If The Office has become persistent in disconnected plots and confusing, over-the-top jokes, then “Garden Party” is no testament to The Office of late.
Though there were odd moments of quintessential weirdness – most notably for Dwight who just can’t seem to understand, even after eight years, that many of the strange events in his life are dictated by Jim – this episode was true to Office history in that it capitalized on a centrally-themed Office storyline and jokes that are long-running and clever.
“Garden Party” began with a contrived situation – Andy decided out of the blue that throwing a party with his quirky office employees would be the best way to impress his parents. But as the episode progressed, the story became less artificial in the Office way – which is to say, still pretty nonsensical.
Funny moments were sprinkled throughout with great character interactions – Jim’s concern at having Meredith be mistaken for Pam, Kelly’s comment on being cold and Ryan telling her she should’ve worn a jacket. These scenes, among others, were not connected to the story by any means, and yet made for what was a pretty satisfactory episode.
The best gag by far was Jim’s falsified text on how to throw a garden party that he “Trickington”-ly managed to get Dwight to purchase and subsequently read as the Bible. Unlike other running jokes on The Office, the fake book did not run itself into the ground. The cleverness maintained even in the teaser when Jim gets Dwight to admit who the best employee at Dunder Mifflin is.
Even though a lot of characters sat on the periphery of this episode, the central themes with Dwight, Jim, and primarily Andy, were a unifying cause that made the episode make more sense. And while I made the case for individual moments being enough to quench our thirst for Office humor, there really is no substitute for a truly interesting episode.
The one fault I might have with the story was the interjection of two new characters – Josh Groban as Walt Bernard, Jr. and Stephen Collins as Walt Bernard, Sr. As a fan of Josh Groban as well as a possessor of decent knowledge on 7th Heaven, I just can't imagine that this was the best they could do. Were the characters thrown in just because they could sing well? Are they planned for future episodes and only used in an introduction in “Garden Party”? In any case, their purpose was not a very clear one and their part of the story made way for some of the weaker character developments of The Office.
Even with an odd theme, The Office, when it is cohesive, is much more successful than when it is filled with only stand-alone jokes. And while many characters lost the spotlight in this one, the central players were an asset to the story and really carried it through. Just mix in some more character development and they might have the perfect combination.