Review: 'The Office' - 'Threat Level Midnight': With a little help from my friends
Michael's brings glimpses of Dunder-Mifflin employees past and present
On "The Office," Michael (Steve Carell) and Jan (Melora Hardin) act out a scene from his movie.
Credit: NBC
First, I do not buy that most of those people, particularly in the time periods depicted in bringing back the likes of Roy and Karen, would have ever consented to be a part of this project - not unless we got a series of talking heads from people like Karen and Stanley about how they got extra time off or something, on top of the time it took to film it.
Second, I don't think I much care. It was goofy, it was silly, and it was about as nonsensical as the film itself, but it was also a fun, sweet tour through the history of the Michael Scott era and all the people who lived through it. (No Mose, though; my understanding is that Mike Schur was less pliable than Stanley.)
You can't think deeply about any of it at all - except maybe for the Michael/Holly part of it - but this was one of my favorite weird detours on the Michael Scott Farewell Tour.
What did everybody else think?
Alan Sepinwall has been reviewing television since the mid-'90s, first for Tony Soprano's hometown paper, The Star-Ledger, and now for HitFix. His new book, "The Revolution Was Televised," about the last 15 years of TV drama, is for sale at Amazon. He can be reached at sepinwall@hitfix.com
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Next 94 Commentsronmexico
February 17, 2011 at 10:45PM EST Reply to CommentI appreciated that they tried to do something different - it just felt like overall it was unfunny outside of the fact that it was just comically bad. Ann's response to her line was amusing, but the rest of it didn't make me laugh...unlike the remake of Lethal Weapon from "It's Always Sunny..." which makes me laugh just thinking about it...
ronmexico Pretentious?
February 17, 2011 at 11:01PM ESTI meant Karen, not Ann.
Really though, take away the jokes based in the poor production values, and it didn't feel like there was much left. For what it's worth, it was a great try for something different, but compared to the best eps of The Office, it pales. I'd still rather see something like this that takes a shot at doing something different - it may not be very funny, at least it's not boring.
Mike f One of the best episodes of the office ever...indelibly awesome!
February 20, 2011 at 4:56PM ESTisaacl
February 17, 2011 at 10:45PM EST Reply to CommentAt first I tried to see if they made the actors look as they did in the past -- then was too busy enjoying the romp to care! Fun stuff!
Chrissy I noticed that Jim had bangs, and Ryan was definitely business-y rather than hipster-y. Everyone else looked pretty much the same to me.
February 17, 2011 at 10:58PM ESTisaacl Also love the tie-in web site!
February 17, 2011 at 11:01PM ESTCrumdawg97 Seemed to me that they definitely put effort into making Jim and Pam's hair styles look like they did in the early seasons. Aside from that I was on the same page, IssacL, just enjoying every minute!
February 18, 2011 at 12:42PM ESTJim
February 17, 2011 at 10:46PM EST Reply to CommentWho was the actor in the opening scene, anyone know?
Peter
February 17, 2011 at 10:48PM EST Reply to CommentWho was the Oddjob stand-in during the scene in POTUS Darryl's office when Scarn trashed the Lincoln picture over Darryl's head? I thought that was Mose as the evil little minion, but I guess I was mistaken.
Mark Pretty sure that was Ryan's friend from his days in New York, the one Dwight kept referring to as a hobbit.
February 17, 2011 at 10:50PM ESTdan Yes it was mark
February 17, 2011 at 11:08PM ESTJustin
February 17, 2011 at 10:49PM EST Reply to CommentHahahah- it took me so long to figure out who "Ann" was that you were referring to. Then I realized you had Rashida Jones's P&R character mixed up with Karen Filapelli.
Thanks for the mind bender though ;)
sepinwall In fairness, Parks & Rec was on in the background as I dashed this off.
February 17, 2011 at 10:59PM ESTJustin v
February 17, 2011 at 11:08PM ESTv
v
Fairness granted...nobody has ever accused Rashida Jones of being "versatile" anyway, and at some point in development hell, what now exists as Pawnee was supposed to be a part of the Scranton universe anyway.
Telly
February 17, 2011 at 10:50PM EST Reply to CommentIt was absolute garbage. What ever happened to the show being about an office?
lem
February 17, 2011 at 10:50PM EST Reply to CommentAnn? Do you mean Karen?
Shitegeist
February 17, 2011 at 10:51PM EST Reply to CommentTwo things cemented this episode as one of my favourites of the season: Michael's talking head about Woody Allen, and Michael Scarn seemingly only ever saving major league sports all-star events.
Peter Yes, the Woody Allen monologue was phenomenal. The Office does a lot of silly bits like that but I can't remember the last one that was so perfectly hilarious.
February 18, 2011 at 1:09AM EST
February 18, 2011 at 3:19PM ESTCharles Yes, in fairness, the Woody Allen bit was good - the only time I really laughed.
February 19, 2011 at 10:35PM ESTCharles Yes, in fairness, the Woody Allen bit was good - the only time I really laughed.
February 19, 2011 at 10:35PM ESTPK
February 17, 2011 at 10:52PM EST Reply to Commenttook me a few seconds to solve it, but did you mean 'Jan' instead of "'Ann' (and Stanley)"
Gittel
February 17, 2011 at 10:54PM EST Reply to CommentWhat were all the soundtrack snippets that Michael used in his film?
amanners In the actual episode (not the cold open, it sounded like the first cue was "The Dark Knight," and the second one was from one of the Bourne movies. After that, I lost track...I'd have to check to make sure on these two, but I'm pretty sure about them.
February 18, 2011 at 12:01AM ESTGina One of them sounded like it came from Titanic. Haha.
February 18, 2011 at 12:23PM ESTJerry There were two Billy Joel songs for sure.
February 18, 2011 at 1:58PM EST"Running on Ice" (played during one of the skating scenes) and "Pressure"
Stephen P.
February 17, 2011 at 10:55PM EST Reply to CommentWhen you say Ann, do you mean Karen? I haven't watched the episode yet, but I'm trying to think of a character that's been on The Office named Ann, and nothing is coming to me.
Chrissy
February 17, 2011 at 10:57PM EST Reply to CommentI really disliked the Holly/Michael stuff, but I thought the rest was quite fun. On the one hand, I couldn't believe that Holly wouldn't find the movie charming. It obviously took a lot of work and was fairly imaginative. Did she expect it to be good-good? It was miles upon miles better than "After Last Season" and that played in actual movie theaters.
On the other hand, I keep expecting Holly to have a Christina-Ricci-at-the-end-of-Pumpkin moment and recognize that Michael is not a deeper well.
Bunny Colvin
February 17, 2011 at 10:58PM EST Reply to CommentI am Awesome-0 ... that episode kinda kicked ass ... but not quite as good as Black face on Always Sunny ... but still awesome.
crcala
February 17, 2011 at 11:01PM EST Reply to CommentI would have loved it just for the synchronized dancing scene alone. Also liked the call back to Michael's love of Billy Joel. And I agree with Andy, he really was popping up there!
Dumb nitpick--did the documentary crew travel all the way to Utica (or Pawnee)to ask Karen about her role?
nic919 I never thought that I would hear "Running on Ice" in any context.. add in "Pressure" and it was amazing.
February 18, 2011 at 2:14AM ESTShannon
February 17, 2011 at 11:03PM EST Reply to CommentI'm assuming Ann=Karen.
I actually enjoyed it quite a bit, if only because it took me back to the glory days. I do think you're right, though, Alan. No way would all those characters have agreed to be a part of the movie.
jmartnwa
February 17, 2011 at 11:10PM EST Reply to CommentI enjoyed it because it was both unique and well-executed. Some very funny stuff, especially the callbacks to the real-life biases of the character, such as the malice of Toby's head exploding and then repeating in slow motion. Here's why this episode worked so well for me...
Michael Scott was a human being in the last seven or eight minutes. One of the things that turned me off somewhat to the show at times was how cringe worthy (even on a Larry David scale) Scott's narcissism and selfishness could be. Think back to his actions at both the Glee party and Andy's play for two key examples. Here, we see Michael Scott actually able to laugh at himself. When he told Holly, "No it's not, but it seems like everybody else is enjoying it," I actually smiled a bit. Even better, moments later when the evil President re-emerged for assistance on another mission and Jim asked the question we all were probably wondering... Michael Scott did not excuse it, he simply laughed and said "because he's stupid," in reference to himself. The self-deprecation gave Michael the side that I personally NEED to see as Carell takes his final lap at Dunder-Mifflin. For the same reason, once the Holly relationship scene happened on the rooftop two weeks ago, I wanted to see no bad moments, poor arguments, or terrible misunderstandings between those two. Michael Scott has had so many bad moments that it is nice to be able to just enjoy Steve Carell's final weeks, root for that character to finally achieve the happiness he desires, and revel in pure entertainment with The Office. For that reason, it was easy to turn the blinders on to the reality that virtually nobody would have had anything to do with the project, especially considering how ambivalent and even hostile they were in the past to something as "one night and over" as the Dundies WAY back in the day.
February 18, 2011 at 12:11AM EST
February 17, 2011 at 11:12PM EST Reply to CommentAlan, was that Mitch Pileggi doing an uncredited cameo in the cold open?
Col Bat Guano
February 17, 2011 at 11:12PM EST Reply to CommentRemember when this show was supposed to be a documentary? I miss that.
Smith The parts where they were watching it was documentary style. The movie, being a movie, was shot like a movie.
February 17, 2011 at 11:19PM ESTCol Bat Guano So you're saying Michael has access to HD video cams and professional editing software?
February 18, 2011 at 2:08AM ESTRiise Jesus do you really care???? Enjoy the fun
February 18, 2011 at 3:07AM ESTCol Bat Guano Yeah, I kinda do.
February 20, 2011 at 2:35AM ESTron You can get a digital camera that shoots HD at best buy and every mac had final cut. Not to crazy.
February 21, 2011 at 3:57PM ESTdylanfan
February 17, 2011 at 11:24PM EST Reply to CommentI feel only sadness now when The Office comes up ... what used to be SO much fun with the DMI online groups now long since destroyed by the NBC idiocy makes me wince when I see my Zazzle shirts, mousepads, and mugs; I sometimes wish I had a screenshot of my desk back in the day before the first iteration wasted that. I wonder sometimes whatever happened to those folks that we worked so hard together with to win Schrute bucks in their stupid games. Maybe that's what it's all about ... it's still hard to imagine how anything so well conceived could have gone SO completely wrong.
Blaze Domingo
February 17, 2011 at 11:31PM EST Reply to CommentI've been pretty positive about this season, but that was just as terrible as I thought it would be.
February 18, 2011 at 1:09AM ESTSavvy Veteran
February 17, 2011 at 11:43PM EST Reply to CommentThese last two episodes have been, in my opinion, right on par with some of the best "Office" episodes of all time, and are certainly among the best of the last four or so years. I'm pleased (and a bit surprised, actually) to have enjoyed this one as much as I did. It could've been a one-note disaster, but instead it was just plain fun.
Also, the fact that the only Woody Allen film Michael Scott has ever seen is "Antz" might be my all-time favorite Michael Scott-detail. Nothing—and I include Donald Glover's frozen stare from tonight's "Community" in that qualification—on NBC made me laugh quite as hard as I did at that line.
Jim
February 17, 2011 at 11:59PM EST Reply to CommentIt had some good moments and some dumb ones. I loved the cuts to Jan and Karen, I thought they could have put more effort into re-adapting characters (Ryan and Angela). One line about Michael cashing in his IRA to pay the drones to participate would have filled in a couple of holes
KansasDan
February 18, 2011 at 12:00AM EST Reply to CommentI would have liked to see a little more reaction from Pam and Jim when the movie showed Karen and Roy. But it was nice to see some old faces again.
February 18, 2011 at 12:06AM EST Reply to CommentAbsolutely loved it. Probably more-so because I know Michael's leaving and this feels like a piece of his history that fans can feel a part of. Threat Level Midnight is a great callback to the earlier seasons, and I think all the cameos are perfectly believable.
Ryan
February 18, 2011 at 12:24AM EST Reply to CommentI thought this episode was fantastic. Everything about the movie felt right to me, including Michael realizing its ridiculousness at the end.
As for some of these people being coaxed into roles in the movie, the only one I really can't see doing their role is Angela. We've seen Stanley frequently bribed in the past by food and/or work benefits. You know old Jim would've been delighted to play the villain just for the hi-jinks of it. Jan's scene was only her and Michael I believe. I can imagine Michael talking Jan into it. I think Karen would have done it in an effort to fit in with Jim, something it seemed she struggled to do at times. I think everyone else does it no questions asked.
BlueChip At the time that her scene was filmed, Angela and Dwight were either an item, or were about to be. She might have been more willing to do it.
February 19, 2011 at 9:10PM ESTsally
February 18, 2011 at 1:30AM EST Reply to CommentDoes that mean he will leave "THE OFFICE"
Michael, Please don't go: http://bit.ly/fWiebD
albert
February 18, 2011 at 1:32AM EST Reply to CommentAs soon as the cold open started, I realized it had to be related to threat level: midnight, and I just started repeating in my mind "please, let it be a whole episode devoted to the movie!". This wasn't about this bit or that reference, this episode was about taking one of the funniest plot lines of the series and really hammering it home. I watched it with a huge smile on my face throughout, because it's just liked Michael said, this has been his dream for 11 years, and the episode is, for better or worse, funny or not, the fulfillment of his dream. What a great way to send off a character.
Gern Blanston
February 18, 2011 at 1:42AM EST Reply to CommentWas it a really dumb episode? Yes. But it sure was fun. Michael strangling Oscar with the American flag and everybody's horrific reaction might have been my biggest laugh of the night (and that's considering that Parks and Rec and 30 Rock were pretty good tonight).
Office fan
February 18, 2011 at 1:47AM EST Reply to CommentI liked Michael's reference to one of his other projects, the business book called "Somehow I Manage." Hilarious ep.
Albert
February 18, 2011 at 1:48AM EST Reply to CommentWhen Michael got upset with Holly for not liking the movie, I thought he was going to, again, ruin the celebration with his petulance, but then he found his way back to appreciating what it means to fulfill his dream, even if the end result is not what he had in mind.
Only disappointment is that Michael cut the character of "Samuel L. Chang" and his immortal line "Ha ha ha, agent Michael Scarn, you so funny - word".
Brian Hilarious. Last night really made me want to go back and watch the episode where they originally read the script.
February 18, 2011 at 12:23PM ESTSpikes of Fury The Samuel L. Chang line I always fondly remembered was (as read by Ryan), "Oops, I fo'get it! Bruthaaaa!"
February 20, 2011 at 8:55AM EST- 1
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