Get It? Got It. Good?
At the A.V. Club Todd VanDerWerff reviews "Regional Holiday Music," the latest episode of his (and my) favorite show, Community. He gets a little misty since it might be the last time the show is broadcast in its Thursday night slot (or maybe ever?).
In the episode they mock a show they've often mocked--a show VanDerWerff loves as well: Glee. The plot is how the evil choir director gets the gang, one by one, to take part in the Christmas musical celebration. One of VanDerWerff's favorite moments is when Jeff converts Britta to Gleedom:
Jeff turned toward Britta and let out a single note of song, and it made me laugh for, like, a minute straight, something that never happens to me.
It is a funny moment. See below, at the end:
But it's also obviously a parody of the remake of Invasion Of The Body Snatchers:
VanDerWerff didn't seem to catch this. So I thought it was a cool reference adapted to the plot, whereas VanDerWerff saw an almost surreal moment. (The others in the gang have been converted by more conventional, intellectual means.)
And sometimes that's preferable. Having bizarre moments in a comedy that don't seem to have any rational explanation--as long as they're not overdone--can work really well. The more I think about it, the more I think the gag VanDerWerff saw was better than the one I did.
posted by LAGuy @ 12:01 AM
3 Comments:
On the Foosball episode the previous week, one of the Germans noted that it was too bad that there wasn't a word for taking joy in another's misfortune. My thirteen year old son thought it was hilarious (maybe not as a surreal moment, but as a dig at the German psyche in general.) He wasn't aware of Schadenfreude. Like the Invasion of the Body Snatchers gag, maybe the joke works better without knowing the reference. (I laughed at the Jeff/Britta moment as well, not knowing the reference.)
Of course, the reference to Deutschebags worked on the same level for for both of us--that required a lot less German...
I'm in favor of references that not everyone gets--once again, as long as you don't overdo it. they make a certain percentage of the audience feel smart without annoying everyone else. And when you can have it taken as a gag by those who don't get it, that's even better.
The Simpons is full of such allusions, yet famously mocked them in "They Saved Lisa's Brain," where Lisa joins MENSA:
Lisa: My family never talks about library standards and every time I try to steer the conversation that way they make me feel like a nerd.
Comic Book Guy: We are hardly nerds. Would a nerd wear such an irreverent sweatshirt?
(sweatshirt reads:
C:/DOS
C:/DOS/RUN
RUN/DOS/RUN)
Lisa: Ha, only one person in a million would find that funny.
Frink: Yes, we call that the Dennis Miller ratio.
Community will suffer the fate of the clever folk everywhere- evenrtually the reg'lar folk will get tired of feelin' stupid and wreak their turrible revenge. (OK I watched Rick Perry's "Strong" Ad and watched his musings on Iz'ruhl right before writin' that)
Post a Comment
<< Home