With its heart in the right place and consistent laughs, I think this was the most complete season finale so far. Also, Chris Pratt has really outdone himself.
3 Reviews
S4: Running for office gives it a full narrative structure which, although not always successful, is a frame for consistent laughs
bob the moo27 March 2015
It took me a season or two to warm up to Parks & Rec as a show, but the third season was really where it started to work and this fourth season more or less continues that standard. The narrative continues from the end of the previous season, with Leslie Knope offered the opportunity to run for local political office and deciding to go for it; from here the entirety of the season is centered around her political campaign, albeit with the supporting characters frequently having their own subplots, or being linked into the overall narrative. In a way this allows for the show to have a through line for all the episodes while also continuing to the slightly random and absurd tone where it is funniest.
As an approach it doesn't totally work, mainly because the campaign run seems too filled with absurdity to really engage as a narrative – even though the structure suggests that it should. This is not a big flaw though, since mostly it is being done in the service of comedy rather than some great story-telling, and as such it does work because it provides a season of plots for lots of laughs. Some aspects of it don't really work – Tom's business venture gets old before it is over (although I don't care much for his one-note character anyway) – but mostly the character threads work for what they are, and produce decent laughs along the way too. The writing allows for the plots to be funny, but also for plenty of character- specific jokes – and the majority of these hit.
The performances continue to be strong with the close-knit cast; Poehler leads well, but Offerman, Pratt, O'Heir, Retta, and Jones get good material which is usually shorter and sharper. Scott is good, although I did think that Plaza and Ansari were a bit overused considering the limit of their character's range. Generally, everyone works very well together and some of the guest cast are very good (Paul Rudd, Bradley Whitford, Kathryn Hahn) although I didn't think Louis CK added much beyond him being Louis CK.
The fourth season may not always make all parts of the narrative work, but in terms of comedy it is pretty consistent, with good material, performances, and laughs.
As an approach it doesn't totally work, mainly because the campaign run seems too filled with absurdity to really engage as a narrative – even though the structure suggests that it should. This is not a big flaw though, since mostly it is being done in the service of comedy rather than some great story-telling, and as such it does work because it provides a season of plots for lots of laughs. Some aspects of it don't really work – Tom's business venture gets old before it is over (although I don't care much for his one-note character anyway) – but mostly the character threads work for what they are, and produce decent laughs along the way too. The writing allows for the plots to be funny, but also for plenty of character- specific jokes – and the majority of these hit.
The performances continue to be strong with the close-knit cast; Poehler leads well, but Offerman, Pratt, O'Heir, Retta, and Jones get good material which is usually shorter and sharper. Scott is good, although I did think that Plaza and Ansari were a bit overused considering the limit of their character's range. Generally, everyone works very well together and some of the guest cast are very good (Paul Rudd, Bradley Whitford, Kathryn Hahn) although I didn't think Louis CK added much beyond him being Louis CK.
The fourth season may not always make all parts of the narrative work, but in terms of comedy it is pretty consistent, with good material, performances, and laughs.
Pretty grandiose celebration
syncopatedrhythm29 December 2021
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