Episode 21 - Happy Hour
28 March 2010
Review
Synopsis: Oscar suggests that the office and warehouse all go out for happy hour in order to get to know Matt (from the warehouse) a little better. Michael is incredibly happy to be out socialising for no reason and gets on well with Pam's friend Julie until he realises that it's a setup. Then he becomes date Mike and embarrasses himself. Meanwhile Dwight flirts with Isabelle again much to Angela's irritation. Andy is determined that no one should find out about him and Erin to avoid all the drama.
The Good: This was a fun episode throughout and the choice of location for "Happy Hour" was ideal. It allowed the characters to all spread out and interact when they needed to while keeping them all involved in the same plot.
Michael's ecstasy at finally being able to go out with his co-workers for a drink was fun to watch and entirely fitting. I loved the fact that when Andy told him about the idea he was ready to leave work then and there. The writing understood his character pretty well. He was actually harmless and entertaining when he thought he was simply spending time with Jim and Pam. But as soon as he realised he was on a date he acted like a moron because he has no social intelligence. His flirtation with the bar manager was a typical Michael romance story where he managed to miss the point but still attract her.
I enjoyed Jim and Pam's reactions to the disaster too. Pam's inability to come up with any explanation for what Michael is usually like was just as fun as Jim's amused expression. He knew whatever she could come up with would be worth the wait. Jim also had a very fitting line about how the new baby gets him out of things he doesn't want to do too ("and I love her. I also love her very much").
Elsewhere Erin and Andy managed to avoid any silly drama just in time which was good to see. Kevin was initially funny with his juvenile humour aimed at both Erin\Andy and Pam's nipples. Dwight's flirtation with Isabelle had good substance which made it clear why she likes him. Oscar was well written and played his part nicely too. Even after admitting he had nothing in common with Matt he was still so desperate that he went to shoot hoops with him anyway. Something everyone can relate to and using him as the excuse for the whole plot was a nice change of pace and continuity (613). It also allowed Darryl to say "you can be gay with Matt, just be straight with me" which was about as perfect a line for his character to say as you can imagine.
The opening joke with Stanley going to great effort to do push ups was pretty funny. While not laugh out loud funny, his iron determination to miss a day of work was very fun to watch. His dignified sweaty exit was a very satisfying way to lead into the credits.
The Bad: We've seen Michael be a big douche and accidentally attract women a bunch of times now. Not that this was bad but it felt a little like a retread. Andy being so concerned with the drama was a little awkward but fortunately it didn't last long. Similarly shy Erin groping a stranger seemed a little out of character.
The bigger weakness here was Dwight's story. The Angela contract hadn't really sunk in as a story and to build a romantic story around it felt somehow rushed. It also seemed odd that Isabelle was so into Dwight that she would be so rude to Angela and bop her on the head. Shouldn't she have been more concerned by her new man signing such a ridiculous contract in the first place?
Comic Highlight: Michael explains to the bar manager that he has written a book about management, in his head at least. She replies "Have you read Lee Iacocca's? It's classic." To which Michael hilariously responds "Read it, I own it! But no I have not read it."
That's what I said: This was a welcome return to form in the short term with plenty to enjoy on all fronts. But the major stories (Michael and Dwight) both had flaws and I'm not convinced the show has found a solid new direction just yet.
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