gosling makes it look effortless.  And his success in this role can't even be attributed to the fact that he's got a fabulous script to work with; I'm convinced a deaf person could watch this film and read the story in Gosling's face and eyes, and leave with the same overwhelming sense of awe as those of us who could hear his lines.  What is even more impressive is the fact that, among this all-star cast, Gosling genuinely stands out.  He plays well off of all the other actors, but none more so than George Clooney-- they have a confrontation in a kitchen near the film's climax that will just about blow your mind--and Gosling comes out the stronger performer of the two, which is no small feat. 

Overall, this film is everything I've come to want from an Oscar contender.  Actors turning in the performances of a lifetime; a thought-provoking and intriguing script; and perhaps most importantly, a story that is startlingly relevant to our current state of affairs. 

Book Review: The Submission by Amy Waldman

This novel, which made its debut just a few months ago, has already received huge amounts of praise.  Indeed, in the review that ultimately persuaded me to read it the writer hailed it as the best depiction of the post-9/11 environment in America that has been seen in the decade since the attack.  Now having read the book myself (though certainly not having read all of the other texts in contention for that particular article's praise), I can say that in many ways, I agree.

The Submission follows the lives of a handful of characters during the much-publicized debate over how to best memorialize the former site of the World Trade Center.  It takes place approximately two years after the dust has settled, but tempers and fears are still at an escalated level, to say the least.  In the opening chapters, we see a jury of various intellectuals and experts attempt to narrow down the candidates for a design and select a winner from thousands of anonymous submissions.  We meet Claire Burwell, a 9/11 widow who has been given the nearly impossible task of representing all the men and women who lost loved ones that day.  She advocates heartily for a beautiful design that she feels will best embody a message of both remembrance and healing, and manages to capture the necessary votes to declare it the winner.

Of course, the story is far from over.  The winning design is revealed to have been dreamed up by an American Muslim man living in New York.  Mohammed Kahn is as talented and insightful as he is disagreeable and arrogant.  And if that weren't difficulty enough, the news breaks to the press that a Muslim designer has been selected to memorialize the terrorist attack victims, igniting a sprawling and fiery backlash from many corners.  We as readers are provided a vivid account of each player's psyche, and each seems to have something valid to offer, from Kahn to Claire (who now has to defend him to the enraged families she is meant to represent), to a grieving protest leader, to a frightened immigrant husband who lost her husband in the attack but has not been given the right to acknowledge her grief.

As the debate descends into a state of publicity-fueled mayhem, each page offers more and more to consider.  Here in 2011, ten years after that awful day, we have been able to soothe some of our anger, and rationality has largely returned.  It is thus the perfect time to take our patchy attitudes of tolerance and turn them on their heads, to make us question our own values, and most importantly, try to imagine what stance we would take in such an impossible situation.  At first it seems obvious:  the designer who won should be allowed to design the memorial, no question about it.  But as more and more of the story is revealed, as character's truest beliefs and motives come to life, a black-and-white question becomes more and more colored in shades of grey.  And as someone who just six weeks ago was bombarded with the myriad TV specials and newspaper articles commemorating the attacks' anniversary, I think shades of grey might just be the most accurate way to truly summarize this nation's collective feelings about and understanding of what we went through that day, and what it meant.

If there is anything to criticize about this book, it is that the prose itself seems a bit awkward at times, almost as though Waldman didn't consider how it might sound read aloud or how it might be better phrased to prevent the reader from having to stop and start while trucking through dense paragraphs.  Waldman lucks out, though, because the narrative itself is compelling enough to prompt the reader to plow through the rougher bits.  The characters may be clumsily depicted at certain moments, but looking at the vibrancy of the broad strokes allows for a much better picture. 

And the final thing I'll say about this book is something I almost never say about any book:  I think this should be adapted into a film.  I am usually against books being made into films, primarily because so many beloved stories have been butchered by the Hollywood treatment.  However, I think if this book were allowed to become a thoughtful, honest film, it would do a lot of good.  This is primarily because (as judgmental as it might sound), the people to whom this book's message can teach the most are not necessarily the people I envision picking it up at their local bookshop (assuming said bookshop hasn't bankrupted and closed yet).  I hate to admit it, but if this were presented visually, with an attractive/recognizable cast and a script which smooths over the flaws in Waldman's writing, we could have a genuinely compelling, intellectually and culturally important film on our hands. 

I think I understand now, having read it, why that article named this book as the best representation of 9/11's aftermath.  It doesn't seek to sentimentalize anything or take advantage of the reader's emotional connection to the event to tell the story; it simply tells the story from a few narrow viewpoints, and manages to bring you back to that moment in our history without invoking any of the actual imagery that has been so imprinted in our minds.  Waldman speaks not from a soapbox but from the middle of a diverse crowd, offering snapshots of ordinary people dealing with extraordinary circumstances, and attempting to navigate them as ethically as they know how.

TV Review: Parks and Recreation 4.04-- Pawnee Rangers

At this point I am fairly convinced this show is no longer capable of turning out a bad episode.  "Pawnee Rangers" is the fourth phenomenal episode in a season that has been damn near perfect so far. 

In this episode we get to see Leslie and Ron's dueling scout troops, the Pawnee Rangers and the Pawnee Goddesses (can you guess whose is whose?).  Ron comes at his leadership role with his usual manly stoicism, giving us a hilarious extension of what we saw back in "Go Big or Go Home" with his basketball team.  And Leslie, of course, showers her girl power fueled troop with affection, merit badges, candy, and puppies (no, seriously).  It quickly becomes clear who has the superior troop, as Ron's men-in-training begin to defect to Leslie's group.

Leslie's "little Leslie Knope monsters" are perfect playing against Amy Poehler in this episode, especially when they begin to channel their enthusiastic leader just a little too much (it's 70% pride-inspiring, 30% annoying).  They lead a public forum to determine whether boys should be allowed to join the Pawnee Goddesses, and it is fantastic.  It also leads to Ron's entire troop (including Andy, aka Brother Nature) taking a pledge of womanhood.  The story wraps up really well, though, with Leslie recruiting the best members of each troop for Ron's elite group, The Swansons.  I hope they make a return appearance soon.

Additionally, the Goddesses hate Ann.  I feel kind of bad that most of the stories involving Ann this season have been her trying to get people to be nice to her, but this one is too hilarious.  It's mostly because she just tries to gosh darn hard to get people to like her, and she just fails almost every time (though that scheme with the fish seems to work out pretty well; then again, maybe she just gets along better with boys).  I also like that as much as the Goddesses hate Ann, they love April.

And if that all weren't enough to make this episode extremely appealing, I haven't even gotten to the hilarious subplot involving Tom, Donna, and Ben.  Donna shows her compassionate side by sensing that Ben is feeling a bit off (though she does erroneously attribute it to Game of Thrones' cancellation at first), and convinces Tom to take him along with them on their "Treat Yourself Day" field trip.  What in the world is "Treat Yourself Day", you ask?  Well, it sounds like just about the best day ever, and something that is right up Donna and Tom's alley.  It's all about relaxation and spending money on frivolous items (there is a fashion show sequence involved, the full version of which I fervently hope is included in the deleted material from this episode).  Anyway, Ben predictably finds this pretty insane at first, given his lack of interest in high-end clothing and spa treatments (him trying to get acupuncture is one of the most hilarious moments in the episode), until Donna and Tom convince him to buy something ridiculous he's interested in.  And believe me, I tried to imagine what this might end up being, and I was absolutely wrong.  It's okay though, because the real result is far more hilarious than anything I might have dreamed up.

I cannot deal with Ben dressed as Batman, especially since they make him wear the costume the rest of the episode/day.  It's just too ridiculous and over the top, and just when you think it can't get anymore absurd, Batman breaks down and starts crying over his breakup.  There are moments in television that are almost too much, and this is one of them.  Fortunately, the heart to heart with Tom and Donna that follows saves it from becoming too painful to watch.  I really like this friendship because I was initially really disappointed by Ben's whole "I have nothing to stay in Pawnee for" stance, and I am glad to see he's learning that Leslie doesn't have to be his whole world (and probably shouldn't be, if he's crying in public over her).  It's a rare subplot that has both laugh-out-loud absurdity and genuine character development, but this one absolutely raises the bar.  Not to mention the tag, which gives us a fantastic snapshot of how life is going over at Casa Ludgate-Dwyer-Wyatt.

Also, there's a third plot where Chris starts dating Jerry's daughter.  That I don't care about so much (or at all).