Product Description
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Smooth talking ex-lawyer Jeff Winger has got a lot to learn, and
he's come to Greendale Community College to avoid every bit of
it. Unfortunately for Jeff, he's not the only misfit to enroll
here, and people in need have an odd way of finding each other.
First, his fake study group becomes a real study group. Then,
over the course of a strange year - from Mexican Halloween to the
final 'Tranny Dance' - including bad trips, great debates, drunk
dials, food fights, epic paintball battles and sinister chicken
finger conspiracies - the group becomes a family, something Jeff
never wanted, but clearly needs. Starring Joel McHale (TV's The
Soup), Ken Jeong (The Hangover) and Emmy Award winner Chevy
Chase.
.com
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Community hits an ingenious balance: it's both a top-notch
sitcom about a gaggle of misfits at a community college and a
satire on the very nature of sitcoms. Jeff (Joel McHale of The
Soup), a fast-talking suspended lawyer seeking an authentic
undergraduate degree, forms a Spanish study group for the sole
purpose of wooing Britta (Gillian Jacobs, Choke), a former
political activist trying to move into mainstream life--but to
his dismay a handful of other students show up as well. As
happens in sitcoms, they turn into an alternate family, including
Shirley (Yvette Nicole Brown), a Christian housewife; Abed (Danny
Pudi), a business/film student with Asperger's syndrome; Troy
(Donald Glover), a former high school football star; Annie
(Alison Brie, Mad Men), an overachieving ex-drug addict; and a
former moist-towelette magnate (Chevy Chase, Saturday Night Live,
Foul Play). Community's plots occasionally revolve around
classes--most often abusive assignments from their volatile
Spanish teacher, Señor Chang (Ken Jeong, The Hangover)--but more
often the show veers into daffy social territory, such as female
bathroom etiquette, excessive political correctness, sexually
transmitted disease prevention, the true meaning of Christmas,
bullies, and teacher-student affairs. The characters are
delightful, the dialogue swift and clever, and the stories
skillfully orchestrated.
But the secret pleasure of Community is its sneaky commentary on
sitcom mechanics, from the whole concept of an alternate family
to the manipulative nature of will-they-won't-they sexual tension
to any number of subtle but affectionate digs. The show's
pop-culture awareness extends even further in two of the best
episodes, one that turns a craving for chicken fingers into a
GoodFellas-esque Mafia tale and another about a paintball
competition that escalates into a quasi-apocalyptic action
thriller. Also, Community: The Complete First Season is packed
with delicious extras--in addition to cheerful and entertaining
commentaries (which demonstrate how much the cast enjoys working
together) and the usual outtakes of the cast breaking character,
there are excellent mini-episodes, mock cast interviews, and some
very creative use of sound effects. Fans of Arrested Development
will enjoy the rich, layered humor and fans of How I Met Your
Mother will take similar pleasure in the clever stories, but
Community should appeal to anyone seeking smart, high-energy
comedy. --Bret Fetzer