11 November, 2011

COMMUNITY 3.07: Studies in Modern Movement


The latest episode of this totally underrated, undervalued, under-watched show, surrounds the packing and moving of Annie and her boobs from the awful place she has been living in, to Troy and Abed's apartment-of-different-timelines.

As Britta and Annie pack, we are reminded of just how scummy the area Annie has been living is.

Britta: I'm so glad you're moving out of this neighborhood, Annie. Some dude peed on my car while I was parking it.
Annie: Awwww, you met Spaghetti! Yeah, I won't miss him.
Britta: Speaking of missing people, how did Jeff dodge this bullet? Of friendship?

When Britta suggests to Annie that living with Troy and Abed means she will eventually hate them, Annie is shocked.

Annie: I'll never hate Troy and Abed.
Britta: I forgot, you're 20. Don't worry, it's natural. When you become roommates with friends, the things you love about them become the things that make you want to smother them with a pillow.
Annie: But.. that's unacceptable to me.
Britta: Then, I'm lying?

Troy and Abed arrive and reveal that they are live-Tweeting Annie's move via the hashtag #AnniesMove. If you missed this little social interaction while watching the episode, you can read it back by following the number of Twitter accounts used in this episode. What are they? No clue.

Meanwhile, Jeff is faking being sick so hard that when Britta calls him to help, he has the salesgirl at the Gap pretend she is a nurse at a hospital. The effort is impressive and shows just how easily Jeff can lie convincingly and how he uses his charms/looks to get others to assist him. It's a wonder he hasn't been able to con a real diploma out of someone by now.

When next we see Annie's boobs, Troy and Abed have used up all of the duck-tape for a goof. Suddenly Annie is worried and whisks Britta out into the hallway.

Annie: OK, there may be a slight danger that I'll end up hating them.
Britta: Man-children, can't live with them, can't leave them alone with your tape.

After Annie freaks out a bit, Britta suggests the best way to deal with the problem.

Britta: What I'm saying, Annie, is that if you're gonna live with two guys like that, you've gotta learn to go limp! Loosey-goosey. Shake, it, all, out.
Annie: (emphatically nodding her head) Limp. Loosey-goosey. Okay, new Annie! Going with the flow! Loosey-goosey! Is it loosey-goosey or goosey-loosey? Is it hyphenated? You know what? Don't tell me. I don't need to know.

Annie attempts to be cool when Troy tosses a tape gun at her and it smashes into the wall, breaking an outlet.

Annie: You broke my pluggy thing. No worries. That's what the security deposit is for. Hastag that-is-all!

As the group leaves to go to Troy and Abed's apartment, Shirley expresses her worry about what it means for three young people to live together in sin.

Shirley: I've seen enough episodes of FRIENDS to know cohabitation leads to sex, drugs, and something Parade Magazine calls Schwimmer-fatigue.

Britta and Shirley clash about her judgmental ways, but when Britta goes to leave she invites Shirley to ride with her.

Shirley: Well if this is the forecast of the conversation, I will ride with somebody else!

But when Pierce creeps Shirley out, she decides to go with Britta anyway.

Back in Jeff-world, Dean Pelton runs into him and, having learned of the Annie move on Twitter, decides to blackmail a lunch date out of the encounter.

As Britta and Shirley ride together, debating the validity of religion vs. morality, Annie and the boys arrive at their apartment and Ms. Boobs has her orientation.

Abed: Okay, to reacquaint you, there's the bathroom. The kitchen. And of course, our bedroom. And if the room's-a-rocking, please come-a-knocking, because there's something probably terribly wrong.

Poor widdle Annie soon discovers, however, that her room is a space in the apartment now covered with bed sheets for privacy. This kind of surprise could have been avoided had she first checked out the place to verify what she was moving into. A lesson for all you kids thinking about moving into a place sight-unseen.

Abed: I'm not surprised you're so taken aback. This apartment is where dreams come true.
Troy: We spent our whole lives being told that blanket forts are only for special occasions like sleep-overs and when uncles die. That's a lie, Annie. You can live in a fort of blankets all day, every night.

On top of the terrifically horrible news, the boys also tell Annie that the TV is in her dwelling area, which means they will be spending an awful lot of time there. Annie tries to go limp. Things are starting to unravel in her brain.

Meanwhile part deux, the Jeff blackmail continues; Pierce is back at Annie's apartment trying to paint and about to die from asphyxiation from the fumes; and Britta and Shirley are driving a dirty hitchhiker, who claims to be Jesus, to their doom.

Back at the new hell hole, just as Annie is totally regretting the move, Troy and Abed put on a shadow-puppet show that warms her heaving mounds of milky yumyums. What follows next is the greatest musical montage ever... on a Thursday, this season! Jeff and the Dean sing Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" as Pierce slowly goes kookoo for the Coco Puffs from paint fumes, and hitchhiker messiah sings "Jesus Loves Marijuana" to Britta and Shirley. You have to see it to truly appreciate it.

But just as Annie and her jubblies are learning to appreciate the joys of living with Troy and Abed, she finds the Star Trek holo-deck room they call the Dreamatorium, which is used for absolutely no legitimate purpose whatsoever.

Annie: All day, I've been jumping through hoops to fit in, including the literal hoops you put in front of the toilet!
Troy and Abed: (whispered) Yes!
Annie: And you guys are hording this second bedroom as some kind of play room?! And making me sleep on a pile of laundry?
Troy: Hey! We worked hard on that! And it's a blanket fort.
Annie: It's an asylum for half-witted children! As the only adult in this apartment, I'm making an ultimatum. Me or this stupid Dreamatorium!
Abed: The Dreamatorium is nonnegotiable, read the lease.
Troy: Especially the part we added in crayon.
Abed: You don't wanna take this to court.
Troy: Trust us, this place can be a courtroom in the blink of an eye.

Annie decides to move back into her old apartment (don't miss the scene where Pierce tries to kiss her!) but when she returns to Troy and Abed's place to get her stuff, the boys have given up the bedroom and moved their stuff into the blanket fort (awwww).

Troy and Abed realize that they need Annie around, especially since she is an adult and they are children who don't know how to get out stains or that treating open wounds is important.

If I had to rate this one, I would give it:

89 out of 100.

It was a good message episode with some sweet and funny moments. It wasn't one of the best episodes ever but still entertaining enough that I watched it twice. In fact, I think I enjoyed it even more the second time around. It loses some points for essentially being one of the best shows on TV so my expectations every week are HUGE. I should note, I don't rate shows based on how they do against other shows. I rate based on how the episode compares to other episodes in the series. So, an average CHUCK episode might get 85 while a good COMMUNITY episode might get the same score. I just expect more from the latter.