I’d like to start off this review by mentioning that this
phenomenal episode was not only written by Amy Poehler but also directed by her
too. So not only can Leslie Knope do it all in Pawnee, but Amy Poehler can do
it all in real life too! I’ve been watching her since the Upright Citizens
Brigade on Comedy Central and along with the fact that she doesn’t appear to
have aged a day since, she has somehow only gotten more talented since then.
Also side note, UCB is up on Hulu Plus, and I highly recommend my personal
favorite episode “The Bucket of Truth”. Also up on Hulu is Amy’s Directors Cut
version of this episode which has four more minutes of goodness! I’ll be watching
this version when I do my Random Thoughts/Favorite Quotes section at the end.
Back to Pawnee, it’s debate night and Leslie is ready to
sweep the floor with the dead carcass of Bobby Newport, but of course there are
surprises. First up is her other competitors, my favorite of which is Brandi
Maxxx who turned up in last season’s episode ‘Jerry’s Painting’. The
overachieving porn star with a striking resemblance to Leslie showed up to the
debate wearing an almost identical outfit and despite her outrageous porn
related debate answers she still didn’t steal the stage that night. That
particular honor goes to the newcomer with the best name ever, Fester Trim! He’s
the token one-issue gun-nut who looks like he got lost on his way to Texas and
decided to settle down in Indiana. The other candidate was an animal rights
activist but he didn’t make as much of an impression on me as these first two.
And of course we see the return of Bobby Newport! The most loveable idiot villain
ever seen on television. He’s not a bad guy per se, he just doesn’t understand
why people don’t give him whatever he wants! Oh and why Leslie is sooooo mean
to him!
Leslie’s original strategy to kick Bobby’s ass starts to backfire
and he starts to gain the crowd’s sympathy while Leslie just looks like someone
who took candy from a baby, and then pushed the baby down into a well. Not
exactly a good situation. But after the major shocker of the night the gloves
come off. Sweetums is ‘thinking’ of moving to Mexico, which means that
thousands of Pawneeans would lose their jobs. But, if you vote for Bobby
Newport he will try to convince his dad to keep the factory here. So the Newport’s
are essentially blackmailing a city into voting in what I’m guessing is the
disappointing son in the family, to give him something else to do during the
day. Is this still a comedy show? Because I was holding my breath through this
entire scene. Despite a few missteps on Leslie’s part she of course steps in
and saves the day delivering an amazing closing speech attacking Bobby, one so
good that Bobby congratulates her afterwards on an amazing speech. Hard to hate
that guy, right? And if you weren’t jumping off your couch and screaming for
Leslie then you just must have been paralyzed in awe. Knope 2012!
The subplots for this episode complemented the debate
perfectly without overlapping the material, the pacing of which worked really
well for this episode as a whole. In the media spin room, spin master Chris
Traeger is ready to show how even Leslie farting on stage could be a positive
campaign message. I’m pretty sure if he does end up fired he could make
millions in LA spinning the problems of troubled actresses with drug problems,
a bottomless pool of clientele. Also along for the ride are Ann and Tom, in the
middle of another mini-break up? Or is it for real this time? For once we see
some actual character growth from Tom as he deals with the possibility of Ann and
Chris getting back together, and although the episode leaves an open note on their
relationship things might be looking up for Tom! As long as he can learn to
hold back on the swagger and act like a normal person around Ann. This was a
really sweet moment for these two, and I think I am now finally sold. Team
Tann!
Back at Knope 2012 headquarters April and Chris are throwing
a debate viewing party for the donors, along with a very unenthusiastic Ron. Of
course something has to go wrong, and it turns out that they forgot to pay their
cable bill. So with no debate to watch Andy decides to entertain the donors
with reenactments of his favorite movies, such as Roadhouse, Rambo, and Babe.
At first I thought that this type of stunt would wear out on me fast, but Chris
Pratt did an amazing job reenacting it continued to make me laugh through the
end of the episode. Of course Ron pirate the cable just as Leslie is giving her
powerful closing statement, so hopefully the donors pulled out their checkbooks!
Nothing monumental happened in this sub-plot, but it was funny and debate
related so it didn’t drag the episode down. Also I think I would pay to see
Andy reenact famous movies, he should get his own show on Pawnee cable access!
Thanks again for reading, we’re winding down this season
with only two episodes left! Next week we’ll be following Leslie on her bus
tour of Pawnee, which I’m guessing is a pretty short tour that involves the
usual amount of mayhem. Please leave me comments, and I’ll see you guys next
Friday!
Random Thoughts:
- No thank you Ann, I will not youtube how slugs have sex. But I do know about this internet rabbit hole you speak of…
- Awwwwww Tom with the flowers! So sad.
- So sad that this is only on the director’s cut, but before the debate Leslie goes to wish Bobby good luck and finds him in his dressing room, on the floor, curled up in a ball, crying ‘please don’t make me do this.’ A-MA-ZING. I can see why they took it out though, it’s a little dark.
- The older singing lady! Can’t remember her name but she’s show up here and there since the beauty pageant in the second season.
- I’ve never seen Roadhouse but now I feel like I have. Just a lot of kicking, right?
- Seriously what the hell is with twitter questions in debates?
- No Newly-Single-Joan, those glasses do not make you look smart.
- We were treated to another fabulous montage tonight with back to back responses from the candidates with no context at all since we never saw the question that was asked, an awesome editing choice that turned out hilariously.
- Brandi Maxxx has a bachelor’s degree, from Princeton! So that’s where a B.A. will get you these days, straight to a career in porn.
- I kind of want to see Chris paired with Jennifer, as horrifying as that would be.
- Am I the only one that thought Ron might electrocute himself and fly off the pole in a blaze of glory?
- At this point ‘Sweetums’ is synonymous with ‘conflict of interest’.
- Ummmm why is Jerry watching the debate with a group of nuns? Explanation? Please!
Favorite Quotes:
- “You’re going to rip out his spine with your teeth, chew it up, and then gargle with it.”
- “Ahhhhhh! I complemented you!
- “I care about Andy, and Champion, and I want Leslie to win, and I like sleeping.”
- “The economy.” (Manic Rich People Laughter)
- “That is all. Ron Swanson.”
- “I want to tell you about my idea for assault rifle vending machines.”
- “And just like Leslie, I know what it’s like to be the only woman in a room full of men.”
- “Come on, that hurt my feelings. You’re supposed to be this positive person! Can’t we just talk about things we like?”
- “And that is Roadhouse. What should I do next?”
- “This question about Public Safety comes from twitter, because apparently that’s something that happens now.”
- “Little Bobby, I’m not going to clean your room no mas.”
- “Once again, Brandi and Leslie are essentially the same person.”
- “I guess my thoughts on abortion are, you know, let’s just all have a good time!”
- “Does that guy Chris Traeger have a girlfriend and is his penis normal?”
- “Thousands of people would lose their jobs, and we all wouldn’t have candy.”
- “There’s a chance I’m never going to date anyone, ever again.”
