Genre: Comedy
WEEK 31: A FILM FROM 1985
Rating: 3/ 5
Posts tonen met het label Chevy Chase. Alle posts tonen
Posts tonen met het label Chevy Chase. Alle posts tonen
zaterdag 2 augustus 2025
80s Movie Review - Spies Like Us
Genre: Comedy
WEEK 31: A FILM FROM 1985
Rating: 3/ 5
donderdag 23 april 2020
Best "Community" Episodes
Even though our time at Greendale Community College is over, there is still a debate about the best episodes of “Community”. A show that is not just an innocent sit-com about the interaction between the students at Greendale, but a show that broke every TV rule. I listed what are in my opinion the best episodes of “Community”.
15. Basic Lupin Urology (Season 3, Episode 17)
The group has a biology project, with a yam as the subject. Their yam gets crushed and they try to find our who did it. Off course they do it the “Community” way and parody the crime show “Law and Order”.
14. Epidemiology (Season 2, Episode 6)
A Halloween episode, where a rabies outbreak turns the campus into a post-apocalyptic zombie movie. It’s the originality of their take on the zombie genre that makes this episode fun. Winks to films like “28 Days Later” or “Shaun of the Dead”. And to be honest, this episode is better then what “The Walking Dead” has been doing lately.
13. Digital Estate Planning (Season 3, Episode 20)
What if the study group was in an 8-bit videogame? Well, this episode flings the cast into a delightfully authentic 8-bit videogame experience via the promise of Pierce’s dad’s fortune through his last will and testament. Whoever beats the game gets the money.
12. Pillows and Blankets (Season 3, Episode 14)
“Pillows and Blankets” is one of the most creative episode in sit-com history. A simple pillow fort made by Troy and Abed turns into a war between them and their towns: Blanketsburg and Pillowtown. The episode turns into a documentary civil war style. Lines are read as old combat correspondence and historical pictures of Leonard and Abed dressed as pillow generals. And remember, this episode gave us the Changlourious Basterds and Pillow Pierce.
11. Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design (Season 2, Episode 9)
Dean Pelton is trying to bust Jeff for a phony night school credit, which only unveils a series of conspiracies, plots, and double-crosses between Jeff, Annie and the Dean. You gotta love the twists.
10. Paradigms of Human Memory (Season 2, Episode 21)
Allthough this episode has the structure of a sketch show and shows parts of previous episodes, “Community” is parodying itself here. After Chang crawled down the vent to follow Troy’s monkey (Annie’s boobs), he finds a lot of items that belong to the studygroup and bring back memories. They take a trip down memory lane, to situations and events wer never witnessed.
9. Cooperartive Caligraphy (Season 2, Episode 8)
Chaos and mistrust tear the study group apart as they try to figure out who stole Annie’s pen, causing them to miss the Greendale Puppy parade. This is a so-called bottle episode, where the entire episode is set in one location. And it’s a good one.
8. Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking (Season 2, Episode 16)
After and overdose of medication, Pierce ends up in the hospital. Here he decides to cause some psychological damage to his study buddies, because they never take him seriously. It’s Chevy Chase at his best here. The episode is from Abed’s perspective, since he is filming a documentary. It feel more intimate. And that moment where Troy meets his hero LeVar Burton. He was very clear about never to want to meet him and just wanting a picture. Because you can’t disappoint a picture Pierce!
7. Advanced Dungeons and Dragons (Season 2, Episode 14)
This episode was directed by Joe Russo, one of the people behind “Avengers: Endgame”. In this episode the study group plays a game of Dungeons and Dragons, to make one of their fellow students Neil feel better.
6. A Fistful of Paintballs & For a Few Paintballs More (Season 2, Episode 23 & 24)
They are two separate episode, but I decided to put them together, because I can’t choose which of the two is better. The first part of the two-parter season 2 finale is a parody of the film “A Fistful of Dollars”. And as the title suggest, it’s again a paintball episode. Josh Holloway has a fun guest role as a mysterious professional paintballer. It’s stupid and over-the-top, but it makes sense in the “Community” universe. The second part of the season 2 finale takes on a “Star Wars” style, where Troy and Jeff collide on who is the leader, Abed woos Annie with his Han Solo actions and the entire school fights against an ice cream company.
5. Critical Film Studies (Season 2, Episode 19)
This episode was director by Richard Ayoade from “It-Crowd”. It focuses on Abed’s obsession for film and TV series. The gang is waiting for Abed’s “Pulp Fiction” themed surprise party, but Abed invited Jeff for a one-on-one dinner, in the style of “My Dinner with Andre”. This part is maybe the most personal the show has ever felt.
4. Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas (Season 2, Episode 11)
This episode is told as a charming stop-motion story, where Abed is trying to get his way during Christmas. It’s one of “Community’s” most creative and memorable episodes an shows how much creator Dan Harmon loved his show.
3. Modern Warfare (Season 1, Episode 23)
An abandoned campus, study books spread all over the place. The first paintball-themed episode of “Community”. The episode transforms into a modern war movie, while students fight for a change for priority registration for next semester. From Troy’s “Jeff Winger, I thought you were dead”, to the lazy Terminator jokes by Abed. It all works.
2. Contemporary American Poultry (Season 1, Episode 21)
Jeff thinks of a plan to get Abed a job in the school cafeteria, so they have quicker access to the beloved chicken fingers that they always seem to run out of whenever they arrive. Abed narrates this episode, with winks to mob movies “Goodfellas” and “The Godfather”. Another way “Community” has proved to take on different forms and still keep their own identity. Unique character moments and a great homage and references to pop culture.
1. Remedial Chaos Theory (Season 3, Episode 4)
In this episode we find all seven members of the group at Troy and Abed’s apartment when they host a housewarming party. When the pizza arrives, Jeff suggests to throw a dice to decide who will get the pizza downstairs. That’s when the episode shows us several timelines, which show that different things happen depending on who is getting the pizza. The results are just as varied as hilarious. This episode is creative, stands out, is surprising and hilarious. And that’s why it’s the best episode of “Community”.
The group has a biology project, with a yam as the subject. Their yam gets crushed and they try to find our who did it. Off course they do it the “Community” way and parody the crime show “Law and Order”.
A Halloween episode, where a rabies outbreak turns the campus into a post-apocalyptic zombie movie. It’s the originality of their take on the zombie genre that makes this episode fun. Winks to films like “28 Days Later” or “Shaun of the Dead”. And to be honest, this episode is better then what “The Walking Dead” has been doing lately.
What if the study group was in an 8-bit videogame? Well, this episode flings the cast into a delightfully authentic 8-bit videogame experience via the promise of Pierce’s dad’s fortune through his last will and testament. Whoever beats the game gets the money.
“Pillows and Blankets” is one of the most creative episode in sit-com history. A simple pillow fort made by Troy and Abed turns into a war between them and their towns: Blanketsburg and Pillowtown. The episode turns into a documentary civil war style. Lines are read as old combat correspondence and historical pictures of Leonard and Abed dressed as pillow generals. And remember, this episode gave us the Changlourious Basterds and Pillow Pierce.
Dean Pelton is trying to bust Jeff for a phony night school credit, which only unveils a series of conspiracies, plots, and double-crosses between Jeff, Annie and the Dean. You gotta love the twists.
Allthough this episode has the structure of a sketch show and shows parts of previous episodes, “Community” is parodying itself here. After Chang crawled down the vent to follow Troy’s monkey (Annie’s boobs), he finds a lot of items that belong to the studygroup and bring back memories. They take a trip down memory lane, to situations and events wer never witnessed.
Chaos and mistrust tear the study group apart as they try to figure out who stole Annie’s pen, causing them to miss the Greendale Puppy parade. This is a so-called bottle episode, where the entire episode is set in one location. And it’s a good one.
After and overdose of medication, Pierce ends up in the hospital. Here he decides to cause some psychological damage to his study buddies, because they never take him seriously. It’s Chevy Chase at his best here. The episode is from Abed’s perspective, since he is filming a documentary. It feel more intimate. And that moment where Troy meets his hero LeVar Burton. He was very clear about never to want to meet him and just wanting a picture. Because you can’t disappoint a picture Pierce!
This episode was directed by Joe Russo, one of the people behind “Avengers: Endgame”. In this episode the study group plays a game of Dungeons and Dragons, to make one of their fellow students Neil feel better.
They are two separate episode, but I decided to put them together, because I can’t choose which of the two is better. The first part of the two-parter season 2 finale is a parody of the film “A Fistful of Dollars”. And as the title suggest, it’s again a paintball episode. Josh Holloway has a fun guest role as a mysterious professional paintballer. It’s stupid and over-the-top, but it makes sense in the “Community” universe. The second part of the season 2 finale takes on a “Star Wars” style, where Troy and Jeff collide on who is the leader, Abed woos Annie with his Han Solo actions and the entire school fights against an ice cream company.
This episode was director by Richard Ayoade from “It-Crowd”. It focuses on Abed’s obsession for film and TV series. The gang is waiting for Abed’s “Pulp Fiction” themed surprise party, but Abed invited Jeff for a one-on-one dinner, in the style of “My Dinner with Andre”. This part is maybe the most personal the show has ever felt.
This episode is told as a charming stop-motion story, where Abed is trying to get his way during Christmas. It’s one of “Community’s” most creative and memorable episodes an shows how much creator Dan Harmon loved his show.
An abandoned campus, study books spread all over the place. The first paintball-themed episode of “Community”. The episode transforms into a modern war movie, while students fight for a change for priority registration for next semester. From Troy’s “Jeff Winger, I thought you were dead”, to the lazy Terminator jokes by Abed. It all works.
Jeff thinks of a plan to get Abed a job in the school cafeteria, so they have quicker access to the beloved chicken fingers that they always seem to run out of whenever they arrive. Abed narrates this episode, with winks to mob movies “Goodfellas” and “The Godfather”. Another way “Community” has proved to take on different forms and still keep their own identity. Unique character moments and a great homage and references to pop culture.
In this episode we find all seven members of the group at Troy and Abed’s apartment when they host a housewarming party. When the pizza arrives, Jeff suggests to throw a dice to decide who will get the pizza downstairs. That’s when the episode shows us several timelines, which show that different things happen depending on who is getting the pizza. The results are just as varied as hilarious. This episode is creative, stands out, is surprising and hilarious. And that’s why it’s the best episode of “Community”.
zaterdag 4 april 2020
Reasons that “Community” is the Best
Pop culture references and mocking genre clichés
What distinguishes the sitcom is that it is not easy to pigeonhole. “Community” is filled with references to movies, TV shows and other media. And it likes to mock clichés in certain movie genres. The characters avert, subvert and pay homage to various tropes as episodes commit to certain genres. If there’s a documentary going on, the episode will be in documentary format. If the episode is a musical, the characters will be singing. The self-aware nature of the show is hilarious. I sometimes wish I could live out situations that feel like shows and movies that I love, and “Community” understands that desire as it puts its characters in those situations.
Not focusing on the romance
Almost every sitcom has a will they/ won’t they couple and eventually they do end up together. There are plenty of couples that hinted at getting together or not, but it was never the focus and it didn’t rely on who ends up with whom and who should end up together. This is very refreshing, since we already have a lot of sitcoms that do focus on the romance element of the show.
Troy and Abed
I could have just mentioned Abed, because I love him, but these two together are just magical. Troy was a high school jock before attending Greendale Community College, but since he and Abed became friends, Troy realizes just how geeky he actually is. They watch movies and TV shows together, build forts out of blankets and pillows and have their own talk show. A talk show for no one other than themselves. And don’t forget they were on the cover of Friend Weekly, a pretend magazine of their own design. Everyone needs a Troy to their Abed or vice versa. In my case, I need a Troy.
The ensemble cast
This groups is formed because they are all some sort of outsider. And to create a diverse group like this, you need a diverse cast. And that’s what we got. Comedy legend Chevy Chase and the break for Alison Brie and Donald Glover. Joel McHale is the perfect combination of a douche and nice guy and Danny Pudy is the perfect socially awkward and pop-culture referring bestie you need. And then there is Ken Jeong, who is at his crazy best, and the very uncomfortable Jim Rash as Dean Pelton. Just a quirky bunch, that make this show work as well as it does.
Running gags
The show has some really funny running gags. Like the awwwws, by Annie and Shirley, after something sweet, emotional or heartfelt is being mentioned. Or Leonord, the oldest student at Greendale, who often gives his advice, thoughts and opinion without anyone every asking for it. And they always answer with “shut up, Leonard”. The fact that they always say the Britta is the worst and the Changuage & Deanotation. These are two nonsense words that refer to how Señor Ben Chang and Dean Greg Pelton talk. Both faculty members have the habit of inserting their own name or title into an everyday word or sentence. But also the mention of the size of Jeff’s head and how the gang hates “Glee”.
It's daring
The show is fresh and original, but it also has a lot of guts and dares to take different comedy paths as any other standard sitcom. Like the claymation Christmas episode, where all characters turned into claymation puppets telling a story in Abed’s imagination. The several semi-brutal paintball episodes, the so-called ‘bottle episode’, the zombie episode and the one with the computer game. It’s gutsy enough to take on different formats, portray not your everyday characters and think outside the box. And I love that!
The Dean
Besides Troy and Abed, there is another character that is reason enough to watch this show. Dean Craig Pelton is a very upbeat and cheerful person and LOVES his job as Dean of Greendale Community College. He spends an inordinate amount of his time trying to improve Greendale’s prestige. Dean Pelton also goes to great lengths to be accepting or indiscriminate of others. His use of extreme political correctness often inadvertently leads to him being more offensive than intended. Pelton is aware of his shortcomings and berates himself frequently for being a ‘bad Dean’. He is also known for his elaborate costumes and his hate/ love for Jeff.
maandag 29 augustus 2016
100 Movie Challenge 2016 - # 118: Vacation
Genre: Adventure/ Comedy
Runtime: 99 minutes
Year: 2015
Starring: Ed Helms, Christina Applegate, Chris Hemsworth, Leslie mann, Chevy Chase, Beverly D’Angelo, Charlie Day, Ron Livingston, Norman Reedus, Keegan-Michael Key, Regina Hall, Kaitlin Olson, Michael Peña
Description: Rusty Griswold (Ed Helms) takes his own family on a road trip to "Walley World" in order to spice things up with his wife (Christina Applegate) and reconnect with his sons.
Review: We live in a time of reboots and remakes. Superhero franchises, foreign films get an American version and classics are remade. Within the comedy genre there are also some popular films that need a modern touch. “Vacation” is one of them. It’s technically not a remake, but “Vacation” is feeding of its original version from 1983.
Rusty sees that his wife is unhappy and he is worried about the continued bickering between his two sons. The solution: a family road trip to an amusement park.
In the original film the characters where family people, with whom you could identify and you would sympathize with. This doesn’t go for this film. The characters lack depth and it’s hard to feel for them. The humor is at times fun, but it’s mostly juvenile jokes. The movie does have humor, some situation are really funny. The Seal song “Kiss from a Rose” is a funny recurring joke for example. And the guide they meet on the way, that is played by Charlie Day was hilarious. And some thumbs up for the cameos, Chris Hemsworth and Chevy Chase. But they just take it too far sometimes, which makes it unbelievable.
Overall, this comedy does make you laugh but isn’t of a high level. The original 1983 film is far superior, but “Vacation” is fun for one night.
Rating: 2,5/ 5
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