Hey everyone! Your normal reviewer is out this week, so I will be filling in for them and reviewing this week’s episode of Parks and Recreation: “Operation Ann”.
Since this is only the second review of Parks and Recreation that I’ve written, I feel like I should re-iterate my general feelings of the show. I think this is the best comedy on TV, and one of the best shows on right now, period. I feel like the past couple episodes have focused a bit too much on Leslie and Ben’s relationship, and the show can lose its way every once in a while and wade into the “over dramatic” territory, but not tonight. Tonight was the perfect mix of heart, drama, and outright hilarity.
It’s Valentine’s Day in Pawnee, and that means all kinds of things for our Parks crew. Galentine’s Day for the girls, a scavenger hunt for the guys, and a couples dance to bring them all together. It’s episodes like “Operation Ann” that show off how truly great this ensemble cast has become. You genuinely enjoy seeing everybody interact in different ways, but I have to say the part that I enjoyed the most tonight was seeing Ron, Andy and Ben looking all over Pawnee chasing down Leslie’s clues.
Ron Swanson is a man of few loves. He loves a hearty brunette woman, America, and breakfast foods. Tonight we found something else he loves: Riddles. Ron was the last person that I would expect to be so into this crazy scavenger hunt, but seeing his glee after finding every clue, and trying hard to play down his excitement, was hilarious. The scene at the end where he sheepishly admitted to Leslie that he wanted the exact same thing for his birthday was adorable, and I really hope we get to see that in an upcoming episode. Other highlights of this story included Andy squirting whipped cream all over some poor guys’ waffles, breaking a display case by throwing a crow bar on top of it, and Ben still being completely ambivalent about Li’l Sebastian when the hunt came to a close.
The other big story line of the episode was the annual couples dance that the crew had to throw. Chris is usually such a die-hard optimist, which makes his recent heartbreak that much more hilarious, but also a little bit saddening. I hope this gets resolved soon, as I enjoy Chris much more when he’s happier. His wistful look over at Jerry was superb, though.
So yeah, the big bombshell of the episode: Ann and Tom. I know this was their first date together, so I liked that it didn’t go perfectly. If Tom absolutely killed it, and swept Ann off her feet, it just wouldn’t have rung true. I’m so glad their date ended with Tom recommending they go back to his house for “snuggles”, as it was definitely true to the Tom character that we’ve come to know and love.
This was a near-perfect episode of Parks in every way. Each part of the ensemble got their own chance to shine. I didn’t even have time to mention April playing matchmaker, Jerry hiring a gigolo, and Donna leaving one of her boys in the car with the window down. This is a show that knows how to handle a diverse and hilarious cast, and “Operation Ann” was a great example of just how great this show can be.
Random Thoughts:
- Oren’s back! Out of all of the peripheral characters on this show, I think Oren might be one of my favorites. Seeing him with a big grin on his face when listening to the music from the end of a movie about a dead monk was hilarious.
- Andy coming back with the stick, and being so absolutely sure that this was a clue, was another classic Andy moment.
- We got a nice little Party Down reunion this week, as Adam Scott and Martin Starr got to share a funny little scene together at the snow globe museum. Man, Party Down really did turn out to be some sort of a star-making vehicle, didn’t it? Jane Lynch has gone on to win an Emmy for her role on the hugely successful Glee, Adam Scott is a series regular on the funniest show on TV, and Lizzy Caplan is starting on a new Showtime series opposite Michael Sheen!
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