TV Review: Parks and Recreation 5.7, "Leslie vs. April"
I swear this series has spoiled me; it’s too damn consistently great.
rating: 4
When I first saw the title of this episode before actually watching I thought to myself, Poor April, because Im pretty sure anyone who has to face off against Leslie Knope has essentially guaranteed their own failure. I also couldnt imagine what would ever motivate April and Leslie to butt heads. As it turned out, April uncharacteristically took the initiative to propose a dog park be built in Pawnee on Lot 48 the same vacant lot Leslies spent the first two seasons trying to turn into a park (for humans). This was a great conflict for the plot but it was weird for Lot 48 to suddenly pop up again after not being a matter of concern since the second season. That one minor quibble aside, this was just another excellent Parks & Rec story. I swear this series has spoiled me; its too damn consistently great. I really appreciated how Leslie acknowledged Aprils atypical display of initiative because it contributes to Aprils growth as a character as opposed to being a random curveball. I loved just about everyone and everything in this plot, but I need to specifically recognize two moments in particular which I literally had to stop watching because I was laughing so hard and they both came from Ann, a character that, while funny, isnt usually the star of many funny moments. But in Leslie vs. April I was absolutely floored by two lines from Ann. The first was her reaction to the obviously terrible location Leslie suggested for Aprils dog park, This seems like the kind of place a ska band would go to shoot heroin. This is a good line regardless of what type of band Ann imagines would shoot heroin in a dirty alley, but the fact that the writers came up with such a specific and obscure genre (of which I was an avid fan for many years) really brought it to another level. The second line was Anns reaction to Jerry entering the room right after Ron very sternly explained that in his office everyone treats each other with respect. After hearing Ron say that the obvious logical step is to immediately bring Jerry in to be disrespected and thats exactly what happened with everyone yelling at Jerry to get out, but Ann once again went above and beyond by really screaming with what seemed like her whole body at Jerry, THIS IS PRIVATE! I really enjoyed pretty much all of Leslie vs. April but these two lines in particular were definitely the best parts of the episode for me. Speaking of highlights, regardless of how you feel about politics, its still a pretty big honor to have the vice president of the United States appear as a guest on your sitcom. I love that so many actual major American politicians apparently are fans of this series. It just makes way too much sense. The second plot of the episode followed Ben and Tom going around Pawnee looking for ways to help get Toms business off the ground. Like with the titular plot I liked this one too, but the logistics of its premise were troubling. Tom already has funding from Ron so what exactly were Tom and Ben trying to get from Sweetums and Small Business Today? I could imagine they wanted additional funding from Sweetums and it makes sense that theyd want a promotional plug from Small Business Today, but this isnt the type of show where the audience is supposed to be filling in the blanks. Again though, aside from this one small issue, I really enjoyed this story. At first I thought watching Tom trying to be an entrepreneur for the second time would just be too repetitive but Leslie vs. April proved that even without Jean-Ralphio this can be a worthwhile plot. The only plot from this episode I wasnt much of a fan of was Andys investigation of the missing computers. Originally thought to be the actions of one of his friends to help him prepare for the police academy examination, the missing computers turned out to be an actual robbery. When Andy is told by an actual police officer that being a cop isnt superhero time and mostly involves writing things down and that if Andy doesnt like it he should look into another career, hes noticeably distraught (and shirtless). This plot wasnt the most entertaining or compelling, but its important that the show not neglect this ongoing arc and I appreciate the writers acknowledging the fact that Andy is most likely not suited to be a real police officer, but part-time security guard? Yeah, that sounds like more his speed. Despite not loving all three of the plots in Leslie vs. April I appreciate and commend the writers for always delivering clear beginnings, middles, and endings to their stories. This might sound like an obvious or mundane thing to commend people for, but its amazing how many major series let this very basic aspect of crafting good stories fall by the way side.