TV Weddings

As someone who celebrated a wedding not too long ago, I think I'm in a pretty good position to judge a good TV wedding. And as the fall television season is set to kick off next week, it's a pretty good time to reflect on two that happened fairly recently. They are both from NBC comedies that I like.

Parks and Recreation



This clip achieves a good balance between sincerity and humor. It also employs music to strong effect - Simon and Garfunkel's short yet poetic "April Come She Will" - good not only because it is a good song but because the girl getting married is named April. The dedication that Chris Pratt brings to the character of Andy is always impressive, and he does a nice job in this scene. Notable are the at once sweet and funny look of sentiment on his face when April tells him "I never really seemed to hate you" and his vow to fight "him" - the female minister - if he had to to protect April.

The knowing looks captured by the camera on the periphery characters' faces are nice, and April's similarly unenthusiastic sister's applause is hilarious as well. Of course, the payoff comes at the end of the scene, a comic surprise that often still makes me laugh out loud when I watch the scene.

The Office



The Office wedding of Jim and Pam was one of the show's most anticipated developments, and it did not disappoint. I remember dreading that the two-episode installment of "Niagra" parts 1 and 2 would be as bad as the rest of the season was, but I was pleasantly surprised, again, by a nice blend of sentiment and humor. While Ed Helms' Andy Bernard stole the entire installment, this scene nicely played homage to the central importance of Jim and Pam's relationship to the show - while also highlighting the comic talent of the rest of the cast.

Again, music is central to the scene - playing off the internet meme of the song being used in a real wedding. But the interlaced shots of the wedding in the church with Jim and Pam's secret escape on the Maid of the Mist brought a new level of romance to the song, which I admittedly never recognized before when hearing it on the radio. The sweeping shots on board added an air of majesty to the scene which worked well. The payoff is, of course, the dancing procession. Here are the best entrances in my opinion:

1) Dwight kicking the girl in the face
2) Creed
3) Kevin
4) Andy Bernard
5) Jim's dark-haired brother

The surprise of the scene comes near the beginning, with the start of the music/dance sequence, layered with Jim and Pam's escape, and overall it works well. I was moved during it in a way I had not expected to be, though the knowing glances between Jim and Pam are less effective. I've never been a big fan of their "mugging."

It's tough for me to judge between the two, especially because my belief that The Office has gone downhill (before and) since this leaves me with a negative bias and also because it marks the end of the romantic tension (and therefore appeal) of Jim and Pam's relationship. Acknowledging that bias, I still give the nod to P&R, mostly because the surprise payoff at the end is so unexpected and hilarious, and because I love the song. I'm sure I would be in the minority in having this opinion.

I suppose this opinion also could reflect my natural preference for less elaborate, yet still meaningful, weddings.