Galentine's Day
"Galentine's Day" | |
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Parks and Recreation episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 16 |
Directed by | Ken Kwapis |
Written by | Michael Schur |
Original air date | February 11, 2010 |
Guest appearances | |
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"Galentine's Day" is the 16th episode of the
The episode was written by series co-creator
According to
Plot summary
Leslie and Justin meet Frank, a strange and depressed man who has constant panic attacks. Leslie begins to have doubts about bringing him to her mother and tries to call it off, but Justin insists that they should "let this unfold". At the dance, where Andy's (Chris Pratt) band Mouse Rat is playing, Frank meets up with Marlene, who is repulsed by Frank's past, current unemployment and overall failure at life. She turns down his offer at a second chance at love, prompting him to storm onto the stage and denounce her over the microphone. Leslie apologizes to her mother for bringing Frank. She is later upset with Justin, but has trouble pinpointing the reasons for her dissatisfaction. Ron (Nick Offerman) explains that Justin is a "tourist," meaning that he takes "vacations in people's lives" and only cares about telling interesting stories to impress other people, which makes him selfish. Two older women then recognize Ron as jazz saxophonist Duke Silver, but he denies it. Leslie later breaks up with Justin, which Tom (Aziz Ansari) takes especially hard, reacting as if his parents were getting divorced.
Before the senior dance, Tom invites his ex-wife Wendy (Jama Williamson) to his office to finally disclose his romantic feelings for her, but she rejects him. Not satisfied with the outcome, he attempts to blackmail her into a date using an alimony lawsuit as leverage. Tom and Wendy are later shown hugging and presumably making amends, although their conversation remains inaudible. Meanwhile, April's (Aubrey Plaza) boyfriend Derek (Blake Lee) and his boyfriend Ben (Josh Duvendeck) mock the senior citizens, causing April to question why their interactions must constantly be "cloaked in, like, 15 layers of irony". They accuse her of "lameness", which they attribute to spending time with Andy, and provide her with several ultimatums. She breaks up with them in response. Ann (Rashida Jones) and Mark (Paul Schneider), at the same time, celebrate their first Valentine's Day together. In an interview with the camera crew, Ann describes the relationship as "good", but her tone of voice and body language around Mark contradict her statements. She later becomes jealous when Andy dedicates a song to April, even going so far as to question April about the possibility of a budding relationship between April and Andy, to which April responds impatiently.
Production
"Galentine's Day" was written by series co-creator Michael Schur and directed by Ken Kwapis. The episode featured a guest appearance by John Larroquette as Frank Beckerson, the long-lost love of Leslie's mother, Marlene Knope.[1] When Parks and Recreation co-creator Greg Daniels announced the casting in January 2010, he described Larroquette's character as "He's the one who got away."[2] "Galentine's Day" also included an appearance by Pamela Reed, who has played Marlene Knope in several episodes,[3] and the last of a string of slated guest appearances by Justin Theroux as Justin Anderson, a love interest for Leslie.[4][5] The episode marked the return of Andy's band, "Mouse Rat",[4][6] which was previously featured in the first season finale "Rock Show". His bandmates are played by Mark Rivers (drums), Andrew Burlinson (guitar) and Alan Yang (bass), the latter of whom serves as a screenwriter for Parks and Recreation.[7]
Cultural references
At the dance, a senior citizen approaches Ron Swanson and asks for an autograph from Duke Silver. This is a reference to the previous
Among the songs performed by Mouse Rat in "Galentine's Day" were "
Reception
And I think this far into the show's run, Schur and company have earned the right to do an episode like this, one that still had plenty of funny stuff [...] but that showed how seriously the show takes its characters, and how rich so many of them have become.
In its original American NBC broadcast on February 11, 2010, "Galentine's Day" was seen by 4.98 million households, according to
"Galentine's Day" received generally positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly writer Sandra Gonzalez said, "The show managed to cram more character development into 22 minutes than I thought possible. Almost every couple had a major milestone of sorts last night." Gonzalez complimented the acting of Aziz Ansari during his moments with Wendy, and praised the "touching moment" between Ron and Leslie when she realized she had to break up with Justin.[8] Steve Kandell of New York magazine appreciated that Leslie was correct about Frank, and that Justin was the ignorant one. Kandell said the senior dance served as a "poignant backdrop" for the episode's romantic subplots, but said the most intriguing show's relationship is between Leslie and Ron.[10] Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger, said the episode was funny, but focused more attention on advancing various romantic subplots. Sepinwall said the scenes about Ann and Mark were "a nice reaction to the general blandness of that relationship", but found it "frustrating" that the episode left the reason for Wendy and Tom's resolution unclear.[4]
Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club praised the episode for displaying some of Leslie's stronger and more competent aspects, which he said makes audiences "much more willing to put up with her many, many eccentricities". Heisler said he thought the Leslie and Justin relationship ended appropriately and praised Ansari's performance, but added he was a little "taken aback" by how rudely Tom treated Wendy.[6] Matt Fowler of IGN said the episode had many funny moments and good character development, but he said some of the romantic relationships risked skewing the balance between "the sweet and the absurd", and that some of the character moments "played out a bit too jarringly real for a show like this".[1] Kona Gallagher of TV Squad said she would like to see Leslie get a boyfriend who last longer than three episodes, unlike Justin Theroux and Louis C.K., who played Leslie's love interest Dave Sanderson earlier in the season. Gallagher praised Andy's band and the befuddlement with which Andy reacted to the senior citizen audience.[9] Mike Murphy of The Press Democrat said the episode was funny, and he particularly praised the "hilariously whacked-out" performance of John Laroquette.[14] Several commentators praised the joke about Andy's new rock song "Sex Hair", about how one can tell whether someone had sex because their hair is matted.[1][6][10]
Public reception
"Galentine's Day" has transcended the television screen and become established in everyday culture. On February 13, Galentine's Day, a nonofficial holiday, is celebrated as a day for "ladies celebrating ladies".[15] Businesses such as Sprinkles Cupcakes, Lyft, Shari's Berries, 4KIDS, and Target promoted the holiday on Twitter in 2017, with Target even selling Galentine's Day themed products.[16] Awareness of the holiday spread thanks to social media, with #GalentinesDay trending on Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr on February 13, 2017, seven years after the original episode aired.[citation needed]
DVD release
"Galentine's Day", along with the other 23 second-season episodes of Parks and Recreation, was released on a four-disc DVD set in the United States on November 30, 2010. The DVD included deleted scenes for each episode.[17][18]
References
- ^ a b c d e f Fowler, Matt (February 12, 2010). "Parks and Recreation: "Galentine's Day" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on December 13, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- ^ Keck, William (January 15, 2010). "John Larroquette Cast on Parks and Recreation". TV Guide. Archived from the original on February 9, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ Dos Santos, Kristin (February 8, 2010). "Spoiler Chat: Will Sawyer Forget About Juliet and Reunite With Kate on Lost?". E! Online. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ a b c d e Sepinwall, Alan (February 12, 2010). "Parks and Recreation, "Galentine's Day": John Larroquette woos Leslie's mom". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- ^ Ausiello, Michael (November 16, 2009). "Exclusive: Justin Theroux joins "Parks and Recreation"". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on August 30, 2012. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Heisler, Steve (February 11, 2010). "Parks and Recreation: "Galentine's Day"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 24, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- Universal Studios Home Entertainment.
- ^ a b c d e Gonzalez, Sandra (February 12, 2010). ""Parks and Recreation" recap: Breaking up is hard to do". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on December 17, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- ^ a b Gallagher, Kona (February 12, 2010). ""Parks and Recreation" - "Galentine's Day" Recap". TV Squad. Archived from the original on February 15, 2010. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- ^ a b c Kandell, Steve (February 12, 2010). "Parks and Recreation Recap: Love and Loss at the Pawnee Seniors Dance". New York. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved February 13, 2010.
- ^ a b Seidman, Robert (February 12, 2010). "Thursday Broadcast Finals: Grey's Anatomy, The Mentalist Tick Up, Private Practice, 30 Rock Tick Down". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 16, 2010. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ a b Gorman, Bill (February 5, 2010). "TV Ratings: ABC Edges CBS, Fox; Mentalist, Community, Parks, Office, 30 Rock Rise". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 8, 2010. Retrieved February 5, 2010.
- ^ Seidman, Robert (March 5, 2010). ""The Office" Tops First-Run "Grey's Anatomy" for the First Time Ever". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2010.
- ^ Murphy, Mike (February 13, 2010). "Weekly wrapup: "Burn Notice" and bad musical acts". The Press Democrat. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved February 14, 2010.
- ^ "How Galentine's Day Went from a Beloved Fiction to a Beloved Tradition". The Atlantic. 13 February 2017. Archived from the original on 1 December 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
- ^ ""Be My Galentine" Purple Gift Bag - Spritz : Target". Archived from the original on 2017-02-22. Retrieved 2017-02-22.
- ^ Goldman, Eric (November 24, 2010). "Parks and Recreation - Season Two DVD Review". IGN. Archived from the original on January 3, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
- ^ Bailey, Jason (November 30, 2010). "Parks & Recreation: Season Two". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on March 15, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2010.
External links
- "Galentine's Day" at the official Parks and Recreation site
- "Galentine's Day" at IMDb