Jordan's Review: Community, Season 1, Episode 14: Interpretive Dance

After spending far too many words arguing for the glories of Community during its first season, and watching as many other reviewers bash it in comparison to Modern Family (a show that I think is a very solid retreat of territory that's been done a million times before, and is therefore below Community on any list of great new shows I might make), it was comforting to me to see how much I enjoyed "Interpretive Dance" just for being there. On the scale of Community episodes this week's was decidedly mediocre, yet I had a good time just hanging out with the characters that populate this world. When I can enjoy such a mediocre episode of the show as much as I enjoyed this one, it bodes well for my overall enjoyment of the series.

At its core, this was the "silly dancing" episode of the show, which is a pretty standard sitcom trope that somehow never bothers me that much. Troy and Britta discover that they both take dancing classes secretly, and decide to admit their secret shame to the gang. Meanwhile, Jeff is involved in a secret relationship with a former professor, and is forced to admit it to the gang when they all see the two making out. While I still dislike the idea of Jeff and Britta being pushed together (I preferred his chemistry with Allison Brie's Annie, but the show seems determined not to allow that pairing), I appreciate that the Statistics professor is a very good way of doing this. Her ambivalence toward Jeff, and the way she manages to disarm him without trying are both pretty fun to watch, and I actually believe that she is the type of woman that would get Jeff over his commitment phobia. Also, the romantic and me loved that Jeff did in fact get Britta flowers, even though deep down I still don't want them together (especially not for quite some time).

The dancing subplot was doomed to be mired in cliche, but Donald Glover is an excellent physical comedian, and watching Troy dance ended up being just as hilarious as it is intended. I think the idea that he was ashamed to admit being a dancer was thrown in for filler, as he has been proven to be reluctantly feminine before and that would stall time, but while it was never hilarious, it did pass the time well enough.

What shocked me most about this episode was that it provided more evidence of the show's desire to be a sitcom with an actual plot and character development, something that most sitcoms try to avoid like the plague. Jeff's progression from callous asshole to decent human being should probably be taking longer, but I'm enjoying watching it so much that I really don't care. All in all, this cast has such great chemistry, and the show has built up such good will in my book, that a pretty weak offering still comes out smelling vaguely like roses.

Grade: B

Notes:

-"I have a regular class at that time. Its like math or some other regular class..."

-Sneaking does in fact make sex 38% hotter. The things this show can teach the world...

-"I am spending a lot of money on break-away clothing..."

-"As soon as we touch, the blinds will open, and six annoying but lovable misfits will be staring at us." Well phrased, and a nice touch that they were in fact on the other side.

-"You don't get to talk to me like that! You are not Shirley...and Shirley is not my mom!"

-"Girls are supposed to dance. That's why god gave them parts that jiggle."

-"Can I just ask, as a divorced black house wife, what part of being a single white slacker makes you people so jaded?" "Oh you people? What do you mean you people? Cannot believe I got to say that."

-"We've slept together every night for the past three weeks. How would you describe me?" "The best friend ever?"

-I loved all of Pierce's commentary on Britta's routine: "Tea for two? There are FIVE people!" " "Don't you think the flowers are dying from the tea?" "Culturally, its unacceptable, but its theatrical dynamite!"

-The blip where all the answers on the crossword were main characters was pretty awesome.