Community 2×16 – “Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking”

In this week’s episode of Community, Pierce continues to be a jerk of massive proportions, Jeff unleashes his rage after years of father issues, and Donald Glover continues to be one of the best comedians on television.

Summary: Pierce is in the hospital after overdosing on painkillers the week before.  Angry with the rest of the group for missing the signals of his downward spiral, he tells them all he’s dying.  He plays mind games with each one of them by bequeathing them gifts that are both a curse and a blessing.  He gives Britta a $10,000 check to give to the charity of her choice, Annie a tiara that was a family heirloom “because you’re my favorite,” Shirley a CD with a recording of the study group members talking behind her back, Troy a visit from actor LeVar Burton, and Jeff a visit from his long-lost father.  Abed, meanwhile, acts as the narrator and films his friends to make a documentary.  As such, the episode is presented in “mockumentary” format, a la The Office and Modern Family.

The Feminist in Me Says… Britta has been consistently amusing all season, but I think this is her best episode so far, even better than “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas.”  The more-progressive-than-thou side of her personality has surfaced week after week, and it makes me laugh every time.  This week, we got to see more of her heart.  She role-plays with Jeff and offers LeVar Burton more money to change his plane ticket because she wants to see herself as a good person, but also because she really cares about Jeff and Troy.  Britta’s felt this internal conflict ever since Community began – “How much do I really care, and how much do I pretend to care just so I can feel good about myself and receive confirmation that I am a Nice Person?”  The episode dealt with this conflict in a funny way.  Her expression after the nurse called her “Sourface” was priceless, too.

Shirley and Annie had less, but still strong, material.  It was cruel of Pierce to play on Shirley’s insecurity of being left out of the group, especially considering the two of them bonded in “The Art of Discourse” as being the older members that the young people took for granted.  I liked that she acknowledged using guilt as a weapon (and then immediately used it on Abed).  Annie had a nice moment when she decided to rise above Pierce’s mind games…leading to the moment where Pierce admitted to the camera that he wasn’t trying to mess with Annie and she really was his favorite.  That was a nice human moment for him

The Comedian in Me Says… We finally have a resolution to the “Pierce is a jerk” storyline, and we find that his nastiness is not a result of the painkiller addiction, but due to his resentment at feeling left out of the group.

I’ve gone back and forth on how I feel about this particular resolution.  I think Pierce’s tricks on Britta, Shirley, and Troy were all mean but forgivable.  He also didn’t do anything to Annie or Abed, because Annie’s his favorite, and he knows mind games won’t work on Abed anyway.  (I also think, given their bonding moment in “Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas,” and the fact that Abed didn’t mind Pierce playing in the Dungeons and Dragons game, that Pierce doesn’t resent Abed in the same way he resents the others in the group). What he did to Jeff, though, was beyond the pale and incredibly cruel.

At the same time, Pierce has always felt left out of the study group and doesn’t quite know where to fit in.  Part of that’s his own fault for being offensive and inconsiderate of others’ feelings, and he doesn’t have the excuse Abed does of not understanding social cues.  But these are the same people who cut off his casts because they thought he was hiding a pen in there, and didn’t help him when he couldn’t get through the door of a bar.  I hate the way he’s been acting, but I find this conclusion surprisingly satisfying.

It helped that Jeff’s attack on him was, as he promised, not madcap or wacky in any way.  That was serious, and some great dramatic work from Joel McHale and even Chevy Chase.  Pierce screaming and crying on the ground wasn’t quite sympathetic.  It was just pathetic.  But I think I understand why the study group hasn’t kicked him out, despite his recent cruelty. I only wish Pierce had shown some regret for the way he treated the others.

Anyway, while Joel McHale was knocking his dramatic moments out of the park, Donald Glover was proving himself to be one of the funniest people I have ever seen.

Troy flipping out will always be funny.  Troy talking or singing while crying will always be funny.  To paraphrase Andrew from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Donald Glover should win an Emmy and beat Jeremy Piven over the head with it!”

Other favorite moments: Jeff and Britta role-playing as each other’s fathers, LeVar Burton taking Troy’s salmon with “More for Kunta,” Britta’s definitions of “complisult” and “explainabrag,” and Troy and Abed talking about staging a suicide as a protest of the cancellation of Firefly. A Joss Whedon fan myself, I know how irate Firefly fans still are over the series’ cancellation…eight years ago.

My Verdict: This episode both mocked and lovingly embraced the use of the mockumentary format to send home a heartwarming message.  And yet, I found it much more effective than almost any episode of Modern Family (a show I like, but don’t love) that ends the same way.  This is one of my favorites of the season.