Parks and Recreation: "Ron and Tammy" Review

November 6, 2009 - As a testament to how good Parks and Recreation has become I have to mention that every time I've written something along the lines of "I just finished watching the best episode they've ever done," they're still able to produce a funnier one the next week. I think I can actually stop writing about all the improvements this show has made and just fully acknowledge that Season 2 is really strong and very funny. "Ron and Tammy" was particularly solid episode that was able to use Leslie (Amy Poehler) in a different and fresh way - as the voice of reason.

That's not to say that Leslie was left without occasional moments of her trademarked idiocy, but she was definitely the captain of the sanity vessel in this episode and it really helped give her character a boost. It's one thing to have all the other characters put up with her hyper-moronic, yet well-intentioned, schemes and another to have her awaken and then deal with the insanity of someone else. I'd like to note, that for all of Leslie's exaggerated mania, she's actually right when it comes to labeling the suburban evil that lives within Pawnee. We all thought she was out of her gourd last week when she had her sights set on the seemingly innocent Greg Pikitis - and look at what a devious little imp he turned out to be!

This week Leslie is appalled to learn that the Library has put in a bid to build on her precious empty lot. And it's not just the fact that someone else wants to take away her project, it's that, in the world of Parks & Rec, the Library division is comically filled with insane and devilish miscreants. Of course, just like last week, we feel like Leslie might be embellishing the truth a bit, but it's not long before we realize that she and Ron (Nick Offerman) are right about the wretched librarians. "They're like a biker gang," Leslie reveals. "But instead of shotguns and crystal meth, they use political savvy and shushing."

While we don't get to see the full lunacy of the Library Division, we are introduced to one of its chief officers, Ron's ex-wife, Tammy (Will & Grace's Megan Mullally). Once we find out that Tammy is a crazy, manipulative temptress, we can fully assume that the rest of her department is as bonkers as she is. Ron doesn't seem to be surprised when he hears that Tammy works for the Library. "It fits. The worst person in the world working at the worst place in the world." The joy in "Ron and Tammy" comes from finding out that he's right about both of those statements.

We all have been built up to feel that Ron is just a bitter, depressed chauvinist who's most likely wronged his innocent ex-wives and that's why it's so great to find out that it's the other way around. There's a great scene at a diner that starts out with Ron being unnecessarily mean to Tammy, which then spirals into a swirling torrent of madness where both of them scream at each other and then all but have full-on sex on their table. Just the fact that the two of them immediately just start screaming at each other at the top of their lungs was hysterical.

Ron winds up diving head first back into a dysfunctional sexual relationship with Tammy, which he feels the need to describe to Leslie in calm, awkward detail. It was a lot of fun to watch Leslie squirm as she listened to Ron say things like "that woman really knows her way around a penis" and "it's like doing peyote and sneezing slowly for six hours." The side story in this episode, involving Andy (Chris Pratt) getting a job in the building, wasn't all that funny, but it did help progress the Andy/Ann/Mark story along. With Andy now, of all things, shining shoes in the Parks building, it gives him a great excuse to be around the others as the series progresses. Unfortunately, the Ron/Tammy story was way too funny here to give any of the extra characters a fighting chance.