[9.1/10] This is another one of those episodes where they split up the group and give each pair or handful of characters something to do, and every mini-storyline is, at a minimum, pretty good, with some of them being great.
For starters, I love the fake out with a flu season sequel. I have to admit that even having seen this episode before, I forgot about that little feint, and seeing the episode titles was actually concocting something about the merits and demerits of sitcoms revisiting their greatest hits (something P&R’s sister show Community was fond of). Instead, Parks totally suckered me, and delivered quite a reveal in the process.
The episode does a nice job with the reveal, and Leslie and Andy make for a great pairing that the show doesn’t go with often enough. Leslie as the encouraging and focused parent and Andy as the supportive but hyperactive dunkoff really works as a dynamic. His seeming words of wisdom to Leslie about how great she’s going to be as a parent, only for Leslie to realize he thought she was getting a dog after she’d spilled the beans, was a particularly great moment.
The Country Western Justin Beiber kid being a jerk to his dad/manager makes for a perfectly fine dramatization of Leslie’s anxieties in principle, but in practice the kid’s just a little too cartoony to work. Still, the episode can lean on Poehler’s great comic and dramatic acting with the realization that she’s going to be having a baby and Andy’s usual stellar goofball comedy.
The business at the sommelier certification test was lots of fun too. April trying to fake it ‘til she makes it as a wine-taster was a great font of laughs (the line “a robot’s bath water” as a tasting note slayed me), and Donna not only bankrolling her but revealing more of her worldliness when she speaks French to the mogul restaurateur is fun too.
And, it must be said, this was a great use of the normally annoying Craig! Tom trying to land a top notch sommelier is a good story engine, and him landing on Craig works surprisingly well. Craig’s best scene in the whole show thus far is where he’s playing sommelier for Tom, April, and Donna as a test, clearly trying to hold it together when they make terrible wine requests, and then fuming in the back. It’s a great use of his over-exuberance that harnesses that in an interesting way rather than just having him shout half-jokes at people.
That also leads to the comedic peak of the episode, Ron and Ben walking home from the wine-tasting event and running into Ron Dunn (a.k.a. Eagleton Ron). First off, it’s some great physical comedy and acting from Adam Scott, who, as we saw in “Snake Juice” plays drunk pretty damn well. His attempt to leap over a fence was just laugh out loud hilarious. And by the same token, Ron’s firm but calm and minorly annoyed response to all of this is great.
As his declaration of “motherfucker” when they run into Ron Dunn. Eagleton Ron’s aphorisms and spiritualism to try to help Ben get over his parents selling the family lakehouse is an amusing parody of such earth wisdom, with Ron’s disbelief and annoyance at the whole thing being the icing on the cake. But I love the button to the story, where Ron, not meaning to help, just tells Ben that he’s going home to his wife and kids and that after a long day, they help keep things in perspective.
That helps Ben reach his epiphany that his beef with his parents selling the lake house is that he imagined bringing his kids there, and it makes him realize he’s ready to start a family. It’s a neat trick to sync up with Leslie telling him what’s happening, and the line about her having some good news is a particularly great way to gesture toward that reveal. The synchronicity should feel a little too perfect, but instead it feels just right.
Overall, a funny and heartfelt episode, that gets docked a little for the broad country western kid, but otherwise has plenty of laughs and great moments.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParentSpoilers2017-06-02T14:53:01Z
[9.1/10] This is another one of those episodes where they split up the group and give each pair or handful of characters something to do, and every mini-storyline is, at a minimum, pretty good, with some of them being great.
For starters, I love the fake out with a flu season sequel. I have to admit that even having seen this episode before, I forgot about that little feint, and seeing the episode titles was actually concocting something about the merits and demerits of sitcoms revisiting their greatest hits (something P&R’s sister show Community was fond of). Instead, Parks totally suckered me, and delivered quite a reveal in the process.
The episode does a nice job with the reveal, and Leslie and Andy make for a great pairing that the show doesn’t go with often enough. Leslie as the encouraging and focused parent and Andy as the supportive but hyperactive dunkoff really works as a dynamic. His seeming words of wisdom to Leslie about how great she’s going to be as a parent, only for Leslie to realize he thought she was getting a dog after she’d spilled the beans, was a particularly great moment.
The Country Western Justin Beiber kid being a jerk to his dad/manager makes for a perfectly fine dramatization of Leslie’s anxieties in principle, but in practice the kid’s just a little too cartoony to work. Still, the episode can lean on Poehler’s great comic and dramatic acting with the realization that she’s going to be having a baby and Andy’s usual stellar goofball comedy.
The business at the sommelier certification test was lots of fun too. April trying to fake it ‘til she makes it as a wine-taster was a great font of laughs (the line “a robot’s bath water” as a tasting note slayed me), and Donna not only bankrolling her but revealing more of her worldliness when she speaks French to the mogul restaurateur is fun too.
And, it must be said, this was a great use of the normally annoying Craig! Tom trying to land a top notch sommelier is a good story engine, and him landing on Craig works surprisingly well. Craig’s best scene in the whole show thus far is where he’s playing sommelier for Tom, April, and Donna as a test, clearly trying to hold it together when they make terrible wine requests, and then fuming in the back. It’s a great use of his over-exuberance that harnesses that in an interesting way rather than just having him shout half-jokes at people.
That also leads to the comedic peak of the episode, Ron and Ben walking home from the wine-tasting event and running into Ron Dunn (a.k.a. Eagleton Ron). First off, it’s some great physical comedy and acting from Adam Scott, who, as we saw in “Snake Juice” plays drunk pretty damn well. His attempt to leap over a fence was just laugh out loud hilarious. And by the same token, Ron’s firm but calm and minorly annoyed response to all of this is great.
As his declaration of “motherfucker” when they run into Ron Dunn. Eagleton Ron’s aphorisms and spiritualism to try to help Ben get over his parents selling the family lakehouse is an amusing parody of such earth wisdom, with Ron’s disbelief and annoyance at the whole thing being the icing on the cake. But I love the button to the story, where Ron, not meaning to help, just tells Ben that he’s going home to his wife and kids and that after a long day, they help keep things in perspective.
That helps Ben reach his epiphany that his beef with his parents selling the lake house is that he imagined bringing his kids there, and it makes him realize he’s ready to start a family. It’s a neat trick to sync up with Leslie telling him what’s happening, and the line about her having some good news is a particularly great way to gesture toward that reveal. The synchronicity should feel a little too perfect, but instead it feels just right.
Overall, a funny and heartfelt episode, that gets docked a little for the broad country western kid, but otherwise has plenty of laughs and great moments.