(This is the sixth part in an ongoing series, in which I am writing brief reviews of each and every episode of Dan Harmon's beloved cult- comedy "Community.")
"Football, Feminism and You" is one of those episodes. I acknowledge that it's a perfectly solid, well-made example of the series. I acknowledge that the performances are good and the jokes land. I acknowledge that I should really enjoy it. But something about it just rubs me the wrong way. And I can't quite put my finger on it.
While Troy (Donald Glover) contemplates joining Greendale's football team (presumably to re-live his days as a High-School football star), Annie (Alison Brie) and Jeff (Joel McHale) begin to butt-heads over the matter. Annie feels that it wouldn't be good for Troy, while Jeff attempts to convince him otherwise... although Jeff's motivation may be more selfish. At the same time, Britta (Gillian Jacobs) attempts to get closer to Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) by joining her during bathroom- breaks to chat. However, their personalities clash, leaving Britta feeling like an outsider. All the while, Pierce (Chevy Chase) tries to help the Dean (Jim Rash) come up with a new mascot for Greendale... leading to some truly bizarre (and even disturbing) results.
As I said above, this is technically a good episode. And there are aspects I enjoyed. But the main storyline just didn't do anything for me. I personally found the two "B-story lines" (concerning Shirley/Britta and Piece/Dean Pelton) much stronger, and generally far more humorous that the A-storyline centering on Troy. And it has nothing to do with the performance of Glover. In fact, he does quite well in this episode. But I just couldn't get a sense of anything to attach myself to emotionally or humorously with his storyline here. And thus, whenever I see this episode, I often find my mind wandering during his scenes, waiting for the other story lines to pop up again.
Thankfully, Glover is able to really shine during other episodes (Glover is, after all, a darned fine actor and a brilliant comedic presence), thus making up for this episode in my opinion.
As it is, this is one of the weaker Season One episodes for me. It's still worth seeing, but it's definitely not an episode I would consider to be "essential." It gets an average 6 out of 10 from me.
"Football, Feminism and You" is one of those episodes. I acknowledge that it's a perfectly solid, well-made example of the series. I acknowledge that the performances are good and the jokes land. I acknowledge that I should really enjoy it. But something about it just rubs me the wrong way. And I can't quite put my finger on it.
While Troy (Donald Glover) contemplates joining Greendale's football team (presumably to re-live his days as a High-School football star), Annie (Alison Brie) and Jeff (Joel McHale) begin to butt-heads over the matter. Annie feels that it wouldn't be good for Troy, while Jeff attempts to convince him otherwise... although Jeff's motivation may be more selfish. At the same time, Britta (Gillian Jacobs) attempts to get closer to Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown) by joining her during bathroom- breaks to chat. However, their personalities clash, leaving Britta feeling like an outsider. All the while, Pierce (Chevy Chase) tries to help the Dean (Jim Rash) come up with a new mascot for Greendale... leading to some truly bizarre (and even disturbing) results.
As I said above, this is technically a good episode. And there are aspects I enjoyed. But the main storyline just didn't do anything for me. I personally found the two "B-story lines" (concerning Shirley/Britta and Piece/Dean Pelton) much stronger, and generally far more humorous that the A-storyline centering on Troy. And it has nothing to do with the performance of Glover. In fact, he does quite well in this episode. But I just couldn't get a sense of anything to attach myself to emotionally or humorously with his storyline here. And thus, whenever I see this episode, I often find my mind wandering during his scenes, waiting for the other story lines to pop up again.
Thankfully, Glover is able to really shine during other episodes (Glover is, after all, a darned fine actor and a brilliant comedic presence), thus making up for this episode in my opinion.
As it is, this is one of the weaker Season One episodes for me. It's still worth seeing, but it's definitely not an episode I would consider to be "essential." It gets an average 6 out of 10 from me.