Missing in action since early December, Parks and Recreation returns to Thursday night’s on NBC (in an earlier time slot) with dueling bachelor/bachelorette parties for Ben and Leslie in “Two Parties”.
Check below for the full review….
The Players:
- Director: Dean Holland
- Writers: Dave King
- Cast: Amy Poehler, Rashida Jones, Nick Offerman, Adam Scott, Aziz Ansari, Jim O’Heir, Retta, Aubrey Plaza, Rob Lowe, and Chris Pratt
Episode Title: “Two Parties”
Ben and Leslie’s rival bachelor and bachelorette parties each take on a very different tune.
The Good:
- Shoop: It was but for a moment, but the guys in the car singing a few lines from Salt N’ Peppa’s “Shoop” was downright funny.
- Chris: He has ‘thousands of seconds’ and will now apparently date someone who eats burgers. Shauna Malwae-Tweep, come on down! Chris shined in the episode as the ideal Best Man.
- Board Games: If you plan on playing a game of The Settlers of Catan with Ben, just remember that the dude is nationally ranked. ‘Boo-ya!” It also seems that Ben is an avid Homeland watcher.
- Ron Swanson: The steak-eating part of the ‘bachelor party for all’ night included a nice toast from Chris to Ron: “To Ron.” Simple and perfectly Ron.
- Newt: Nice to see the former Speaker drop by, yet another political bold name to appear on the show. But his look when Jerry mentioned the two might be related (Gingrich/Gergich) was great.
- Andy: His enthusiasm during he group’s time with the Colts players was fun to see. It was great when told to QB Andrew Luck to keep a tight spiral before he threw him a touchdown pass.
- Best Moment: April recognizing the stripper, dressed as Abraham Lincoln, as one of her classmates from middle school.
- Best Line: Donna: “Tear it up, 16!”
- Best Line II: Ken: “That is not great.”
The Bad:
- Bachelorette Party: April was super funny, as was Councilman Jamm, but the bachelorette party that wasn’t turned out to be just so-so.
Overall:
It seems like forever since the last episode of Parks and Recreation.”Two Parties” might not be a classic, but it yielded numerous laughs. The episode featured some nice feel-good moments, plus terrific writing. It might not have been fireworks from start to finish, but it was certainly a well-written, well-acted 10th episode.
Rating: 7/10
Parks and Recreation airs on NBC at 8:30 pm (ET/PT) on Thursday nights.
What did you think of tonight’s episode?