I don’t mean that the joke just isn’t funny, I want to know a joke that almost makes you want to fast-forward through the scene.
I don’t mean that the joke just isn’t funny, I want to know a joke that almost makes you want to fast-forward through the scene.
How rude they are to Jerry in Parks & Rec. Doing a rewatch of it now and wow it is way worse than I remembered, and starts way earlier. It’s not a flanderisation thing, there was a season 2 joke that made me have to pause and go online just to see how many other people felt the same way as me.
I find it funny because of the sheer absurdity of it. There’s absolutely no reason to dislike Jerry. He affable and unassuming, a good family man and just generally a good guy. Yet everyone inexplicably hates him, even Chris. It’s makes absolutely no sense and that disconnect is what makes it funny to me.
If they hated him for a reason it would be mean spirited. Instead, it’s just over the top silly and fits in with the humor of the show.
The bit where Leslie throws his painting in the lake is one of my favorite moments. It’s just so exorbitantly stupid that it makes me laugh.
Personally I don’t have as much of an issue with when they’re poking fun at him per se, but when they denegrate or damage things he has clearly worked hard on and put a lot of passion into, that’s crossing a line for me. It becomes incredibly mean-spirited.
There are two examples in this compilation video. One at the linked time, and another at 6:33. Especially with how happy he is to see Leslie in the second clip until she destroys his art. It’s honestly heart-breaking. The pie to the face that came a little bit before that was also hard to watch and really felt mean. Dunno if that’s because of how cold and calculated it was (vs the more usual off-the-cuff comments), or because it was a physical act rather than verbal, or something else. But I didn’t like it.
Ok, the time stamped one is pretty rough. They don’t usually play his reaction with such honesty.
7:20 part got to me
It feels cringe (to me) cause these type of people are often bullied in real life work places, again with no real reason.
It’s the opposite of the Lil’ Sebastian thing, where there’s that horse that everyone idolizes for no discernible reason. Although with that, there’s the one character who doesn’t understand why they do that, so maybe that’s what the Jerry thing needed? Or perhaps that would have made it even sadder lol.
Yeah, that would ruin the joke. If everyone hates him it’s farcical. If one person likes him then everyone else becomes a monster.
“no discernible reason”!? I would murder everyone in this room to bring Lil Sebastian back for 5 minutes.
hi ron
Agreed. The only redeeming thing I can give the writers credit for is that they gave him an amazing family life. Even though he is the office punching bag, he is much more fulfilled outside of work than any other character is. That, and he also does love his job.
Definitely agree. I know it’s supposed to be a joke “he’s such a great guy we hate him” but it’s physically hard to watch.
I was kinda uncomfortable with his interactions with Chris. Chris was my favorite in the show and even his meanness towards Jerry was off-putting.
This sorta works for Tobi Flenderson in The Office tho
I think it works there because it’s just Michael Scott that despises him, everyone else sees him as fairly normal from what I recall.
Tobi really is a lonely creep tho. Sometimes Michael goes way too far, and its ironic because they’re not super different in terms of being socially awkward and loners
Watching Parks & Rec for the first time, and I also noticed this. IMO it’s missing something, maybe if only one of the characters acted that way towards him or something it would be better. He’s pretty much Meg from Family Guy, and I never really cared for that dynamic either.