4x12 Campaign Ad

[7.7/10] More than any other season of the show, this one feels like it’s ripped from the headlines, not in the sense that it’s telling one-to-one stories from the news, but that it’s pretty directly commenting on real life events when the show is often content to parody small town life and “Middle America” more generally.

Nowhere is that truer than with Bobby Newport, who works as his own thing, but is nonetheless as clear a skewering of George W. Bush you’re likely to see on network television (at least aside from The West Wing’s thinly veiled straw man version). Getting Paul Rudd into place is a boon, as he captures such a dopey charm (not unlike his future MCU co-star Chris Pratt) that makes him kind of adorable even when he is the antithesis of everything Leslie is and everything she stands for.

Todd Vanderwerff called Parks and Rec the show that best embodied the zeitgeist of the Obama administration, and that is truest here, where the show sets up an expy of Bush 43, a cowboy-hat wearing, “aw sucks” charmer, soaring with his family name, as the exact opposite of its protagonist, in the same way Obama cast himself as the alternative to the former administration. Newport is exaggerated, like most of the figures in the show, but he works as a unique adversary for Leslie & Co., and the political commentary is subtle enough that it’s funny without ever feeling overly harsh or preachy.

The focal point of that comparison is the titular ad. I like that it creates friction between Leslie, who is the eternal clean-cut optimist, and Ben, who is more of a pragmatist willing to go negative. It’s a little I Love Lucy, but the splitting up into teams to make competing ads is fun. By the same token, I like the way it’s couched in so much of the campaign going how Leslie dreamed, except for these little snippets of reality seeping in. The two finding a compromise ad using Leslie’s old home footage is a little cheesy, but it fits, and works as a nice contrast to Bobby himself acting like a child.

Despite all that relatively intelligent and thoughtful comedy, my favorite part of the episode is still probably Andy and April going from doctor to doctor once they realize they have insurance. It’s a shame (or maybe appropriate) that Chris Pratt became a big action star, because he’s such a gifted physical comedian. Between his sneeze-and-fall on the ladder and his running into the ambulance, he’s just amazing at pratfalls, and April as his sarcastic but encouraging partner in crime is brilliant.

Chris surreptitiously giving Ron a “tryout” for Ben’s old job is more set up than full story, but the two are fun together as a contrasting pairing, particularly with Ron wondering how they ended up at lunch and his inability to remember Kyle’s name.

Overall, it’s a nice episode to lead into the thick of campaigning for Leslie, with plot, character, and commentary front and center, but with a lot of good pure comedic stuff on the side.