Flickchart Your Way Through the TV Show ‘Community’
If it wasn’t for the brilliant and cathartic cancer mini-arc in Archer last season, Community would be my favorite show on TV right now. It’s smart, ambitious, nerdy in all the good ways (Dungeons and Dragons episode!) and not above being extremely silly. It’s the kind of show you watch live on Thursday evening, then again before you go to bed and then you throw in a few more views of that same episode over the next 6 days before repeating with the next one. Each subsequent viewing brings up something new and wonderful. The show’s cast plays a huge role in creating such a successful series. They’re a well-balanced ensemble, each equally capable of carrying an episode and giving the audience giggle fits. Now that season three has begun, let’s take a look at the other roles of the cast of Community.
Let’s start with Yvette Nicole Brown, my inspiration for writing this article. I recently had a weekend movie binge where I ended up watching the random combo of 500 Days of Summer, The Island and Tropic Thunder back-to-back-to-back. There was one thread tying each movie to the others though: bit parts by Yvette. It’s always cool to see a now-familiar face pop up in a movie you’ve seen multiple times before because that actor finally caught a break. Up until starring on Community, she had carved out a little niche for herself playing secretaries and assistants while also appearing on a bunch of TV Shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and The Office.
Next up: Donald Glover. He’s really only been in one movie so far but of everybody on the show he has the most potential to dominate Flickchart for years to come. That one movie he was in is Mystery Team, an immensely silly (and fantastic) little comedy he made alongside his buddies in Derrick Comedy. It’s a perfect showcase for Donald’s innate sense of innocence and wonderment, mixed with his fabulously dirty sense of humor. He’ll soon be seen in The Muppets. Also, he raps. Really well too.
Joel McHale stands in as the show’s anchor, acting almost as if he was a young Chevy Chase/Bill Murray hybrid. His character is the sarcastic egoist who discovers he has a big gooey center after hanging out with the rest of the characters. Joel hosts the TV show “The Soup” when he’s not on Community but does pop up in movies from time-to-time. He had a nice little cameo in Spider-Man 2 and a more substantial role playing an FBI Agent in The Informant. Most recently he appeared as a dad in Spy Kids 4 and you can catch him next week in the Anna Faris movie “What’s Your Number?”
Gillian Jacobs’s character has evolved the most over the show’s two seasons, becoming “The AT&T of People” after it seemed like she would be something of a hard-to-get romantic lead. Don’t let her sour demeanor on the show fool you though, Gillian seems like a really likeable and funny person (listen to this Comedy Bang Bang podcast if you don’t believe me). She has appeared as a stripper in Choke and a babysitter in the awful The Box.
Coming mostly from a background in theater and TV, Danny Pudi and Alison Brie don’t have much of a filmography to parse through but that looks to be changing for each soon enough. Each has a few high profile films on the horizon. Alison Brie was in Scream 4 and in particular stands out as maybe the most adorable human being alive right now in.
Ken Jeong is also on the show and utilized very well in a supporting role. You may recognize him from well, everything but in particular: Knocked Up, The Hangover, Couples Retreat, Transformers: Dark of the Moon and Zookeeper.
And of course there’s Chevy Chase tying everything together. He’s a legend and while his character is sometimes a bit too much of a dick, he’s still a key part to the show’s appeal. Here are his top five movies on Flickchart:
- Caddyshack (1980) – #389 on Flickchart
- National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983) – #535 on Flickchart
- Fletch (1985) – #639 on Flickchart
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1989) – #710 on Flickchart
- Spies Like Us (1985) – #1516 on Flickchart
If you’re into any of these actors, I also highly recommend seeking out any of their podcast appearances you can. Specifically on WTF, Nerdist and Comedy Bang Bang.