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Community, NBC's newest single-camera sitcom, is a show that seems to have no idea what it wants to be. Part Undeclared, part Van Wilder: The Series, the show lacks the Apatow charm of the former and, well, pretty much is the latter.Created by Dan Harmon, the brilliant mind behind Channel 101.com and many of its leading shows, Community follows a study group led by a fast-talking swindler, and his interactions with the rest of its mismatched members. Some of the jokes are clear jabs at community colleges in general, while others are about the cultural differences between the cartoonish, cliched archetypes that make up the characters.
What's perhaps most disappointing about Community is that there are shiny times when the show seems to be making fun of its own format, effectively satirizing the 2000s-era National Lampoon style that has put so many terrible comedies on store shelves everywhere. This satire would be fantastic, if it were at all clear or consistent. For every joke that calls to attention the absurdity of the characters or the predictability of the plot, there are fifty more that perpetuate these conventions without self-referential commentary. Essentially, it wants to have its cake and eat it too, if the cake is a lame, mass-marketed sitcom, and the eater is a well-trained, witty observer of the subtle flaws and conventions of that medium. Mostly, it just hoards the cake, occasionally dipping its finger in to taste the frosting.
Chevy Chase is a delight to see back on screen, playing a rich tycoon who returns to school after becoming disillusioned with his own life choices. Unfortunately, Chase isn't quite as funny as he used to be, or he is and he's reading boring, unfunny dialogue. It's hard to tell. The real letdown is that all the jokes just aren't funny. There are zany moments, but much of it is slapstick nonsense, and everything else is just low-hanging fruit. So far, there has been only one funny joke, and it occurred within the first five minutes of the pilot. I'm going to spoil it for you now, because there is little else exemplary enough for me to share with you:
"I thought you had a degree from Columbia."
"Yes, and now I need to get one from America."
It's not Earth-shattering, but it's witty dialogue that made me laugh. It also filled me with false expectations of what was to come. There was no follow-up, no constant flow of wit. Arrested Development often used the brand of humor employed above, but "wait for laughter" was a class Arrested's writers missed. Comedic dialogue is best when done fluidly and quickly, leaving it up to the viewer to catch or miss it. Yes, there's always a chance that the slower ones won't appreciate every joke, but tough shit. Those who are quick enough are also smart enough to recognize timid, sycophantic writing when they see it.
It makes you wonder if Dan Harmon has lost his edge, or if his return to mainstream media simply required a lot of sacrifice. His Channel 101 show Water & Power, an ingenious parody of the Law & Order series, is absolute proof that he knows how to write and direct comedy. This is the guy who did Yacht Rock. Not enough for you? This is the guy who did Heat Vision and Jack. If you don't know what that is, shame on you. I don't want to be too presumptuous, but it seems as if Community's end product is a studio bastardization of a once-brilliant work-in-progress. I could be wrong, though. After all, when you put your name on something, you're affirming that it's yours. It's unfair that critics should even have to try and guess at what went on behind the scenes. If you wrote it, and it's shit, then you wrote shit. If you wrote it and then other people turned it into shit, sue them until they put their own names on it, too. Then you have all written shit together. As a community.
There's a chance that Community will blossom into something brilliant and funny, but right now it's still teetering without a distinct personality. There's a lot of potential, and the humor isn't intellectually offensive, which renders it harmless at best. I'm not giving up on it right away, but a 13-episode order will be an appreciable sample size. Although this reviewer remains unimpressed, there's hope enough to encourage you, my readers, to see it on your own and decide for yourselves. If you like it, good for you. Enjoy. If you don't, well, you saw it here first.
