[9.5/10] Back into top form! Louis C.K.’s Dave was and is such a great part of this show. He has just the right combination of stilted awkwardness that makes him entirely believable as a big square, but also this inherent, innocent sweetness that also makes him a big teddy bear. Lesser shows than Parks and Rec would draw this out as some sort of love triangle, but the situation between he, Leslie, and Ben just turns into one great font of comedy.
I also love how it dovetails so perfectly with Ben’s pre-established fear of cops. Again, I love how P&R zigs where other shows would zag. Rather than be intimidated by Dave, Ben bonds with him then stands up to him. Rather than be tempted by her old beau, Leslie gently but immediately shuts down Dave’s advances and responds the way a mature woman would. And it never ceases to be funny! Dave’s cringe-y attempts to navigate this social situation and woo Leslie are as adorable as they are misguided. Ben’s patient but insistent resistance (and the continuing gags about his uncomfortableness around cops, especially his “just tell me what you want me to do!” line) is superb. And Leslie is in top form with her reactions to everything. Just well-written scene after well-written scene that never devolves into sitcom tropes.
The B-story is another all-time great one too. I can’t tell you how many times Mrs. Bloom and I will break into the cheesy tones of “Catch Your Dreams.” There’s so many laughs at the recording studio. April being put on the case to distract from all the Duke Silver merch leads to some excellent stuff (I particularly enjoy the smashed coffee cup). Chris giving a terrible rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was hilarious. And the bewildered reactions of Mouserat are worth a chuckle too.
On top of that, there’s heart to the story. Ron’s little arc is pretty typical for him, but it still works to see the guy who is so reserved and private offering a hidden away piece of himself to help his erstwhile young ward. There are so many great lines, but Ron saying “I never thought I’d say this, son, but you may be overthinking is” is a truly fantastic one.
And even Andy, who is at his most outsized here (with his terrific “awful” to “funny” word salad), but also his sad and sweetest. I love the idea that he’s especially driven here because he knows he’s not the smartest guy in the world, and so he thinks this is the only or at least most effective way to contribute to Leslie’s campaign. It adds character to an otherwise silly story, and helps the episode as a whole. The only part of the episode that I didn’t quite love was, you guessed it, the Ann and Tom story. Ann’s love life has just never been as interesting an avenue of storytelling as Parks and Rec thinks it is, and it’s in no way improved by Tom not only pestering and hectoring and creeping on her throughout the episode, but it actually working. I generally like Tom as an ingredient in P&R’s character stew, but more than anyone else on the show, he has the capacity to get grating and annoying. Some of that was assuredly intentional here, but it doesn’t make him or this story any more pleasant in this episode.
Still, it’s a small part of what is otherwise an outstanding episode of Parks and Recreation. The Leslie-Ben-Dave triumvirate are a great combination of comedy and smart writing, and the songwriting portion of the episode is more purely comedic, but has a nice character focus as well. One of my favorite bits from the campaign arc.
Review by Andrew Bloom
VIP9BlockedParent2017-03-24T14:50:46Z
[9.5/10] Back into top form! Louis C.K.’s Dave was and is such a great part of this show. He has just the right combination of stilted awkwardness that makes him entirely believable as a big square, but also this inherent, innocent sweetness that also makes him a big teddy bear. Lesser shows than Parks and Rec would draw this out as some sort of love triangle, but the situation between he, Leslie, and Ben just turns into one great font of comedy.
I also love how it dovetails so perfectly with Ben’s pre-established fear of cops. Again, I love how P&R zigs where other shows would zag. Rather than be intimidated by Dave, Ben bonds with him then stands up to him. Rather than be tempted by her old beau, Leslie gently but immediately shuts down Dave’s advances and responds the way a mature woman would. And it never ceases to be funny!
Dave’s cringe-y attempts to navigate this social situation and woo Leslie are as adorable as they are misguided. Ben’s patient but insistent resistance (and the continuing gags about his uncomfortableness around cops, especially his “just tell me what you want me to do!” line) is superb. And Leslie is in top form with her reactions to everything. Just well-written scene after well-written scene that never devolves into sitcom tropes.
The B-story is another all-time great one too. I can’t tell you how many times Mrs. Bloom and I will break into the cheesy tones of “Catch Your Dreams.” There’s so many laughs at the recording studio. April being put on the case to distract from all the Duke Silver merch leads to some excellent stuff (I particularly enjoy the smashed coffee cup). Chris giving a terrible rendition of “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” was hilarious. And the bewildered reactions of Mouserat are worth a chuckle too.
On top of that, there’s heart to the story. Ron’s little arc is pretty typical for him, but it still works to see the guy who is so reserved and private offering a hidden away piece of himself to help his erstwhile young ward. There are so many great lines, but Ron saying “I never thought I’d say this, son, but you may be overthinking is” is a truly fantastic one.
And even Andy, who is at his most outsized here (with his terrific “awful” to “funny” word salad), but also his sad and sweetest. I love the idea that he’s especially driven here because he knows he’s not the smartest guy in the world, and so he thinks this is the only or at least most effective way to contribute to Leslie’s campaign. It adds character to an otherwise silly story, and helps the episode as a whole.
The only part of the episode that I didn’t quite love was, you guessed it, the Ann and Tom story. Ann’s love life has just never been as interesting an avenue of storytelling as Parks and Rec thinks it is, and it’s in no way improved by Tom not only pestering and hectoring and creeping on her throughout the episode, but it actually working. I generally like Tom as an ingredient in P&R’s character stew, but more than anyone else on the show, he has the capacity to get grating and annoying. Some of that was assuredly intentional here, but it doesn’t make him or this story any more pleasant in this episode.
Still, it’s a small part of what is otherwise an outstanding episode of Parks and Recreation. The Leslie-Ben-Dave triumvirate are a great combination of comedy and smart writing, and the songwriting portion of the episode is more purely comedic, but has a nice character focus as well. One of my favorite bits from the campaign arc.