S06.E09: Grifting 101

[formerlyfreedom]

When a clever clever con man, Professor DeSalvo, uses his class to cheat the study group, they enlist Jeff to get revenge. The situation goes awry as Britta and Dean Pelton get involved in Jeff and Professor DeSalvo’s scamming competition.

[arc]

Slightly underwhelmed.  I wanted a bigger and more convoluted grift run on Prof DeSalvo, and worse, the one we actually got could be compared to the heist in the end of S3... which admittedly failed, but that one was still bigger and funnier.

[godonlyknows]

I think I'm going to give up on the show now. I struggled through last week's episode and I couldn't make it through this one. Annie's suddenly super enthusiastic about taking a class on grifting and within half a second the rest of the table is not only on-board but willing to drop hundreds of dollars into it and don't listen to Jeff? I don't buy it and I don't care anymore. I assume there was some reference/payoff at the end with the passing the briefcases back and forth for ages (and I mean screen time, not class time) but I only watched up to Jeff's "I told you so moment".

 

So long Community #threeseasonsandalotofdenial

[Amarsir]

Slightly underwhelmed.  I wanted a bigger and more convoluted grift run on Prof DeSalvo, and worse, the one we actually got could be compared to the heist in the end of S3... which admittedly failed, but that one was still bigger and funnier.

Agreed. This was good, but it could have been brilliant and just wasn't.  (Also The Sting is a great movie and I'll not stand by and have it trashed.)

 

It also didn't help that the comedy was back-loaded. There were a couple decent laughs in the last third, but in the 18 minutes before that there wasn't much. 

[CletusMusashi]

I thought this was one of the better episodes of the season. Although it did take a while to find its funny-zone.  All the real laughs were in the second half.

Also, this is the first time this season that I've really missed Shirley. 

[Zahdii]

I was...underwhelmed.  I get the concept of keeping the audience out of the loop so we get our payoff the same time as the grifter gets his.  It just didn't pay off for me.

 

On the other hand, I like how the characters are interacting better, but there's still something amiss.  I think it's because the established characters are well known and any hesitancy or divergence on their actions that can't be explained is jarring.  But the new characters are still...new.  It's easier to explain away departures from past behavior because they're still a work in progress for us.

 

I feel bad for the writers.  They're working with a new production company, a new method of presenting the show to the public, a slightly expanded running time, and possibly directives from on high that contradict their own basic ideas of how things should play out.

Edited May 6, 2015 by Zahdii

[Isazouzi]

I was excited to see the awful boss from the IT Crowd, but in the end, I was a bit underwhelmed too. I've never seen or even heard of the movie they were referencing.

I agree with those who think the episodes are running too long.

 

Some things I liked: Frankie saying that the teachers lounge is not a bar, the clumsy briefcase exchange while Britta was distracting the professor and the guy from Jeff's gym at the end. And the Dean, but I'm biased, I love the Dean.

[scowl]

The problem with grifting plots is that it's hard to come up with one that has a reveal that most people won't see coming. It was funny but not as funny as the grifting episode of the Simpsons which I kept remembering. 

[Amarsir]

The problem with grifting plots is that it's hard to come up with one that has a reveal that most people won't see coming. It was funny but not as funny as the grifting episode of the Simpsons which I kept remembering. 

This is absolutely true. The best grift/heist/scam plots are the ones where you don't realize that's what they're doing. (And I can tell you one that really worked on me, but if I did that would ruin it for you.  So instead I'll recommend Nine Queens to anyone who doesn't mind subtitles. It's an Argentinian film and while you do follow the scheme closely you won't spot everything.)

 

However, being a comedy they have a lot more leeway. For example, what if there was a fairly intricate plot with like 3 twists in it, and then when they're congratulating themselves Leonard comes by and points out a plot hole with it. That way we get the benefit of a "clever" heist while the takeaway hangs a lantern on it so we're not bothered with flaws ourselves.

 

Or for something truly clever, the show could have started setting it up a few episodes in advance. This would work especially well for the Yahoo medium because they have more time per episode, they knew they have a full series order, and upon this episode's reveal it would have prompted people to go back and rewatch the previous ones.  But I guess it wasn't worth that effort.

[Kalliste]

When they had the course books I thought "wow maybe they'll take a real class again, remember when they used to do that?" but nope, class ended after about 2 mins.

 

When I saw Matt Berry I thought "ooh neat! I wonder how this will go" but meh, he was similar to his IT Crowd character but not as funny.

 

I was pretty bored through this one. I looked at the time at around 18mins and wondered whether it was still a long runtime because I just wanted it to be finished already.

[VCRTracking]

Got caught up. Thought this was a fun episode. I love The Sting so I was on board immediately when I heard Scott Joplin's The Entertainer and saw the title card drawing. The scene where Jeff admits to the group he was making up the grift as they went along was funny. I love that they actually watched The Sting movie! Britta was great in the episode. Roger: "You hit me with a woman's hand, you midwestern floozy!" Britt: "I lived in New York!" The end tag was great "Guy from Jeff's Gym" with "The Equalizer" style credits!''

 

I agree that "grifting" plots in shows are hard to pull off. The best one is probably the Cheers episode with Harry Anderson as "Harry the Hat" who helps the gang when Coach was being hustled at poker. The Cheers "Bar Wars" episodes with rival Gary's Olde Towne Tavern are also pretty fun.

Edited May 14, 2015 by VCRTracking

[amensisterfriend]

For some reason this episode inspired me to rewatch Season 2's Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design, which I love even more now than I did then! That's pretty much the nicest thing I can say about this episode :) 

[tennisgurl]

I was totally thinking of Conspiracy Theories and Interior Design too! It even had the security guard turned cop there! Good times...

 

This one had some good laughs in it, I enjoyed it, but there is something off about this season. I mean, its no gas leak year, but compared to last season, something just is not working quite the same. Growing pains on the new platform?  

[atir]

I think Eddie Izzard should have played Prof deSalvo. He has experience grifting & it would have been fun to see him grift again.

I'm sad someone above isn't familiar with The Sting. We let 12 year olds post in here?!!

ETA: we Coloradoans are not from the midwest. Grr

Edited May 25, 2015 by atir

[Isazouzi]

I think Eddie Izzard should have played Prof deSalvo. He has experience grifting & it would have been fun to see him grift again.

I'm sad someone above isn't familiar with The Sting. We let 12 year olds post in here?!!

ETA: we Coloradoans are not from the midwest. Grr

 

If you're talking about me, I'm 35, but also not American. ;-)

But I love Eddie Izzard and I agree, he would have been great!

[Kalliste]

I've also never heard of The Sting, 31 and Australian.. assuming nationality counts :P

[morgankobi]

The security guard/cop actually reminds me of Chris O'Dowd, so it was almost like a faux IT Crowd reunion for me.