Saturday, February 10, 2007

The Office - Season 3, Episode 15- Phyllis' Wedding

Last night was an episode I have been looking forward to because it looked just so damn fun! I mean come on, how could the Office not do a wedding right?

Well, to be honest, it was funny but not insanly funny. We got a lot of Michael moments and close Pam and Jim moments and some nutty Dwight, but I wasn't off my seat laughing.

The episode starts with Jim using the Pavlovian techniques on Dwight. He makes his computer make a bell ringing sound and then offers Dwight an Altoid. After awhile Jim rings the bell but offers no Altoid.

Dwight: My mouth tastes so bad all of a sudden.

After the intro in the Office, we are taken to Phyllis' wedding. Michael asked to be part of the wedding to Bob Vance, Vance Refrigeration, and Phyllis agrees to let him push her dad in his wheelchair down the aisle so she can get 6 weeks off for her honeymoon.

Michael: Phyllis is getting married, and I am in the wedding party. She’s asked me to push her father’s wheelchair down the aisle. So basically, I am co-giving away the bride. Since I pay her salary, it is like, I am paying for the wedding. Which I’m happy to do. It’s a big day for Phyllis. But it’s an even bigger day for me. Employer of the Bride.

Michael talks about how he only went to one other wedding in his life - his mom's wedding. He totally freaked out during his duties as a ring bearer and peed his pants and screamed "I HATE YOU" at his step dad. They use a dog as the ring bearer instead.

Michael: … and the irony is that, after the ceremony, that dog peed on everything. And nobody said boo.

Pam points out that Phyllis stole everything that Pam was going to use for her wedding with Roy - including the invitations, flower pieces and even the wedding dress.

Pam: Phyllis ended up using the exact same invitations as Roy and me. So it was kind of like being invited to my own wedding. And I was like, wait, I thought I called that off.

Poor Pam.

The attendants come to the church and Dwight and Angela have a moment.

Dwight: Hello, Angela.
Angela: Hi, Dwight.
Dwight: You look as beautiful as the Queen of England.
Angela: Thank you. Don’t linger. Break left.

As they enter the Church, Dwight is talking to Jim about how there are too many people on Earth and that there should be another plague. Jim talks about wedding crashers and Dwight is intrigued and makes it his goal to fish them out.

Dwight: I saw Wedding Crashers accidentally. I bought a ticket for Grizzly Man and went into the wrong theater. After an hour, I figured I was in the wrong theater, but I kept waiting. That’s the thing about bear attacks. They come when you least expect it.

I thought it was funny when Meredith called Kelly out on wearing white to the wedding and she said it was an "emergency" and then she says:

Kelly: I look really good in white.

That is typical Kelly. She somehow drives me nuts and makes me laugh. Maybe that's what Ryan sees in her?

Michael sneaks into Phyllis' room before the wedding and tries to give her some type of talk.

Michael: There she is! I swear, Phyllis, you are as beautiful as the first day you started work at Dunder Mifflin.
Phyllis: Thanks, Michael, that’s sweet. Same as when you said it outside.

Michael accusses Phyllis of "breaking wind" and Phyllis doesn't seem entertained and asks Michael to give her time to be by herself.

Then the wedding starts and Michael is ready to push the dad down the aisle. In a surprise twist Phyllis' dad locks the wheelchair so Michael can't push it, gets up and starts walking himself down the aisle (maybe because he is annoyed with Michael?)

Michael: Me walking Phyllis down the aisle was supposed to be the highlight of the wedding. And now, the wedding has no highlight.

Michael gets really annoyed and makes a scene walking down the aisle. He pushes the wheelchair (with the breaks still locked) into the benches and squeezes his way onto the stage and makes sure everyone can see him.

Michael: I got news for you, Albert. If that’s your real name. Show’s not over.

In the middle of the "I Dos" Michael jumps in and announces Mr and Mrs Bob Vance to the guests. The priest then continues the ceremony. At the end of the ceremony Michael does it again.

And in a flash between all this we see Creed sneak in and pull off a card from a gift and put his own card on the gift. Sneaky!

At the reception, Dwight is on the lookout for wedding crashers. He sees Al (we find out later, Uncle Al) buttering a roll and putting it in his pocket. Dwight kicks him out of the wedding because Al can't remember what's going on and the name of the couple. Right before Kevin's band Scrantonicity (the Police cover band) start playing they announce that Uncle Al is missing. Kevin says Al is "old, with brown eyes and dementia" and we see Dwight worried and then Al out on the street almost crossing into traffic.

During the reception Kelly and Pam talk about how Pam should be freaked out because this was practically her wedding.

Kelly: Are you all right? This must be so awful for you.
Pam: What do you mean?
Kelly: Well, this was supposed to be your wedding.
Pam: Oh, um, no, that’s um, it’s actually fine.
Kelly: There’s no way it’s fine, I’m sorry. If I was you, I would just like freak out, and get really drunk, and then tell someone I was pregnant.
Pam: Okay, that’s a lot of good ideas. Thanks.

The couple is toasted by a bowling buddy of Phyllis and then Michael jumps in to give a toast and says "for the next 40 minutes, I'll be your tour guide through the lives of Phyllis and Bob."

Michael: My name is Michael Scott. Webster’s Dictionary defines wedding as “the fusing of two metals with a hot torch.” Well you know something? I think you guys are two metals … gold metals. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Michael Scott, Phyllis’ boss. To quote from The Princess Bride, mare-widge!

I think Steve Carell used the same openings at one of his award acceptance speeches for the Office.

Michael often repeats his full name (Hi, I'm Michael Scott") and uses different openings for the speech...

Michael: Phyllis and Bob, their celebrity couple name would be … Phylob. You look at her, and she’s kind of matronly today. But back in high school, I swear, her nickname was “Easy Rider.”

Eventually Bob gets mad and kicks Michael out of the wedding. The rest of the reception Michael is trying to sneak back in and Dwight keeps him out because he is a real life wedding crasher.

Jim and Pam have a moment at the bar....

Jim: Hey.
Pam: Hey!
Jim: When are we going to get to see some of those famous Beesly dance moves?
Pam (laughing): I’m pacing myself.
Jim: C’mon. Get out there! Give the people what they want!
Pam: Oh, I’m such a dorky dancer.
Jim: I know. It’s very cute.

I thought for a moment they would dance together - but it didn't happen. She later sees Jim and Karen (which the commercials for this episode made it look like she wasn't going to be there) dancing together and stares (which Jim catches).

Jim: Hypothetically, if I thought Pam was interested, then … no, it’s totally hypothetical.

Later Pam looks sad and Roy comes by and tries to cheer her up. He talks to her about the flowers (which he didn't realize Pam picked out just as she planned the entire wedding without him). The band then plays their song, Jewel's "You Were Meant for Me"which Roy paid them to play, and he asks her to dance. He pulls her outside of the hall for a romantic dance and then asks her if she wants to leave. And then Pam does what everyone does not want her to do - she leaves hand in hand with Roy. And yes, Jim saw it.

Jim: Here’s a non-hypothetical. I’m really happy I’m with Karen.

Phyllis throws the bouquet and Ryan smacks it away from Kelly and Toby's date catches it and gives him a big kiss.

Toby: Toby. Yeah!

Outside of the wedding, Uncle Al and Michael are talking. Michael is getting annoyed with Al's dementia because it takes the focus off of Michael.

Uncle Al: The Celtics were a great team.

Michael: Dude, keep it together. I listened to you for a half an hour, even though most of that stuff went right over my head.

The party ends and everyone rushes out of the hall. Michael sees Phyllis and tries to apologize. She sees him with Al and no longer cares.

Phyllis: You found Uncle Al!
Michael: Yeah, yeah, he’s kind of a weirdo.

Then the wedding ends, Bob and Phyllis drive off in a Vance Refrigeration van and Michael shares his final thoughts...

Michael: They say that your wedding day goes by in such a flash, that you’re lucky if you even get a piece of your own cake. I say that’s crazy. I say, let them eat cake. Margaret Thatcher said that. About marriage. Smart broad.

After the show ends they cut to the cake cutting scene (which I have no clue how Michael was in the wedding for that point). Michael sees them smush cake on each other and he says me too! He jumps in and they look at him confused and then he smushes cake on himself.

I think there was a fridge shapped cake on top of the cake and next to the cake.

Pictures from Sparklies, Wikipedia and Watching the Office. Quotes from the Office Tally.

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3 Comments:

Blogger elad said...

is it me, or do Office episodes feel too short? why wasn't this the first hour-long sitcom?

I always felt like Arrested Development could fill an hour and The Office definitely could as well. We only get glimpses of the other characters in this action-packed episode, imagine if they had the time to explore side-plots at the wedding? We see Kelly and Ryan so little, yet when he jumps up in front of her before catching the bouquet is one of my favorite moments of the episode.

(also, i have to add: these recaps are great! because it helps to pick out the nuance that flies by so fast during the episode. thank you shawn for doing them.)

February 11, 2007 3:43 PM  
Blogger elad said...

also!

dwight has cemented his position as the 21st century Kramer.

February 11, 2007 3:44 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why have TIVO if we have Shawn...thanks Shawn!!

Saby

February 12, 2007 12:41 PM  

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