Parks and Rec Recap: ‘Jerry’s Painting’

Although last night’s Parks and Rec was a bit overshadowed by the television event that was Steve Carell’s departure from The Office, it was nevertheless an impressive episode in an exceptional season. Yesterday was the end of an era for The Office, but Parks and Rec is still very much in the early stages of its prime. Although the episode is named after Jerry, Leslie’s at the center of the action. Jerry had a bigger part than normal, though, and this was quite possibly the most pivotal part he’s played in an episode since last season’s also-excellent “Park Safety,� in which Jerry fabricated a story about being mugged. It’s good to see Jerry get some more screentime here, as I feel the office’s hatred for him has been one of the show’s best running gags.

We picked up this week with Leslie and Ben still inching towards a relationship, still at a sluggish pace. Chris’s strict anti-office dating policy is the first big obstacle in the way of Leslie and Ben dating, as they’ve mostly been kept apart by their own timidity until now. Since they both seem to be at least vaguely aware that the other is interested, hopefully, they’ll get the ball rolling on this thing in the coming weeks. As for now, though, Chris’s overenthusiasm about setting people up is pretty funny, and I’m hoping he’ll try to find someone for Leslie next.

I have to say, I enjoyed the B story this week, which involved Ben moving in with Andy and April, a hell of a lot more than the A story. While the main plot did have its moments, and I’m always pleased to see Perd Hapley pop up, I found myself rather unconcerned with the fate of Jerry’s oil painting. Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of laughs and some great moments from Amy Poehler and Aziz Ansari, but it just faltered in comparison to the subplot. It felt a little like Leslie was reverting back to her embryonic Season One self, as her extreme obsession with the painting felt a little cartoonish and contrary to the way the writers and Poehler have made the character more three-dimensional and realistic over the past two seasons. I did very much enjoy where the plotlines intersected, though, with the Leslie and Ben stuff.

I love the idea of Ben becoming Andy and April’s roommate, and I was glad this wasn’t just a one-episode thing. Since Ben’s the show’s go-to straight man in a post-Brendanawicz world, there are plenty of comedic possibilities inherent in him living in a completely irrational and chaotic environment with two of Parks and Rec’s most outlandish characters. If I’m not mistaken, these three are the only characters on the show who live together, so we should be seeing more of their home life in the future.

The Ben-Andy-April story was full of great lines and moments. I particularly liked April’s faux-list of house rules for Ben, my favorite being that if he watches a sad movie, he must wear mascara so everyone can tell if he’s crying. Andy’s goal to patent his method of leaving the TV on when he’s not home to trick burglars was as endearingly stupid as he’s ever been and very funny too. As absurd as Andy’s speech about the marshmallow gun felt, it was a cute moment between he and April, albeit in their relationship’s typically appalling way. (As Ben put it, “Do you have any idea what ‘cute’ means?�) After last week’s trip to the health food store with Ron and Chris, this was the second episode in a row to feature a scene with Andy and April shopping together, and it was an episode high point for me this week, too. I, for one, would love to see a spin-off series involving Andy and April wandering around a different store each week, playing with the merchandise and just being generally funny. Throw in Ben as the Dave to their Alvin and the Chipmunks, and I’m sold.

The Office’s monumental Steve Carell exit had a nice trickle-down effect on Parks and Rec this week, with that show’s super-sized 50 minute finale necessitating that Parks and Rec tack on an extra 10 minutes to fill up the schedule. It was nice to get to some extra time with the Parks Department gang. I’ve watched extended cuts of a few episodes, and it seems like they typically have 40+ minutes of excellent footage every week. With all this show has going for it, it’s really a shame Parks and Rec can’t always be a 40 minute show.

Stray thoughts and observations:

It’s weird that Jerry didn’t realize until the art show that the people in his painting look exactly like Leslie and Tom. I didn’t really buy that he wouldn’t have noticed that earlier.

Not much from Ron Swanson in this week’s show, but his speech at the art gallery showed how much he can do with just a small appearance. I loved the way he started his speech: “Shut up and look at me.�

Bradford Evans is a writer living in Los Angeles.