Whoever said that genuinely humorous sitcoms are becoming an endangered species in the 21st generation has obviously been too busy scrutinizing awful comedies like How I Met Your Mother or Big Bang Theory of its undeserved popularity, miserably unaware of the existence of 30 rock, Modern Family or in this case, Community.
Community is a promising comedy about a shallow man trying to make his life right, one bad deed at a time. It is odd how losers make winning comedy. You couldn’t ask for more agreeably amusing company than this oddball group of misfits and miscreants, led by the likably snarky Joel McHale. Community is a barbed but ultimately endearing ensemble sitcom that follows the fall (and possible rise) of Jeff Winger, a cocky jerk of a disgraced lawyer who enrolls in a hard-luck community college, assuming he can just coast through and regain his credentials the easy way. “That cannot be an inspiring journey,” says his professor pal, from whom Jeff hopes to cadge all the answers. Circumstance, and a crush on fellow Spanish student Britta, who isn’t buying his smarmy act, lead Jeff to form a wacky study group that includes Chevy Chase (wonderfully droll) as a needy senior who made a fortune from moist towelettes, and the hilarious Danny Pudi as the awkward chatterbox Abed, who sees everything in terms of movie/TV archetypes. (Next episode, when Britta starts going on about the plight of murdered journalists in Guatemala, Abed blurts, “Spoilers!”) Silly, sweet and frequently hysterical in its fractious group dynamic, Community has the instant feel of a classic-in-the-making sitcom with a refreshingly diverse range of characters to play with.
One of the pleasing things about Community has to do with what it is not. The show doesn’t fit into any of the more familiar half-hour comedy formats on network TV right now - family sitcoms, workplace-family sitcoms, or friends-in-the-city sitcoms. It isn’t entirely formulaic. What else isn’t it? Another reason to moan about sitcoms fading quality.
THE DUDE WHO HAS NOTHING BETTER TO DO
- Robin
- Now and then, Robin sees himself as Holden Caulfield, the troubled protagonist of Catcher in the Rye, who, like him, finds everything phony, is politically incorrect, is generally bored, swears at the blink of the eye and mostly comes through as a plain pest. Moreover, Holden is obnoxious and lovable, pleasing and distressing, offensive and righteous, traits Robin also developed over the years. Or thinks he did. I created Casual Cogitations as a means to abate my detachment to reality. And without further, ado, I present to you my Casual Cogitations. An edgier, more creative, and less politically correct approach to reviewing!
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