The other day I started watching the NBC show Community and I’ve got to say that I’ve been beyond impressed so far. Chevy Chase has been funnier than he’s been in 30 years in every episode, but as a whole my favorite episode (not the funniest) is Contemporary American Poultry. Being a die hard film and TV show fan I have grown to adore Abbed’s obsession with both and unstopping references. But when he took on a film my favorite Scorsese film, Goodfellas I could not believe it! Every voice over in the episode comes directly form one of Ray Liotta’s in the timeless classic. The chicken finger’s scam and the music that corresponded with both stayed true to the film and enhanced the episode. Not the funniest, but when you reference something as incredible as Goodfellas and do so as flawlessly as Community did than you don’t have to.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obWjZ1dgNnc
Also— I wish they would’ve done something like the Copacabana scene. This IS my favorite shot in film history. This is the scene and what I have to say about it:
The most historic use in Goodfellas of an establishing shot by Scorsese is the excellently choreographed three-minute shot of Henry and Karen entering the Copacabana as everything is catered to them; their car gets watched by someone because Henry feels, “Its easier than leaving it at a garage and waiting,” they take the back entrance because its, “Better than waiting in line,” someone is around everyone corner greeting them, the owner gives them a table in front despite the wait even, a man at another table buys them a bottle of champagne for the evening. As an audience we are seeing the benefits of Henry’s lifestyle for the first time in the way that Karen does. “In a middle section of the film devoted mainly to her narration, we see her awareness of the strangeness of going out with Henry, who is only twenty-one, to a ring-side table at the Copacabana and having everyone fawn over them (Nyce 117).” She addresses that this is out of the ordinary, but is too mesmerized by all the privileges offered that she doesn’t inquire how he’s capable of this. What I think makes this scene so memorable is not simply the long camera rich movement, but the clashing of differences to make a statement. “The Copa scene reveals that by employing a cocktail of ironically conflicted elements—the romance of gangster entitlement, the teenaged music, and the gritty, highly unglamorous reality of kitchen—Scorsese is offering the audience a chance to experience a seduction that blinds the mind to a very coarse reality (Nochimson 65).”
GENIAL!
Community’s fucking top.
