Movie Review Monday #46: Community

First of all, I came up with a play premise similar to this show's about six months before this show came out. I had been attending Orange Coast College, taking Intro to Novel Writing, and found the characters in the class to be exponentially more interesting than the course material. I am still pursuing writing a play about my favorite character in that class, but I was pretty annoyed when my community college idea came to fruition so quickly on prime time television.


Then I watched one or two episodes, and I was further annoyed because I didn't think they did the subject justice.


Then we had watched everything that was interesting on hulu+, and all that remained was Community. So I gave it a second chance, and man I'm glad I did. Observations:


1. Joel McHale has been on my celebrity list for quite some time because of The Soup, but he's always been in the vague, ever changing #4 or #5 slot. I am pleased to announce that he is solidly #3 now. Congratulations, Joel McHale. You may come and claim your kiss at any time.

Gawww.

2. The dysfunctional family that the study group forms on this show is lovely. I really love it when characters that are unlikely friends become super close and show that community (whoaaa, multi-faceted title) can be found anywhere. This group bickers more than it has fun, but they are always there for each other. Just like a family, they always love each other, but don't always like each other.
3. Danny Pudi is brilliant. He plays Abed Nadir, who seems to have Asperger's, based off his inability to pick up on social or emotional cues. He's never been diagnosed though. Anyway, he is obsessed with TV and movies, and he is good at everything. He's basically a super hero.
4. Speaking of Abed, I love his friendship with Troy. They are both slightly off, and they feed off of each other's weirdness. They put their friendship before anything else. They have a fake talk show with a catchy theme. They reserve a room in their apartment as a "dreamatorium" where they can imagine things. They make a mean blanket fort, awesome Halloween costumes, and have a simple yet effective not-so-secret handshake. They're the coolest while also the nerdiest. While I enjoy all the characters (except Chevy Chase's character, Pierce - I still don't like him), I would watch this show even if it was only Troy and Abed.

Why, yes. I'd love to sit there!

5. Here's the biggest point about Community: They do the most amazing homages to film ever. I can't say much about this - it's a "you had to be there" kind of thing, which is so annoying. Just watch the Paintball episode from Season One and, if you've ever seen any action flicks, you'll understand. I watched that episode twice in one day, I was that blown away.


In conclusion, two claws up for Community. If you've only given it a little bit of a chance in the past, try it again. I promise it's worth it.