"I doubt I'll ever forget my Dinner With Andre dinner with Abed."
On Abed's birthday, Jeff plans a specially themed surprise birthday for him based on his favorite movie, Pulp Fiction. But the tables are turned as Abed — who has apparently undergone a recent and drastic change in personality — invites an unsuspecting Jeff to dinner at a fancy restaurant. Meanwhile, the study group (and Chang) wait for their arrival dressed as Pulp Fiction characters at the diner where Britta works. There, Troy struggles to contain his seething jealousy over Abed and Jeff's exclusive dinner while Chang stokes his curiosity over what's inside the suitcase Jeff got Abed as a present.
The Community episode "Critical Film Studies" contains examples of:
- Affectionate Parody: To Pulp Fiction and My Dinner with Andre.
- …And That Little Girl Was Me: Jeff tells Abed about an attractive man who called a phone sex line claiming he weighed 400 pounds. Abed doesn't believe that such a thing would happen, but, much to Abed's confusion, Jeff admits "that was me. I did that last week."
- Ascended Fanboy: Abed tells Jeff a story where he becomes this when he got to visit the set of Cougar Town, one of his favorite shows and be an extra. Some parts are true
, some are made up. - Bittersweet Ending: Abed's insistence on a Genre Savvy birthday dinner backfires when Britta gets fired after Troy and Chang accidentally burn down the restaurant, and Jeff is annoyed that the "real" conversation led him to reveal uncomfortable truths. Jeff forgives Abed, however, when the latter explained he was worried they were drifting apart and this felt like the last hurrah before they grew apart. The study group saves the night by hosting the surprise party at the fancy restaurant.
- Bowdlerise: In-universe example; apparently, the 'airplane' version of Pulp Fiction Shirley has seen had this happen to it in a very, very, very bad way:Pierce: Has anyone seen this film we're referencing? Am I the hero or the love interest?
Shirley: Pulp Fiction? Yeah, saw it on an airplane, it's cute. It's a thirty-minute film about a group of friends who like cheeseburgers, dancing and the Bible. - Brick Joke: Annie predicts that Abed will "say 'cool' at least five times" when he sees the group's Pulp Fiction costumes. Later in the episode when the group bursts into the fancy restaurant that's exactly what happens.Abed: [taking in each outfit] Cool. Cool. Cool cool cool. [Annie smiles in the background]
- Bring My Brown Pants: Abed mentions having pooped his pants when realizing his role as 'Chad' had come to an end.
- Callback: Abed's story about creating a fictional version of himself in order to get through a situation he hadn't anticipated, only to suffer a crisis of identity upon realizing that the made-up version of himself had 'lived' more than him, mirrors Annie's experiences in "Mixology Certification". Granted, unlike Annie's, Abed's crisis of identity involved pooping his pants.
- Jeff's fear of being overweight and being disliked, recounted here, explains why he went out of his way to help 'Fat Neil' in Advanced Dungeons and Dragons - a guy who isn't popular and is overweight.
- Card-Carrying Villain: When Shirley catches Troy and Chang looking into Abed's gift briefcase, Troy blames Chang, who backs him up.Troy: Chang made me do it! He seduced me with his dark Chinese powers!
Chang: Why do you leave him alone with me?! - Continuity Nod:
- This isn't the first time Abed's love of Cougar Town has been mentioned. Also, Abed's "cool, cool cool cool" catchphrase is mentioned by Annie.
- When Abed finds out about the "authentic" Pulp Fiction briefcase, he asks if he bought it from "Willy's 100% Authentic Cinema Treasures" on eBay, and Jeff says yes. Abed explains that "Willy exaggerates" and recalls having bought Indiana Jones' "real whip" from "Willy's", a product Willy puts out seventy of a year. Abed actually mentions buying that whip for the Indiana Jones marathon he ditched to take part in Annie's experiment in "Social Psychology".
- Crapsack World: Jeff sheds a few words of wisdom about the horrible world we live in.Jeff: The world is a sick place, full of sick, sick people.
- Crossover: Abed actually does show up in Cougar Town.
- Curse Cut Short:Jeff: Get it? It's like Pulp Fiction. It's a wallet that says Bad Mother F...
Waitress: Your table is ready, gentlemen. - Dine and Dash: Abed and Troy are having dinner at a fancy restaurant. When they see the bill, they agree to run out without paying.
- Diner Brawl: A brief one breaks out between Chang and Troy after Troy burns the Pulp Fiction briefcase.
- Do You Want to Haggle?: Parodied, as Jeff and Britta's boss haggle over the ruined briefcase.Jeff: I'll give you $1,200 for the damages if you promise to give Britta her job back.
Barman: $800 and she stays fired.
Jeff: Deal. - Drunk with Power: Parodied in a very minor way:Britta: I am responsible for this diner when my boss isn't around!
Troy: [Sotto voce] She will not stop bragging about that.
Annie: I know... - Epiphany Therapy: Abed claims to have had this while being a background extra on Cougar Town.
- Everybody Knew Already: The surprise gift Troy has got for Abed is quite clearly a remote control helicopter. Intriguingly, Abed appears genuinely puzzled as to what it could be when he receives it.
- Eye Take: Troy when seeing the Shockingly Expensive Bill.
- Fan Disservice: Pierce as The Gimp.
- Gone Horribly Right: Abed's My Dinner With Andre dinner. After initial confusion, Jeff gets really into the idea of having a mature, meaningful conversation and ends up sharing some very personal life stories, with Abed becoming visibly uncomfortable as he talks.
- Insistent Terminology: Abed doesn't do movie spoofs; he does homages.
- Lost in Character: Abed tells Jeff he got lost in his self-created persona, 'Chad', while acting as an extra on Cougar Town.
- Malt Shop: "The Greasy Fork", The '50s themed diner where Britta works and where Abed's surprise party was supposed to take place (as an obvious stand-in for Pulp Fiction's Jack Rabbit Slim's). Brian, the owner, explains to Annie why its peak business hours are after eight at night:"After they get frightened by the evening news, many seek the comforting foods and soothing music of a pre-racial America."
- Method Acting: In-universe; Abed claims to have employed this for his walk-on role on Cougar Town, and became so immersed in imagining his character's whole life that he went into a panic, causing him to collapse and poop his pants.
- Mexican Standoff: During the Good-Times Montage at the end, as part of the Pulp Fiction-themed party.
- Narrator: Jeff, a la Wallace Shawn in My Dinner with Andre.
- Never My Fault:
- After Chang has goaded Troy into inadvertently destroying Jeff's gift.Chang: I know I'm preaching to the choir, but you're a bad friend.
- Also, this exchange after Britta catches Troy and Chang opening the briefcase:Troy: Chang made me do it! He seduced me with his dark Chinese powers!
Chang: [To Britta] Why do you leave him alone with me?!
- After Chang has goaded Troy into inadvertently destroying Jeff's gift.
- Never Trust a Trailer: Promotional material lead people to believe the episode would be a wacky parody of Pulp Fiction. The episode focuses almost entirely on Jeff bonding with Abed, which is later revealed to have just been a parody to My Dinner with Andre. The Pulp Fiction homages all happen within the last few seconds of the episode.
- Oh, Crap!: The look on Abed's face when Jeff clearly starts getting a bit too much into the whole "real conversation" thing... leading to his story about the Indian girl outfit.
- And again when Abed realizes his My Dinner with Andre shtick is making him miss a Pulp Fiction party.
- Old Shame: In-universe; Jeff being made to dress like an Indian girl by his mother on Halloween when he was a kid.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Troy's tightly-wrapped birthday gift for Abed is very obviously a remote-controlled helicopter.Chang: Hm... wondering if Abed's new best friend also got him the best gift?Troy: I got Abed the best gift. I'd tell you what it is... but it's an even cooler secret.
- Pop-Cultural Osmosis Failure: As it happens, Jeff has apparently never heard of My Dinner with Andre.
- Pierce never saw Pulp Fiction.Pierce: Has anyone seen this film we're referencing? Am I the hero or the love interest?
- Pierce never saw Pulp Fiction.
- Public Domain Soundtrack: The episode ends with Erik Satie's "Gymnopedie No. 1" playing under it.
- Rewatch Bonus: After you know the twist, it becomes blatantly obvious that the episode is a parody of My Dinner with Andre from the first few minutes.
- Saying Too Much: The waiter spoiling Abed's "homage".
- Shockingly Expensive Bill: Used as a gag in The Tag.Troy: It said "market price"! What market are you shopping at?!! note
- Shout-Out:
- Several to Cougar Town.
- At one point during his conversation with Jeff, Abed compares himself to Data, Johnny Five, Mork, HAL, KITT, K-9, Woodstock and/or Snoopy, and Spock.
- Early on Jeff asks Abed why he's "dressed like Mister Rogers and talking like Frasier". Of course, Abed is actually dressed as Andre from My Dinner with Andre.
- Made even better when you consider that Frasier itself made at least two shout-outs to My Dinner with Andre, the final episode of the first season being a Whole-Plot Reference.
- And, of course, all the main characters except Abed are dressed as characters from Pulp Fiction: Jeff is Vincent Vega, Shirley is Jules, Britta is Mia Wallace, Troy is Pumpkin, Annie is Honeybunny, Chang is Butch, and Pierce is The Gimp.
- Smug Snake: Chang literally moves like a cobra from behind the counter and tries to tempt Troy into looking inside the suitcase Jeff got for Abed.
- Surprise Party: The study group plans a surprise birthday party for Abed in a bar where Britta works. Abed however keeps delaying Jeff (who is supposed to bring him) in another restaurant.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial: Troy comes out with two in about as many minutes. What makes them particularly notable is that in the first one no one's even discussing the thing he's 'denying', and in the second one no one's even speaking.Annie: It's really great of Jeff to put this together.
Troy: I'm not jealous. - Take That!: To Cougar Town. Worth noting, Cougar Town was co-created by Bill Lawrence, friend and former Scrubs co-worker of Community producers Neil Goldman and Garrett Donovan.Jeff: He watched Cougar Town. It was like he didn't want people to like him.
- Themed Party: The study group throws a themed surprise birthday party for Abed, a pop culture enthusiast. The theme is Pulp Fiction. All the main characters except Abed are dressed as characters from the film: Jeff is Vincent Vega, Shirley is Jules, Britta is Mia Wallace, Troy is Pumpkin, Annie is Honeybunny, Chang is Butch, and Pierce is The Gimp. They even got him the themed presents: the wallet that says Bad Motherfucker and Marcelus Wallace's briefcase.
- Time for Plan B: With Britta fired from the diner where she works, and Abed genuinely apologetic, the group decides to recreate the surprise party at the fancy restaurant.
- Unusual Euphemism: Troy refers to wine as "no-no juice". Troy comes from a family of Jehovah's Witnesses and his religion doesn't allow alcohol consumption. Wine is "no-no juice" for him.
- We Want Our Weirdo Back: Jeff is upset that Abed isn't acting his usual weird self. Mainly because it conflicts with the surprise party he had planned.
- Weirder Than Usual: Abed acting not weird.
- Whole-Plot Reference: To My Dinner with Andre, not Pulp Fiction as suggested.
