Karaoke and fume inhalation and #AnniesMove, oh my! The seventh episode of Community Season 3, ”Studies in Modern Movement” was like a glorious parade of perfectly timed humour and Community-brand weirdness. Britta and Annie’s exchange at the start of the episode (“Oh my god, I forgot, you’re twenty!”) set the stage for an episode about a. the inevitable annoyances of moving and b. the inevitable annoyances of your new roommates.
Always keen to prove his great friendship, “Studies” showed us the lengths to which Jeff Winger will go to avoid moving boxes on the weekend with the study group, above all to spend time with his true loves: himself and shopping. Not even the promise of a date with the attractive changing room lady can convince him to tear him away from his reflection. “But after that, like maybe a blazer?” was probably the best response to, “so what are you doing after this?” ever spoken. Also related to this subplot, I have to admit that in some episodes I find the Dean’s unrelenting advances a bit tiresome, but in “Studies” they managed to do something new and different and creepy. “Off campus I’m like a craigular Joe”, insists the Dean, before blackmailing our favourite non-lawyer into spending some quality time at the mall and the karaoke machine. Can we pause for a moment to note how well they’re setting up the musical Christmas episode? First “Roxanne” and then “Kiss from a Rose” — be still, my beating earworm.
Meanwhile, in the other subplot, Shirley and Britta are having another argument about religion as they drive Annie’s things to Troy and Abed’s. ”I cannot religiously persecute you, you don’t have a religion,” quips Shirley, a dangerous move because if you don’t want to deny Britta anything, it’s the right to claim victim status. Britta then of course picks up the world’s creepiest hitchhiker, a man called Jesus, who not only believes that he is the son of God but who also has an affinity for blood (and marijuana: ”It was given to us by God. It should be legal.”) Hopefully the study group will learn to avoid picking up strangers in order to prove a point, but then again, they might miss out meeting the resurrected Elvis Presley or something.
Back at Troy and Abed’s, Annie is struggling to keep to the “Loosey Goosey” mindset when she finds out that her designated bedroom is in fact a very small blanket fort (complete with an amazing stage for a puppet show). Things only get worse when she comes across the dreamatorium, a room I expect to see again at some point in the series. Annie storms out, leaving Troy to splurt out, ”just because we’re awesome doesn’t mean we’re not adults!” It’s touching to see how they really do care for Annie, though (or at least for her ironing instruction); in contrast with the Todd episode where everyone was just collectively nasty as a giant organism of a study group, once again the individual relationships between members of the group are the focus, and effectively so.
I haven’t even touched on the Pierce storyline, I suppose that means it’s the mark of a great episode, when there are just too many good things to talk about. I will say this: snow angels in paint. You’ve got to love the study group’s resident oldie.
What did you think of this episode? This coming week’s is titled “Documentary Filming: Redux” and the description from the official NBC Community website reads as follows:
“Dean Pelton tries his hand at directing the gang in a commercial for – what else? – Greendale. Luis Guzman guest stars.”
Community airs on Thursdays on NBC at 8/7c.
