The Greatest Party Night

Parks and Recreation, S05E10

Leslie's bachlorette party celebration was sidetracked when Leslie was stuck on Jamm building on the park site ahead of their agreement.  She spent the night not enjoying herself, but trying to recover some Native American artifacts she had planted that she mistakenly thought would help.  Ben and the guys also held Ben's bachelor party, which started out as a board game and beer and turned a night that fulfilled all the guys' dream parties that they were never able to celebrate before they got married.

I liked how I envisioned Leslie's party to be non-stop fun and Ben's to be boring as hell, but it was the complete opposite.  Leslie really had no chance for fun when that bastard went back on his deal and pushed forward with his plan for the lot with that lady (don't remember her name).  Should have known that guy wouldn't be good to his word.  Even though his ass tactics made Leslie do something really inappropriate like plant artifacts, I was happy to see that she realized her mistake right away.  It didn't help her celebrate her night any better since she exhausted herself and her friends (save Donna who was chilling in a lawn chair with a drink like a boss) retrieving as many as she could, but it helped her remain a better person than Jamm.  I think I would have been really disappointed if Jamm was turning her into some kind of monster who would exploit another culture just to suit her own agenda.

My favorite part of Leslie's story was when she came clean to Ken.  He ended up being impressed by her honesty and covered for her mistake.  I liked that he took a liking to her, but I loved when he started using "white man guilt" upon Jamm: 

[Ken] I would like to go on record, speaking as a citizen of Pawnee, I do not like the way you went back on your deal with Councilwoman Knope.  It reminds me of what the settlers of Pawnee did to my ancestors: taking their land without permission.

[Leslie, in interview] He really plays white people like a fiddle.  Wow.  It's amazing to watch.

[Ken] You and Leslie had a deal.  If that deal is not restored, well, I believe there are six Paunch Burgers in the Wamapoke casino.  Perhaps it's time that we re-visted those contracts.

[Lady] Is that a threat?

[Ken] Why, yes.  I thought that was obvious.

[Lady] Take the sign down. We'll wait until everything is official.

[Leslie] In the spirit of fair play, I suggest we put on these authentic Wamapoke headdresses and dance around the table.

[Jamm] Absolutely not.  That sounds highly offensive.

[Ken] Does it, white man?

[Jamm] No.  It's not offensive, so let's do it.  

[Ken] You first.

[Jamm] So clearly this is not offensive.

[Ken] It is offensive.

[Jamm] I'm very sorry.

Leslie made a new friend, and Jamm was sweating in his seat like someone had found porn magazines in his desk.  Love seeing Leslie win like that, especially when she does it by being completely honest.

Ben's story was really cute.  I loved how everyone had their little moment to enjoy something, and how amazing Chris was to organize it all.  Especially when he was able to make Andy's dream with the Colts come partially true.  He was the ultimate best man for each and every one of them.  And in the end after he graciously accepted his friends' award for his efforts on that night, I was impressed that Chris didn't get hung up on the fact he was the only one he hadn't ever been married.  He was just happy that he was enjoying life with his friends.  As a bonus, now that Chris has more internal peace with himself, he gets introduced him to a new girl who might be Chris' new girlfriend down the road.  He deserves it.

Of course, some of my favorite lines in this story came from Ron.  He was particularly funny when the guys went to Essence via Tom's suggestion.  I loved how quickly he realized that this bar was not for him:

[Ron just before they left] Son, there's no wrong way to consume alcohol.

[Waiter] Here's your Bud Light.

[Andy] I ordered a beer.

[Waiter] That is a beer.  And here's your nimbus martini.  May I go ahead a chisel your rhombus sphere?

[Tom] Please.

[Ron] This is the wrong way to consume alcohol.

The conversation was only made more hilarious by the bizarre drinks they were handed.  Tom couldn't have picked a funnier place for them to go.  It was completely excellent.  It only got better when Ron was given his "drink," asked to hold out his hands, and the waiter rubbed lotion on them:

[Ron] What's happening?

[Tom] Oh, this is sort of a play on scotch.   It's a whiskey-infused lotion.

[Ron] Can I ask if this entire establishment is a practical joke of some kind?

Not only Ron's reaction to that was priceless, but Andy's face too was hilarious.  I could have just had the episode about them ordering stuff from that bar all night long.

Ron also had this cute moment when they were doing Jerry's thing.  He was eating ice cream and it was totally all over his mustache, but he didn't even seem to notice.  I sort of wished he had stayed like that throughout the rest of the night.

When they were doing Ron's thing, I like how he made it seem he was going to confess something personal about his relationship with Diane, but all he said was that he liked her.  I also liked Chris' toast to Ron that he made very short to cater to Ron's style--that was really nicely done.  The best part of them being at the steakhouse, though, was when Roy Hibbert showed up and treated the guys to dinner.  When he saw Tom, he was still bitter about his former employment with him:

[Roy] Hey, Tom.  I am not paying for that guy.  He owes me a lot of money.

[Tom] It's true.

I love reminders of Tom's failed business.  It was so ridiculous that it doesn't deserve to die quietly.

Tom also had a good moment when he interrupted Jerry who was about to tell a story of why he didn't get his bachelor party:

[Tom, after bopping Jerry on the head] Boop! That's me hitting the snooze button.  Don't talk again for another ten minutes.

Really, there was just too much goodness packed in this episode--I loved it.  I laughed really hard and I also felt warm inside by the guys bonding and by Ken helping out Leslie even though she messed up.  I think I could watch this episode over and over again.  If only everything I watched was this great even half of the time.  It'd be TV paradise.

Strippers Before Secret-Sharing Speeches

The Big Bang Theory, S05E22

Howard had his bachelor party where the main entertainment wasn't strippers (due to Bernadette's wishes) but the random speeches by his friends.  In particular, Raj told everyone several of Howard's secrets concerning his sexual experiences.  Howard had no idea that Will Wheaton had filmed the whole thing and Bernadette had seen it before she picked him up that night.  Since she hadn't known about these things before watching the video, she wondered if she really knew the kind of man she was about to marry.  Howard later convinced her that he wasn't the same person who would do those things Raj talked about ever since he met her.

I assumed that their boys-night out at a vineyard or whatever silly thing they ended up doing instead of strippers was just going to be embarrassingly lame and nothing more.  That's why I think that Bernadette probably should have allowed Howard to have some strippers there anyway.  The odds of any of the men in attendance getting into trouble with them would have been slim (except possibly Wheaton since he's been on TV).  But I liked that Howard, who usually has the filthiest mind, didn't seem to mind at all listening to what Bernadette preferred.  That was refreshing not just for him, but in general as a man who could have been easily pressured by all the other men in attendance who wanted strippers.  Plus, it would have been funny to see strippers around Sheldon, a man who could barely take a sip of whiskey without a Robin-esq  swear.

Besides all of the horrible speeches, I liked that Kripke seemed to only be there in order to see strippers.  When it was his moment to give a few words about Howard, he remarked that it was basically false advertising to have a bachelor party and not have strippers of any kind.  I really like Kripke because you know if he's around that it's either to cause trouble or any other motive besides actually wanting to hang with Leonard and the gang.  I respect his honesty.

So the speeches, as I said, were terrible.  Leonard made it about himself, only wanting to boast about how he had sex with Penny on the beach (wow--who gives a damn).  Stuart's speech was so full of underlining jealousy, I was surprised he didn't stab Howard and try to assume his life as his own.  It was a little funny that he later stole a dollar from Raj that Kripke had given him.  Sheldon's speech was just annoying with his failure jokes and confidence that he was giving the best speech ever.  I was ready for him to sit down after his first "zinger."  What I did like about Sheldon was that he was miffed that Will Wheaton was in attendance because he thought Wheaton was exclusively his own friend, not Howard's or the others'.  Ha.  I wouldn't mind if they became enemies again.  Sheldon has the dumbest but amusing enemies.  Raj had the best speech because he did actually talk about Howard from the heart (maybe too much like a former girlfriend) and the fact that he revealed the secrets that no one needed to know.  Raj seemed pretty pleased that he had a threesome with Howard with an overweight girl dressed as Sailor Moon.  That image is hilarious.  Only Raj would be proud of that.  Then again, with Raj's record with women that probably is the best thing he could expect to brag about.

I think that Bernadette got too upset about the things she found out about Howard.  I mean, he is disgusting, but she knew that when she started dating him.  I think that she was just nervous about the wedding in general and was easily influenced by the tiniest thing that wasn't right.  Thankfully, Howard went to her and said the right words to fix things.  It's true that he has changed since meeting Bernadette--he's nowhere as near revolting as he was in the earlier seasons.  He's pretty pleasant.  I'm glad that it didn't take much for him to be forgiven because it wasn't that big of a deal (though I wouldn't want to have sex with him for a while after hearing about him and his cousin--eww).

Good episode.  Strippers would have been nice than the string of inappropriate speeches from Howard's friends, but they were effective in getting out the truth that Bernadette didn't know about her husband-to-be and that's important.  I'd hate for that to come out when they were walking down the aisle.  As their wedding fast approaches, I have to say that I'm a little more excited to see them hitched than I thought I would be. They're pretty perfect for each other, and I think they will be an amusing married couple as well.