[9.1/10] Such a great episode. I’ll admit, at first I bristled a bit at Leslie’s behavior here. At times (like in the prior Model U.N. episode) Leslie hews too closely to her Michael Scott-esque origins. Don’t get me wrong, I love Michael Scott as a character, but since Leslie is a capable if occasionally overcommitted civil servant and Michael is a well-meaning but generally incompetent if lovable dope, his style of social ineptitude and selfishness isn’t always a good fit for her character.
But what I like is that rather than just completely going with Leslie taking Ben’s admonition that they shouldn’t work together after the “Littlest Park” project is done as an invitation to draw out the project as long as possible for wacky sitcom hijinks, P&R uses it as an opportunity to have people call Leslie out for this behavior.
It’s great that it comes from Ann, who is a confidant and someone who loves Leslie wholeheartedly despite her occasional steamrolling nature. (Their exchange about the Harry Potter movies is great.) And it sells a genuine frustration for Ben that isn’t some made up conflict but which speaks to Leslie’s good intentioned and understandable, but occasionally overzealous ways. It’s hard to shine a spotlight on the way your main character can be inconsiderate or even dismissive of other people’s feelings, but using it as a learning moment and a chance for growth is what elevate Parks and Rec over similar shows.
It leads to such a great, all-timer of a moment with Ben and Leslie in that little park. It’s moment like these that show what a strong performer Amy Poehler is. She is such a flawless comedian, with crackerjack timing and the ability to pull off any number of gags. But she is also 100% up to these big emotional moments, selling Leslie’s earnestness and hurt at the thought of not getting to see Ben anymore, at her contrition for not taking his wishes into account, and the magnitude of her being willing to risk the fallout in both her job and her dream of public office it means getting to be together. Their kiss is one of those great, heartwarming, fist-pump moments on Parks and Rec, and the episode earns every minute of it.
And I haven’t even mentioned the B-story! Andy trying to figure out which class to take at community college is just and endless font of comedy. April and Ron pushing and pulling him as to what to take creates all sorts of great moments, and so many situations for Chris Pratt to react to in character. (His lines about “women’s lasers” and “one ticket to women” are especially funny idiot-isms.) There’s something heartening about him ending up in a women’s studies course, and especially heartening about Ron paying for it. Ron is the ultimate father figure to a lot of these characters, and seeing him open his heart and his wallet shows one of those parental, sweet dimensions beneath his grump and facial hair.
The least of them is probably Tom’s story about picking a new font for the Parks Dept. logo. That said, I like the bit about him using Jerry’s 70s ID as inspiration, and the subtext that even if he stays a longtime government employee, he’ll always find ways to inject his own individual flair into his work
Overall, it’s a stellar episode that hits on all three stories, and finds interesting depths and challenges for its characters along the way.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-03-21T02:49:46Z
[9.1/10] Such a great episode. I’ll admit, at first I bristled a bit at Leslie’s behavior here. At times (like in the prior Model U.N. episode) Leslie hews too closely to her Michael Scott-esque origins. Don’t get me wrong, I love Michael Scott as a character, but since Leslie is a capable if occasionally overcommitted civil servant and Michael is a well-meaning but generally incompetent if lovable dope, his style of social ineptitude and selfishness isn’t always a good fit for her character.
But what I like is that rather than just completely going with Leslie taking Ben’s admonition that they shouldn’t work together after the “Littlest Park” project is done as an invitation to draw out the project as long as possible for wacky sitcom hijinks, P&R uses it as an opportunity to have people call Leslie out for this behavior.
It’s great that it comes from Ann, who is a confidant and someone who loves Leslie wholeheartedly despite her occasional steamrolling nature. (Their exchange about the Harry Potter movies is great.) And it sells a genuine frustration for Ben that isn’t some made up conflict but which speaks to Leslie’s good intentioned and understandable, but occasionally overzealous ways. It’s hard to shine a spotlight on the way your main character can be inconsiderate or even dismissive of other people’s feelings, but using it as a learning moment and a chance for growth is what elevate Parks and Rec over similar shows.
It leads to such a great, all-timer of a moment with Ben and Leslie in that little park. It’s moment like these that show what a strong performer Amy Poehler is. She is such a flawless comedian, with crackerjack timing and the ability to pull off any number of gags. But she is also 100% up to these big emotional moments, selling Leslie’s earnestness and hurt at the thought of not getting to see Ben anymore, at her contrition for not taking his wishes into account, and the magnitude of her being willing to risk the fallout in both her job and her dream of public office it means getting to be together. Their kiss is one of those great, heartwarming, fist-pump moments on Parks and Rec, and the episode earns every minute of it.
And I haven’t even mentioned the B-story! Andy trying to figure out which class to take at community college is just and endless font of comedy. April and Ron pushing and pulling him as to what to take creates all sorts of great moments, and so many situations for Chris Pratt to react to in character. (His lines about “women’s lasers” and “one ticket to women” are especially funny idiot-isms.) There’s something heartening about him ending up in a women’s studies course, and especially heartening about Ron paying for it. Ron is the ultimate father figure to a lot of these characters, and seeing him open his heart and his wallet shows one of those parental, sweet dimensions beneath his grump and facial hair.
The least of them is probably Tom’s story about picking a new font for the Parks Dept. logo. That said, I like the bit about him using Jerry’s 70s ID as inspiration, and the subtext that even if he stays a longtime government employee, he’ll always find ways to inject his own individual flair into his work
Overall, it’s a stellar episode that hits on all three stories, and finds interesting depths and challenges for its characters along the way.