[7.6/10] I go back and forth on the Ben-Leslie stuff here. On the one hand, the first half of it is near-perfect. The pair of them having to take a trip together, whilst trying to avoid one another so as to avoid temptation, is a classic setup that leads to a lot of great things. First and foremost, Leslie’s efforts to project unsexiness and platonic conversation are pretty great, from the banjo music to conversations about Johns Hopkins dorms to inviting random photographers to play third wheel.
It also leads to Ben talking about how great Pawnee is to the bigwigs in Indiana, which is possibly the sexiest and most endearing thing a man can do in Leslie’s book. The episode plays her conflictedness well, between her harried excuse to call Ann (whose half-hearted admonitions and joy when they’re ignored are superb), her clear affection for Ben, and her fear of losing a job that she cares about. It’s all very well done, and Amy Poehler and Adam Scott do great work at showing the chemistry between their characters.
Then Chris shows up and it turns into a wacky sitcom game of three’s company. It’s not my favorite use of Chris, as his blithe but pestersome qualities get to be too much here, and the entire bit is a little hackneyed. Still, that frustration and separation heightens the catharsis when Ben finally kisses Leslie, Leslie kisses Ben, and then there’s the perfect reaction to it – “Uh oh.” So well done, and such a great payoff to a season of teasing.
The B-story of April and Andy’s mini-fight from Tom’s proto-version of “Know Ya Boo” is nice enough. Tom’s entrepreneurial spirit and showboating come into play well, and Donna and Jerry doing surprisingly well at the Newlywed Show-esque game is a cute gag. The conflict between the actual newlyweds, however, is a bit easy, with the Mouserat vs. Neutral Milk Hotel argument being one of the sillier bits. Still, April going so far as to seek help from Ann, and rectifying things by covering a Mouserat song adds a nice emotional punch to the finish. And the whole thing centers around Andy and his devotion to his band, which is another nice way the show roots these things in character.
But speaking of which, the best thing in this episode is the part where Ron instructs a little girl about his libertarianism. It’s hard to articulate why this bit is so hilarious and adorable, but something about seeing the middle-aged, solitary grump finding a kindred spirit for his political views in an elementary schooler is utterly delightful. His lessons (particularly the lunch-eating) is great, and the fact that the little girl’s mom makes him recant, but that he wants an autographed copy of her essay anyway is the perfect finish.
Overall, it’s an episode that serves as the culmination of a lot of Leslie-Ben stuff, but stumbles a bit along the way to the finish line, with a nice enough April-Andy story and an all-time great Ron story in support.
Review by Andrew Bloom
VIP9BlockedParent2017-03-10T22:49:26Z
[7.6/10] I go back and forth on the Ben-Leslie stuff here. On the one hand, the first half of it is near-perfect. The pair of them having to take a trip together, whilst trying to avoid one another so as to avoid temptation, is a classic setup that leads to a lot of great things. First and foremost, Leslie’s efforts to project unsexiness and platonic conversation are pretty great, from the banjo music to conversations about Johns Hopkins dorms to inviting random photographers to play third wheel.
It also leads to Ben talking about how great Pawnee is to the bigwigs in Indiana, which is possibly the sexiest and most endearing thing a man can do in Leslie’s book. The episode plays her conflictedness well, between her harried excuse to call Ann (whose half-hearted admonitions and joy when they’re ignored are superb), her clear affection for Ben, and her fear of losing a job that she cares about. It’s all very well done, and Amy Poehler and Adam Scott do great work at showing the chemistry between their characters.
Then Chris shows up and it turns into a wacky sitcom game of three’s company. It’s not my favorite use of Chris, as his blithe but pestersome qualities get to be too much here, and the entire bit is a little hackneyed. Still, that frustration and separation heightens the catharsis when Ben finally kisses Leslie, Leslie kisses Ben, and then there’s the perfect reaction to it – “Uh oh.” So well done, and such a great payoff to a season of teasing.
The B-story of April and Andy’s mini-fight from Tom’s proto-version of “Know Ya Boo” is nice enough. Tom’s entrepreneurial spirit and showboating come into play well, and Donna and Jerry doing surprisingly well at the Newlywed Show-esque game is a cute gag. The conflict between the actual newlyweds, however, is a bit easy, with the Mouserat vs. Neutral Milk Hotel argument being one of the sillier bits. Still, April going so far as to seek help from Ann, and rectifying things by covering a Mouserat song adds a nice emotional punch to the finish. And the whole thing centers around Andy and his devotion to his band, which is another nice way the show roots these things in character.
But speaking of which, the best thing in this episode is the part where Ron instructs a little girl about his libertarianism. It’s hard to articulate why this bit is so hilarious and adorable, but something about seeing the middle-aged, solitary grump finding a kindred spirit for his political views in an elementary schooler is utterly delightful. His lessons (particularly the lunch-eating) is great, and the fact that the little girl’s mom makes him recant, but that he wants an autographed copy of her essay anyway is the perfect finish.
Overall, it’s an episode that serves as the culmination of a lot of Leslie-Ben stuff, but stumbles a bit along the way to the finish line, with a nice enough April-Andy story and an all-time great Ron story in support.