What I’m Watching: Parks and Recreation

Parks and Recreation: Season 2, Episode 14 “Leslie’s House” (B+)

The setup of this episode could have seemed incredibly forced, as the flurry of people arriving at Leslie’s house went from believable albeit a bit over-the-top to all-out ridiculous. Yet what made it work consistently was Leslie’s insistence on topping it with more and more to keep the obviously purely fatigued Justin on his toes and excited about meeting all of Leslie’s interesting friends. Leslie is just a hilarious character, going to the lengths of turning herself in for a disciplinary review and risking the security of her job just to be able to get her boyfriend to admit that their date went well on the record. The joy on her face when she uttered that line was priceless. I’m loving the friendship between Andy and April more and more, and Andy’s presence continues to be an unexpected delight instead of the pestering annoyance it might have been. I also really enjoy Tom’s need to gain Justin’s approval and friendship, and Justin’s inability to be phased by anything or anyone and to remain subdued and modest during his stories is terrific. Marc’s desire to outshine him by telling other people’s stories is great, and his follow-up interview revelation that the guy couldn’t tell stories because his mouth was melted off was a nice capper to his exaggeration. I wonder how long Justin will stick around, because he’s a great addition to the show, and Leslie really is performing at her best with him around, even if it requires a generous $1000 donation out of her own pocket.