Leslie's House
Encyclopedia
Leslie's House is the fourteenth 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 Daniel J. Goor
and directed by Alex Hardcastle. The episode also continued a story arc involving Justin Theroux as Leslie's boyfriend, which began in the previous episode
. According to Nielsen Media Research
, "Leslie's House" was seen by 4.35 million viewers, a slight drop from the previous episode, "The Set Up
". The episode received generally positive reviews.
(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 cartoonist 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. He 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.
"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. The episode also featured Jama Williamson in her recurring role as Wendy, the soon-to-be ex-wife of Tom. "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.
. Tom said, "I don't have the heart to tell them what's going to happen to Kurt Cobain
in 1994", a reference to the suicide
of the band's lead singer. Before Tom eats a hot pepper at the dinner party, he sings, "This is how you eat it" to the tune of the 1995 Montell Jordan
song "This Is How We Do It
". Leslie said she was saving an old newspaper because it had the "first rumblings of Iran-Contra", a reference to the scandal in which U.S. figures facilitated the sale of arms to Iran
. Tom visits Wikipedia
, the free online encyclopedia, to learn more about India
when quizzed by Justin.
broadcast on January 21, 2010, "Leslie's House" was seen by 4.35 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research
. It was a more than five percent drop in viewership from the previous week's episode, "The Set Up
". "Leslie's House" drew a 2.0 rating/5 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. The episode received generally positive reviews. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger
, said the episode was very funny and farcical, but grounded in reality enough to keep it from being too unbelievable or over-the-top. Sepinwall said Mark was funnier than he is in most episodes, and said there was good development in the subplots between April and Andy, as well as the blossoming love triangle between Ron, Tom and Wendy.
Entertainment Weekly
writer Sandra Gonzalez said she liked the pairing of Poehler and Theroux, but found "Leslie's House" slower than previous episodes, and felt the comedic talents of Ansari and Offerman were underused. Matt Fowler of IGN
praised the episode for its use of a wide range of characters to provide humor, saying "Everyone got a chance to shine in this episode. They all took turns giving us a laugh and 'Leslie's House' was a tremendous example of this series firing on all cylinders." Steve Kandell of New York
magazine praised the episode's satirical bent about elected officials. Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
favorably compared "Leslie's House" to "Dinner Party
", an episode of The Office, the other comedy series created by Parks co-creator Greg Daniels
. However, he said "Leslie's House" was different in that her friends were willing to attend her party and help her out, whereas in the Office episode, the characters did not want to attend the dinner party held by protagonist Michael Scott
. Heisler said the fact that the characters liked each other so much in Parks and Recreation differentiated itself from the other series in a positive way.
set in the United States on November 30, 2010. The DVD included deleted scenes for each episode.
Parks and Recreation (season 2)
The second season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network starting September 17, 2009, and ended on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, and series co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur...
of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation
Parks and Recreation is an American comedy television series on NBC that focuses on Leslie Knope , a mid-level bureaucrat in the parks department of Pawnee, a fictional town in Indiana. Created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, the series debuted on April 9, 2009; it has run for three seasons and...
, and the twentieth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
in the United States on January 21, 2010. In the episode, Leslie
Leslie Knope
Leslie Barbara Knope is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Amy Poehler. Poehler garnered two Emmy Award nominations for Best Lead Actress in Comedy Series for her role.-Background:...
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 Daniel J. Goor
Daniel J. Goor
Daniel J. Goor is an Emmy award winning writer, who has written for several comedy talk shows including The Daily Show, Last Call with Carson Daly and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He is currently serving as producer of the NBC primetime series Parks and Recreation. He writes for Power Rangers...
and directed by Alex Hardcastle. The episode also continued a story arc involving Justin Theroux as Leslie's boyfriend, which began in the previous episode
The Set Up (Parks and Recreation)
"The Set Up" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the nineteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 14, 2010...
. According to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
, "Leslie's House" was seen by 4.35 million viewers, a slight drop from the previous episode, "The Set Up
The Set Up (Parks and Recreation)
"The Set Up" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the nineteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 14, 2010...
". The episode received generally positive reviews.
Plot
A remorseful LeslieLeslie Knope
Leslie Barbara Knope is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is portrayed by Amy Poehler. Poehler garnered two Emmy Award nominations for Best Lead Actress in Comedy Series for her role.-Background:...
(Amy Poehler
Amy Poehler
Amy Meredith Poehler is an American comedian, actress and voice actress. She was a cast member on the NBC television entertainment show Saturday Night Live from 2001 to 2008. In 2004, she starred in the film Mean Girls with Tina Fey, with whom she worked again in Baby Mama in 2008. She is...
) 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
Indianapolis
Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...
. 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
Ann Perkins
Ann Meredith Perkins is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is a nurse and best friend of Leslie Knope. She is portrayed by Rashida Jones.-Season one:...
(Rashida Jones
Rashida Jones
Rashida Leah Jones is an American film and television actress, comic book author, screenwriter and occasional singer. She played Louisa Fenn on Boston Public and Karen Filippelli on The Office as well as roles in the films I Love You, Man and The Social Network...
), Leslie decides to host a dinner party at her home with all her interesting friends. She invites Mark
Mark Brendanawicz
Mark Brendanawicz is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is the city planner for Pawnee, Indiana, one of Ann Perkins's ex-boyfriends, and Leslie Knope's colleague. He is portrayed by Paul Schneider...
(Paul Schneider
Paul Schneider (actor)
Paul Andrew Schneider is an American film actor.-Early life and career:Schneider was born and raised in Asheville, North Carolina. He graduated from the North Carolina School of Arts...
), Tom
Tom Haverford
Thomas Montgomery "Tom" Haverford , born Darwish Sabir Ismael Gani, is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is a sarcastic, underachieving government official for the city of Pawnee who is revered for his high levels of swagger and unmatched entrepreneurial skills...
(Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari
Aziz Ansari is an American actor, writer, and stand-up comedian. He currently stars as Tom Haverford on the NBC show Parks and Recreation....
) and Ron
Ron Swanson
Ronald Ulysses "Ron" Swanson is a fictional character played by Nick Offerman in the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation on NBC. Ron is parks department director in the Indiana city of Pawnee and the immediate superior of protagonist Leslie Knope...
(Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman
Nick Offerman is an American actor best known for his role as Ron Swanson in the NBC sitcom Parks and Recreation. He is also a skilled woodworker.-Early life and career:...
), specifically excludes Jerry (Jim O'Heir
Jim O'Heir
Jim O'Heir is an American actor. He was active in the Chicago theater during the 1980s and 1990s as part of the theater group White Noise, and appeared in such plays as The Book of Blanche, Stumpy's Gang and Ad-Nauseam with the group...
), and asks Andy
Andy Dwyer
Andrew Maxwell "Andy" Dwyer is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. He is Ann Perkins' ex-boyfriend, a talented-if-yet-unsuccessful musician, a shoe-shiner at Pawnee City Hall, and April Ludgate's husband. He is portrayed by Chris Pratt.-Background:At the start of the...
(Chris Pratt
Chris Pratt
Christopher Michael "Chris" Pratt is an American actor, best known for his roles as Harold Brighton "Bright" Abbott in the television series Everwood, the recurring character Winchester "Ché" Cook in season 4 of The OC, Andy Dwyer in the television series Parks and Recreation and for portraying...
) 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
Bonita Friedericy
Bonita Friedericy is an American actress. She currently can be seen in the television series Chuck as NSA Director Diane Beckman. She has also appeared on Malcolm in the Middle, Veronica Mars, Star Trek: Enterprise, Bones, The Nine, The West Wing, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and in the film...
), 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
April Ludgate
April Roberta Ludgate is a fictional character in the NBC comedy Parks and Recreation. She is an apathetic college student employed by the Pawnee Department of Parks and Recreation as Ron Swanson's assistant. She is married to Andy Dwyer. She is portrayed by Aubrey Plaza...
(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
Jama Williamson
Jama Williamson is an American actress. She was active in New York City theater throughout the early 2000s, during which she appeared in such shows as Avery Crozier's Eat the Runt, Hunt Holman's Spanish Girl, A. R. Gurney's Sylvia and Simon Mendes da Costa's Losing Louis...
) 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 cartoonist 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. He 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
Perjury
Perjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the witness falsely promises to tell the truth about matters which affect the outcome of the...
. The episode ends with Justin encouraging Tom to ask Wendy out.
Production
Daniel J. Goor
Daniel J. Goor is an Emmy award winning writer, who has written for several comedy talk shows including The Daily Show, Last Call with Carson Daly and Late Night with Conan O'Brien. He is currently serving as producer of the NBC primetime series Parks and Recreation. He writes for Power Rangers...
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. The episode also featured Jama Williamson in her recurring role as Wendy, the soon-to-be ex-wife of Tom. "Leslie's House" satirizes government officials abusing their positions of power for personal gain, marking a continuation throughout the second season
Parks and Recreation (season 2)
The second season of Parks and Recreation originally aired in the United States on the NBC television network starting September 17, 2009, and ended on May 20, 2010. The season was produced by Deedle-Dee Productions and Universal Media Studios, and series co-creators Greg Daniels and Michael Schur...
to feature more topical storylines.
Cultural references
While discussing how behind the times Pawnee is, Tom said residents are now only starting to become interested in the rock band NirvanaNirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
. Tom said, "I don't have the heart to tell them what's going to happen to Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
in 1994", a reference to the suicide
Death of Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain was found dead at his home located at 171 Lake Washington Boulevard in Seattle, Washington, United States on April 8, 1994. Cobain, the lead singer of the American grunge band Nirvana, had checked out of a drug rehabilitation facility and been reported suicidal by his wife Courtney Love...
of the band's lead singer. Before Tom eats a hot pepper at the dinner party, he sings, "This is how you eat it" to the tune of the 1995 Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan
Montell Jordan is a former American R&B singer-songwriter and record producer. Jordan became the main solo male artist on its Def Soul imprint until leaving the label in 2003. Of his live performances it is often regarded that he is a rock oriented musician, with Jordan even going as far as to...
song "This Is How We Do It
This Is How We Do It
"This Is How We Do It" is a 1995 song by American R&B singer Montell Jordan. This song, Jordan's first single, is representative of the new jack swing style popular at the time, featuring Jordan singing over an enhanced sample of Slick Rick's "Children's Story." "This is How We Do It" was...
". Leslie said she was saving an old newspaper because it had the "first rumblings of Iran-Contra", a reference to the scandal in which U.S. figures facilitated the sale of arms to Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. Tom visits Wikipedia
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a free, web-based, collaborative, multilingual encyclopedia project supported by the non-profit Wikimedia Foundation. Its 20 million articles have been written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. Almost all of its articles can be edited by anyone with access to the site,...
, the free online encyclopedia, to learn more about India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
when quizzed by Justin.
Reception
In its original American NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
broadcast on January 21, 2010, "Leslie's House" was seen by 4.35 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research
Nielsen Ratings
Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States...
. It was a more than five percent drop in viewership from the previous week's episode, "The Set Up
The Set Up (Parks and Recreation)
"The Set Up" is the thirteenth episode of the second season of the American comedy television series Parks and Recreation, and the nineteenth overall episode of the series. It originally aired on NBC in the United States on January 14, 2010...
". "Leslie's House" drew a 2.0 rating/5 share among viewers aged between 18 and 49. The episode received generally positive reviews. Alan Sepinwall, television columnist with The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger
The Star-Ledger is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to The Jersey Journal of Jersey City, The Times of Trenton and the Staten Island Advance, all of which are owned by Advance Publications.The Newark Star-Ledgers daily...
, said the episode was very funny and farcical, but grounded in reality enough to keep it from being too unbelievable or over-the-top. Sepinwall said Mark was funnier than he is in most episodes, and said there was good development in the subplots between April and Andy, as well as the blossoming love triangle between Ron, Tom and Wendy.
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
writer Sandra Gonzalez said she liked the pairing of Poehler and Theroux, but found "Leslie's House" slower than previous episodes, and felt the comedic talents of Ansari and Offerman were underused. Matt Fowler of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
praised the episode for its use of a wide range of characters to provide humor, saying "Everyone got a chance to shine in this episode. They all took turns giving us a laugh and 'Leslie's House' was a tremendous example of this series firing on all cylinders." Steve Kandell of New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
magazine praised the episode's satirical bent about elected officials. Steve Heisler of The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club
The A.V. Club is an entertainment newspaper and website published by The Onion. Its features include reviews of new films, music, television, books, games and DVDs, as well as interviews and other regular offerings examining both new and classic media and other elements of pop culture. Unlike its...
favorably compared "Leslie's House" to "Dinner Party
Dinner Party (The Office)
"Dinner Party" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth season of the American comedy television series The Office—the show's sixty-sixth episode overall. Written by the writing team of Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky and directed by Paul Feig, the episode originally aired on NBC on April 10, 2008...
", an episode of The Office, the other comedy series created by Parks co-creator Greg Daniels
Greg Daniels
Gregory Martin "Greg" Daniels is an American television comedy writer, producer, and director.-Life and career:...
. However, he said "Leslie's House" was different in that her friends were willing to attend her party and help her out, whereas in the Office episode, the characters did not want to attend the dinner party held by protagonist Michael Scott
Michael Scott (The Office)
Michael Gary Scott is a fictional character on NBC's The Office, portrayed by Steve Carell, and based on David Brent from the original British version. Michael, the central character of the series, was the manager of the Scranton branch of paper and printer distribution company Dunder Mifflin Inc...
. Heisler said the fact that the characters liked each other so much in Parks and Recreation differentiated itself from the other series in a positive way.
DVD release
"Leslie's House", along with the other 23 second season episodes of Parks and Recreation, was released on a four-disc DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
set in the United States on November 30, 2010. The DVD included deleted scenes for each episode.
External links
- "Leslie's House" at the official Parks and Recreation site
- "Leslie's House" at TV.comTV.comTV.com is a website owned by CBS Interactive. The site covers television and focuses on English-language shows made or broadcast in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Japan...