Advance Review of PARKS AND RECREATION

In case you missed it, here’s my review of the premiere of Parks and Recreation. (Originally posted on April 3, 2009)

Nothing to make a rainy, dreary day better than a little Amy Poehler at your door step.  Tonight I came home to find the screener for NBC’s newest comedy PARKS AND RECREATION. To say I was excited would be a bit of an understatement.  I’ve been waiting a long time for this one.

I’ll be honest. I was a bit nervous before watching it.  I knew the show had all the right ingredients: Amy Poehler in the lead; the very funny Aziz Ansari and Rashida Jones along side her; and most importantly the creative team of Greg Daniels and Michael Schur (Gods in my world). But I wanted to like the show so much that I was afraid I set my expectations too high. Would I be disappointed? The answer? No. After watching the pilot I can tell you that I thought PARKS AND RECREATION was very funny and it was just as great as I expected it to be.  It wasn’t perfect but it has all the right mixins’ to be one of the greats.

Creators/Executive Producers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur have insisted that this isn’t a spinoff of THE OFFICE.  And that’s true. There aren’t any Dunder Mifflin crossovers to speak of (although the potential is certainly there). But the two shows are so similar in tone and style that it certainly felt like a spinoff. The comparisons can’t be avoided. PARKS AND RECREATION and THE OFFICE will be a pitch perfect match for Thursday nights.  They will compliment each other like no other two shows on the air. For better or worse I was reminded of THE OFFICE while watching the entire episode. Better, because THE OFFICE is my favorite show. Worse, because at times P&R was a little too much like THE OFFICE.

The two shows are so similar in fact that die hard OFFICE fans might find some of the situations in P&R hitting a little too close to home. The mockumentary styles are exactly the same from the talking heads to the acknowldegement of the camera, even down to the Halpert’esque looks to the camera courtesy of Tom (Aziz Ansari). And of course there’s Rashida Jones who is well known by OFFICE fans as Jim’s ex, Karen Filippelli. But the similarities don’t stop there. There were actually a few moments that felt, well, recycled. You’ll know them when you see them.

Poehler’s character, Leslie Knope, is perhaps a more astute but equally effusive female version of Michael Scott. Both characters use their careers and colleagues to fill a void missing in their lives. And much like Michael, the documentary cameras give Leslie a false sense of importance. I doubt anyone who is a fan of THE OFFICE won’t recognize the brilliance of Michael Scott in Leslie Knope.

That being said, Amy Poehler is spot on in her role as an overeager, mid-level employee in the Parks and Recreation Department of Pawnee, Indiana. Despite the aforementioned similarities, Poehler doesn’t rip off Carell’s role to play her own.  She’s too good for that.  She doesn’t need to. Knope is a wide eyed, go-getter whose ego is just big enough that she think she can really make a difference in her small town. But helping the community is just a means to an end…the end being the next Hilary Clinton (or perhaps more fittingly the next Sarah Palin).  Poehler brings confidence and sweetness to a character who in real life would probably drive you crazy if you had to work with her all day.

Aziz Ansari plays Tom Haverford, another member of the Pawnee local government and a colleague of Leslie’s.  Tom couldn’t be less interested in his job, but has no problem exploiting his governmental role to serve his own purpose.  Ansari’s delivery is hilarious and he more than holds his own next to Poehler.

Rashida Jones brings her beauty and knack for dry comedy to the role of Ann Logan. Ann gets a little more than she bargains for when she petitions the town to fix an abandoned pitt after her boyfriend (EVERWOOD’s Chris Pratt) falls in it and breaks his legs. Rashida’s time as Karen on THE OFFICE has prepared her well for the role of the pragmatic Ann. Personally I’ve got a sweet spot for Rashida so I’m happy to see her back on TV every week.

Rounding out the cast is Paul Schnieder as Mark, an influential but unenthusiastic city planner who has been in the Pawnee government for 15 years.  Paul and Leslie share a little bit of a past, but I think there’s a potential for a future there too.

Aubrey Plaza plays April, an unenthusiastic college intern just looking to pad her resume. Although she doesn’t have much to do in the pilot, I know that the young Aubrey has the chops to hold her own with the rest of the cast.  If you’ve ever seen her as Tina Tate, step-daughter on Jeannite Tate in THE JEANNIE TATE SHOW then you know what I’m talking about.

Nick Offerman assumes the role of Leslie’s boss, Ron Swanson, a man who has served in the government of Pawnee for years but fundamentally hates the goverment.  A Capitalist to the core, Ron has no need or want for an enthusiastic, overachiever like Leslie.

The casting of this show is one of its strongest points and I’m looking forward to seeing each of the actors develop their characters more over time.

PARKS AND RECREATION is not perfect.  It’s going to need a little time to feel around and get used to its surroundings. I have no doubt that NBC will give it the time it needs to find an audience.  They know from past experience that their hit comedies aren’t gold from the outset – case in point THE OFFICE and 30 ROCK.

I’ll be looking for the show to break apart from THE OFFICE a little bit more and find it’s own identity. But for now I’m just going to enjoy it as is and welcome PARKS AND RECREATION to my Thursday night comedy line up.  I don’t know about you but with this show airing at 8:30pm, THE OFFICE at 9pm and then 30 ROCK at 9:30pm I don’t plan on switching from NBC at all on Thursday nights (and when’s the last time someone could say that?!)

Check out this sneak peek of scenes from the premiere of PARKS AND RECREATION.

PARKS AND RECREATION premieres this Thursday (April 9th) at 8:30pm on NBC.