'Parks and Recreation'
12 April 2013
Mock documentaries are
hardly a new phenomenon: Rob Reiner’s seminal ‘This Is Spinal Tap’ was released
in 1984. But, in recent years, the success of ‘The Office’ (on both sides of
the Atlantic) has led to a rekindling of the
mockumentary sitcom. For some people the high cringe factor of ‘The Office’
made it almost unwatchable – it was often painfully funny. Greg Daniels’ new US
TV series ‘Parks and Recreation’ is much gentler and I’m completely hooked. Leslie
Knope, Deputy Director of Parks and Recreation in Pawnee, Indiana (wonderfully
played by Amy Poehler) is typical of the naïve, self-deluding, somewhat stupid
protagonists of most mockumentaries – but, unlike David Brent, Leslie Knope is
a really sympathetic character and we are completely on her side. She’s also
slightly more knowing than she first appears, often realising afterwards what a
stupid thing she has just done. Actually the whole cast of regular characters
in ‘Parks and Recreation’ are pretty likeable: they all have their faults but
they are basically nice people. ‘Parks and Recreation’ is also laugh-out-loud
funny in quite an old-fashioned way despite the modern mockumentary approach.
It creates ridiculous situations (the penguin gay marriage) and treats them
seriously. The tone is more Laurel and Hardy than David Brent – and there’s
some nice slapstick too. Best of all the nature of the documentary that appears
to be being filmed is never mentioned: all the characters give knowing looks to
camera but no-one ever explains why there are cameras in someone’s living room.
All of ‘Parks and Recreation’ series 2 is still on BBC iPlayer: if you haven’t
tried it yet I would recommend taking a look. Who knew local government could
be so funny and charming!Labels: Comedy, TV
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