That's Childish Gambino, the nom de rap of my Community obsession Donald Glover. I mean, he's no Alison Brie, but dude is funny as hell and it turns out he can also emcee. I actually felt proud of myself for turning my friend Khori Johnson on to the ChildishDonaldGambi
noGloverCommunityVerse.
Khori is one of the funniest cats I know and, as seen in the silhouette image, a heroic soldier. He also has an ace taste in the musicalism and was one of my greatest supporters in sets at Substance before an unfortunate detour to Iraq. Substance, or as I always like to spell it, Subsdance, is an open decks DJ night at the Belmont on Tuesdays. It is one of the coolest nights of music constantly percolating in Norfolk presided over by some of the nicest people you ever could meet.
The wonderful thing about Subsdance is that it gives you music you don't hear at the bars and clubs every night, but the personal favorites that smart music obsessives are passionate about. It is not streamlined for massive acceptance, but
when you don't like something, a whole new flavor of deep cut is coming up within the half hour. It is a rare oasis of true pop eclecticism in this crazy town.
It is my pleasure to tell you that Khori is back from a war and in town for the next week or so, just in time to do his first Subsdance set. I have no idea what it will comprise, as I could never predict his mp3 shuffle. He does have soft spots for colorful underground hip hop, eccentric mainstream hip hop, French house & its fallout, and winning indiepop, because that is how cool he is. In any case, it is sure to transmit the giddy joy he is known for infecting people with.
Catch him at the Belmont on Tuesday (April 12, 2011 if yr nasty). You won't be sorry for long.
You know how many fake people are talking about how fake the world is right now? Community
This episode of Community was in part a movie homage.
Community is my favorite show right now, and favorites are hard to write or speak about outside the realm of hyperbolic superlatives. Talking to a friend once, I noted how I talked incessently about Peter Greenaway despite a generalized lack of awareness or interest, but I rarely mentioned Stanley Kubrick.
"You don't talk about Pink Floyd much, either." she observed.
So it has taken me this long to dish about a sitcom. One doing another movie homage. They pushed the hell out of the Pulp Fiction angle on the social networks for this one. We get some great costuming. Jeff does Vincent Vega with his already established lack of commitment (he's just Jeff in a suit). Shirley goes much further to be Jules, giving herself facial hair where Jeff couldn't be bothered to get a wig.
Britta makes a fetching Mia, Troy and Annie are an adorable Pumpkin and Honeybun, Chang continues his tradition of raceblind costumery as Butch, and clueless, tasteless Pierce is best placed as the gimp (he's hot and his balls are touching a zipper).
It is great fan service, for fans of Community and modern American pop culture at large. Does it service the silent majority of world citizens who don't obsess over movies and music and stuff, who aren't dillegently typing at the internet about their particular media fixations and vendettas? In the words of Shirley, "I'm sorry Charlie Kaufman but some of us have to get up for work in the morning."
I would argue that Community's characters are at the forefront, and with some acclimation are moving, appealing and funny to audiences not so hung up on pop culture that they can track the show's deep, continuous referents and meta-levels. I showed the chicken fingers episode to a friend who hadn't seen Goodfellas and he laughed. Importantly, he had already seen a few episodes of Community.
Furthermore, there isn't a show more hyper-aware of its own detractors, and doesn't hesitate to address and challenge accusations against it. That may be just as exasperating to the viewer that doesn't care about the movies the show loves or the show's opinion of itself. This is addressed, too, but we'll get to that later.*
Anyway, the episode subverts the expectations for a Pulp Fiction jizzerama and instead avoids the Pulp Fiction party for a conversation between the show's handsome hero and breakout star, Jeff and Abed. We see all the elements for a wacky Pulp Fiction surprise party indefinitely delayed because Abed is acting wacky for himself (not as pop culturally fixated and wacky).
Jeff and Abed wind up having the kind of profound conversations only Community really does, finding themselves on the opposite sides one would expect them to be in a pop versus life debate (some disturbing crevasses of Jeff's twisted psyche are also explored). Then it turns out the whole thing has been a movie spoof. Abed has been using Jeff to unwittingly reprise My Dinner With Andre.
I was rather embarassed not to have picked up on this, especially considering how on the nose the homage is. Jeff narrates over a brisk city walk to the restaurant just like Wallace Shawn and Abed embodies Andre Gregory in wardrobe and mannerism. How many TV actors can do more with less than Danny Pudi?
The whole thing wraps up neatly with a montage of Pulp Fiction moments done in the style and narration of My Dinner With Andre, an idea which is in itself a hilarious juxtaposition. The characters are great and the jokes funny even if, I imagine, one has seen neither movie. I don't think any television show crams quite as many types of jokes into a script. If so, probably not at this level of execution, and not with this cast.
*or not, what do i know? i'm not doing a second pass on this.
