It’s here, “Office” fans: the Jim and Pam wedding that’s been five seasons in the making. Did television’s cutest couple indeed tie the knot? Did Michael manage to ruin it somehow? What’s with the wig Kevin’s been sporting in the promos? Answers to all this and more in my Jam Wedding Recap Extravaganza! Mazel tov!
We open on Pam making a plea to the office to wear less perfume and eat less smelly lunches. Dwight insists on peeling eggs and Pam throws up, setting off a chain reaction of vomiting in the office. The grossest cold open ever… so perfect.
After the credits, the employees are in a meeting, learning the dos and don’ts of going to the wedding. Among the don’ts: Firecrackers and telling any of the other guests about Pam being pregnant. Michael warns everyone not to embarrass him because he plans on picking up women at the celebration.
At the rehearsal dinner, Jim starts the amazing toast he’s prepared… and accidentally mentions Pam’s pregnancy. Michael tries to gloss over it by talking about “accidents” and Jim and Pam living together. Pam’s grandmother is horrified and wants to leave.
Later, Dwight woos the ladies with his horse stories while Andy throws a real “Bernard throwdown” in his room just before tearing his scrotum while dancing. Pam has to take Andy to the hospital because Michael’s gotten Jim drunk.
The next morning, Kevin’s still trying to decide whether or not to wear a hairpiece and is dealing with the destruction of his shoes. (He ultimately wears the hairpiece and dons Kleenex boxes on his feet.) Michael is baffled by Dwight having scored with an attractive bridesmaid.
A quiet Jim and Pam moment finally comes when, after tearing her veil, Pam breaks down in tears. To make her feel better, Jim cuts his tie in half. The couple commiserates about all of the stress and then bolts from the church. They return as Michael and Pam’s mom are hitting it off and before the guests can steal back their gifts.
Then… the wedding party imitates that ridiculous JK Wedding Dance video from YouTube while it’s revealed through flashback that Jim and Pam already got married on a boat next to Niagara Falls just before coming back to the church. Perfect.
Quotes of the Week:
Pam: We should have hired a professional to take the mental pictures.
Dwight: Hello. My name is Dwight Schrute. If you’re listening to this, you’re a lucky woman that Michael has seduced.
Andy: I’ll break in the bed.
Pam: I’m going to need the name and cell phone number of the housekeeper responsible for changing the sheets.
Oscar: You thought I was dating HIM? What the hell is wrong with you?
Michael: I have another one of them in the nude. But that one is for me.
I deem this week’s MVPs to be John Krasinski as Jim and Jenna Fischer as Pam.
Obviously, I was looking forward to this episode on a number of levels. One of which is that it’s simply good television and a step forward for comedy shows. (Check out this article that says so better than I can.) Another is that I’ve simply grown attached to Jim and Pam as fully-fleshed out and well-written characters. Not to mention that they’re easy to identify with, especially for me, as one half of a recently married Jam couple.
So did the episode live up to my expectations? Absolutely. “The Office” often suffers in the hour-long format, but I think this was their strongest hour-long yet. (Yes, even better than “A Benihana Christmas.”) Writers Greg Daniels and Mindy Kaling did an incredible job of spreading the comedy out among the cast and making the stress and chaos of a wedding realistic. (Well, except maybe for Andy’s injury… but I’d never want that cut out.)
Most importantly, the saga of Jim and Pam took another real, heartwarming, adorable step forward. I couldn’t have imagined anything more perfectly suited to these character’s arcs.
Next week on “The Office:” In “Mafia,” Michael meets with an insurance salesman who visits the office and is later convinced by Dwight and Andy that he is part of the Mafia. Erin accidentally ruins Pam’s painting.
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