I’ve been away and finally got home yesterday. It was a nice surprise to remember it was Thursday, and thus Community night. Even though Chevy Chase is the biggest name in the cast, I feel that the core characters of the show are Abed and Jeff. They were the first characters to have any interaction with each other in the pilot. Jeff will shed his jerk facade for Abed faster than for any other character. I appreciated this last episode focusing on their friendship.
It’s Abed’s birthday, and Jeff is a bit concerned for him after his psychotic episode that happened around Christmas. To cheer up his friend he plans a Pulp Fiction themed surprise party. The only problem is Abed has no interest in going with Jeff to the burger joint. Instead he wants to have a quiet dinner at a nice restaurant. He explains to Jeff with uncharacteristic emotionality, how after pooping his pants on the set of Cougar Town that he’s had a change of view and decides to be a different person. He’s only interested in talking truthfully and forgoes his pop culture references. Though Jeff is reluctant at first he eventually gives and and starts to truly enjoy his time with the new Abed. He opens up and tells Abed some of his darkest secrets. The mood is spoiled when he finds out the new Abed is only another pop culture reference to a film called “My Dinner with Andre“. I have to admit I’ve never seen the movie, but I’ll check it out soon.
With the cast all dressed as their favorite Pulp Fiction characters, this episode was ripe with hilarity. My personal favorite was Shirley dressed as Jules, with Chang as Butch for a close second. The crowning moment of funny came when Jeff admits why he’s so narcissistic. His mother had him dress as an Indian for Halloween, and everyone mistook him for a girl. After a while he gave up trying to correct them and simply accepted their compliments that he looked pretty. Yet despite the wacky costumes and humor, the jokes took a back seat to the drama between Jeff and Abed’s friendship. The reason Abed wants to enact My Dinner with Andre is because its about a man who’s has an unexpectedly pleasant evening with a friend he’d been avoiding. Abed and Jeff come off like brothers who have become estranged because one has grown up and the other hasn’t. I can’t stress how well Community handles relationships and balances serious drama with humor.
Just a little prediction Something needs to happen to Britta. Britta has become the but of the joke quite frequently, and the gang points out that everyone hates her. They groan at her politics. Her boss lowers the price of repairs to the restaurant if he doesn’t have to rehire her. She might have an emotional breakdown, or take a hard look at herself to try and change her attitude. After all we saw the fall out of Pierce’s drug habit, Annie’s poverty, Shirley and Chang’s affair, and even Troy maturing (ever so slightly). Britta definitely is next on the list. We’ll just have to wait and see.
On a Scale of 1 to Epic, (Epic equals 10) I’d give it a 7.7