Leslie's House
"Leslie's House" | |
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Parks and Recreation episode | |
Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 14 |
Directed by | Alex Hardcastle |
Written by | Daniel J. Goor |
Original air date | January 21, 2010 |
Guest appearances | |
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"Leslie's House" is the 14th episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the twentieth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 21, 2010. In the episode, Leslie holds a dinner party to impress her boyfriend Justin, but ends up recruiting town employees and potentially abusing her government power.
The episode was written by
Plot
A remorseful Leslie (Amy Poehler) tells a group of Recreation Center teachers the Pawnee budget has been cut by $1,000, and five of their classes will have to be cut, but exactly which classes has not yet been determined. Later, Leslie and Justin Anderson (Justin Theroux), who have been dating for weeks, have another excellent date in Indianapolis. At the end of the night, they decide their next date will be in Pawnee, and Leslie feels pressure to make their date equally exciting. While talking later with Ann (Rashida Jones), Leslie decides to host a dinner party at her home with all her interesting friends. She invites Mark (Paul Schneider), Tom (Aziz Ansari) and Ron (Nick Offerman), specifically excludes Jerry (Jim O'Heir), and asks Andy (Chris Pratt) to work as the waiter. Andy agrees, even though he hates Justin, Ann's former crush, and Mark, her current boyfriend.
Ann comes to Leslie's house, and finds it full of stacks of boxes, papers and garbage. When they find themselves unable to clean it, Leslie calls Maria Portlesman (Bonita Friedericy), who teaches cleaning courses at the recreation center. She declines payment and hints she would prefer preferential treatment when Leslie cuts the classes, despite Leslie's assurance this will not happen. When Leslie realizes she has not prepared any food for the party, she calls a culinary teacher from the recreation center. Later, at the party, Andy complains about Justin to April (Aubrey Plaza), who makes Andy happy when she proposes putting chewed up gum in Justin's pockets. Eventually, Tom's ex-wife Wendy (Jama Williamson) arrives. Tom expresses anger that Leslie invited her, especially because Ron is romantically interested in her. When Ron impresses Wendy by eating a hot red pepper, Tom attempts to eat a bigger one, but has to run to the bathroom in pain immediately. When Justin starts yawning, a worried Leslie calls in other recreation center teachers to make the party more interesting, including a belly-dancer, a fencer, a caricaturist and an origami teacher.
Eventually, an accounting teacher arrives, believing demonstrations are being held to determine which class will be cut, much to the anger of Ron. The teacher gives a very boring accounting lecture, which puts Justin to sleep. The next day, Leslie is before the Pawnee Disciplinary Committee on charges of abuse of power. Leslie calls Justin as a witness and questions him as to whether he enjoyed the party, to which he answers an emphatic yes. Afterward, the committee rules no further action will be taken, mainly because Leslie turned herself in and paid $1,000 restitution to the recreation center so no classes would be cut. When Ann asks why she did it, Leslie said it was to get an honest answer from Justin about the date, under penalty of perjury. The episode ends with Justin encouraging Tom to ask Wendy out.
Production
"Leslie's House" was written by Daniel J. Goor and directed by Alex Hardcastle. It featured one of a string of slated guest appearances by Justin Theroux as Justin, a love interest for Leslie.[1][2] The episode also featured Jama Williamson in her recurring role as Wendy, the soon-to-be ex-wife of Tom.[1][3] "Leslie's House" satirizes government officials abusing their positions of power for personal gain, marking a continuation throughout the second season to feature more topical storylines.[4][5]
Cultural references
While discussing how behind the times Pawnee is, Tom said residents are now only starting to become interested in the rock band
Reception
In its original American
DVD release
"Leslie's House", 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.[9][10]
References
- ^ a b c d Gonzalez, Sandra (January 22, 2010). ""Parks and Recreation" recap: House party at Leslie's!". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on January 30, 2010. Retrieved January 22, 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 Sepinwall, Alan (January 22, 2010). "Parks and Recreation, "Leslie's House": Dinner party run amok". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on June 5, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
- ^ a b c d Kandell, Steve (January 22, 2010). "Parks and Recreation Recap: Wings of Desire". New York. Archived from the original on October 3, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ Sepinwall, Alan (September 17, 2009). "Parks and Recreation: Interviewing co-creator Mike Schur". The Star-Ledger. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2010.
- ^ a b Fowler, Matt (January 22, 2010). "Parks and Recreation: "Leslie's House" Review". IGN. Archived from the original on August 12, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
- ^ Gorman, Bill (January 22, 2010). "TV Ratings Thursday: Deep End Underwater; Bones High; CSI, Mentalist, Grey's Series Lows". TV by the Numbers. Archived from the original on February 1, 2011. Retrieved January 22, 2010.
- ^ Heisler, Steve (January 21, 2010). "Parks and Recreation: "Leslie's House"". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on February 13, 2011. Retrieved January 23, 2010.
- ^ 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
- "Leslie's House" at the official Parks and Recreation site
- "Leslie's House" at IMDb