The Office: "Threat Level Midnight" Review

In reviewing the past few episodes of The Office, I seem to keep coming back to the issue of realism. If you've read my past few reviews this will be a familiar gripe, but as the series has gone on, I've been disappointed to see the writers gradually chipping away at the conventions of the documentary format and losing the grounding in realism the show once had. But you know what? While watching "Threat Level Midnight," for once I didn't care.

It didn't matter that Michael's movie was all over the place in terms of quality, that it was shot and lit and recorded like a professional film, but sprinkled with the flaws and continuity errors you might expect from a Michael Scott joint. I didn't think that it was out of character for Angela to not only be in the film, but to be in a dance number. Or that it had an original score recorded by a full orchestra. Or that Michael has been working on it all this time, yet Holly had never heard about it. None of this mattered while I was watching, because I was too busy laughing.

The reward for suspending my disbelief for half an hour was totally worth it. In the "so bad it's good" genre of movies, Threat Level Midnight is an instant classic. From the opening fake-out gunfight in the office to the Karate Kid-inspired training montage set to Billy Joel's "Running on Ice" to the bizarre plot twists and turns (like the President turning evil and then good again) to Toby's head-exploding special effect to "The Scarn" to the final reveal of Michael as the narrator (with Stanley's voice), it was outstandingly bad in every way. But the cliche-ridden, pun-filled dialogue might just be my favorite thing. "Go puck yourself!" "It'll take a lot more than a bullet to the brain, lungs, heart, back, and balls to kill Michael Scarn." "Ever banged an entire bachelorette party, baby?" I have to stop now or I'll end up quoting the whole thing word for word.

- NBC

You can tell the writers and the cast had a blast with this one, and that energy pours off the screen. B.J. Novak, who has been with The Office since the beginning as a writer and in the role of Ryan, was the perfect staffer to pen this episode. It honors the past but shakes up the formula, giving us something completely new out of left field. "Threat Level Midnight" was also rewarding for longtime fans, who'll remember the table read of the script back in the Season 2 episode "The Client," and the several other references that have been made to it since. I also appreciated all the cameos by former cast members, including Melora Hardin as Jan/Jasmine Windsong, Rashida Jones as Karen, David Denman as Roy and David Koechner as Todd Packer.

But this wasn't all just amusement for amusement's sake; there was a pretty important character development for Michael here too. He had a breakthrough moment of self awareness when he realized just how awful his movie really is, and was able to laugh at it along with everyone else. Having Holly at his side has allowed Michael to give up his pipe dreams of fame and fortune, because he now has something real and tangible to give his life meaning. This was a major milestone on the road to Michael's departure and Steve Carell's terrific, understated performance was expertly calibrated so it didn't get lost in all the craziness of the movie. The rest of the cast also turned in fantastic supporting performances, both in the movie and out. Just about everyone had a chance to shine, though it seemed like John Krasinski especially had fun in his role as Goldenface (and I didn't at all feel the urge to objectify him in that skin-tight skating unitard, no siree).

I know there are still quite a few episodes to go before we say goodbye to Michael for good, but I almost wish this had been his swan song. Why not go out on a high note? I'm sure the writers have much more in store for him as the season winds down (and we've got that Will Ferrell arc to look forward to), but this could have been the last episode of The Office I ever saw and it would leave me smiling and satisfied.

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