Wedding Videography

Wedding Videography

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Director: Adam Davidson — Writer: Briggs Hatton — Aired: 5/26/2015 —Season: Six — Number: 12 Summary: The committee attends Garrett's wedding while Abed films the event as a mockumentary.

Plot

In Jeff's law class, Abed is filming a special presentation Garrett put together which is revealed to be a surprise proposal to his girlfriend Stacy. When she happily accepts the class celebrates while Abed films Jeff concerned about his reaction. On the day of the wedding, Abed continues his documentation at his apartment. Britta and Annie invited the other Save Greendale Committee members over so they can all get ready together for the event. Frankie shows up first but the atmosphere is awkward until the boisterous arrival of the other committee members. Annie and Britta reveals they lied about when the ceremony was to start so that they'd all be ready in time.

They ironically waste the extra time they had playing a Garret impersonation game and end up being late for the wedding. The committee gets to the service just as Garrett and Stacy are exchanging their vows. However, their obnoxious arrival disrupts the festivities. This earns them a stern reprimand from Garrett's mother at the wedding reception. The committe takes the criticism to heart and decides to be on their best behavior. Britta does this by making a spectacle of herself on the dance floor, Elroy falls back on his old habit of overpraising white people, and Annie helps push the bride's wheel chair bound 90 year old Meemaw around on the dance floor.

She mentions this to Frankie who points outs they have the same problem, they both are too devoted to helping others. This leads to them joking about what a mess Jeff is and Frankie mentioning her concern in an interview about Annie wanting to help him. Meanwhile, Jeff witnesses Garretts brother and best man Bones being tossed out of the party due to having fallen off the wagon. He manages to convince Garrett's mom to let him deliver the best man toast in Bones' place. With the committees help he puts together a speech based on information they culled from all the mingling they did. When it's Jeff's time to speak he is confidant he has the perfect toast.

He easily charms the crowd and to top of his speech he asks that Garretts Aunt Polly and Stacy's Meemaw join him. It is learned that they are in fact the same person horrifying the bride and groom who realize they are actually cousins. The crowd is stunned by the revelation as Garrett's mom faints and Elroy tries in vain to mollify the situation. Afterwards Garrett and Stacy privately discuss the matter as the guests themselves also process the shocking news in hushed whispers. Each committee starts blaming them self for what happened when an argument breaks out. Britta claims her bad behavior was caused by being part of the group hinting at the committee's toxicity.

End tag

The writer of the episode, Briggs Hatton, is directly addressing the viewers in a Yahoo production office. Hatton tells having researched incest on the internet, showing an old article where it is stated that first cousins can have children without birth defects or genetic disease. Hatton frustratedly addresses the outdated state laws regarding this, using his affair with his cousin as an example. Hatton is shown pitching the topic in the Community writers' room, then saying that while he's not trying to influence anyone's opinion, there's still more to the issue than people are told. Hatton emphasizes the importance of the episode and wishes the viewers good night.

Recurring themes

Continuity

• Returning Students: Garrett and Todd return.
• School supplies: The Pixies poster from Britta's old apartment, first mentioned by Jeff in Digital Estate Planning, is seen in Abed and Annie's apartment.

Pop culture references

• Shout out: The group impersonates celebrities in their mock ”Celebrity Garrett Marriage” game. Impersonations include the Dean as Jack Nicholson, Chang as Christian Slater and Britta as Aubrey Plaza.

Meta references

• IRL:
  • Dan Harmon's wife, Erin McGathy, plays Garrett's bride.
  • Like Garrett, Dan Harmon has an older brother named Bones. Harmon also has a sister with a developmental disability, just like Frankie.
  • Actor Matt Gourley appears playing the writer of this episode, Briggs Hatton, in the end tag. The joke being that "Hatton" claims he is appearing onscreen himself.
• Homage
  • The entire episode is shot in the style of a mockumentary.
  • Abed asking Annie not to 'Jim the camera' is a reference the "The Office"'s character Jim Halpert who sometimes brakes the fourth wall .
  • The end tag is an homage to public service announcements at the end of Very Special Sitcom Episodes that deal with controversial social issues.
  • Abed and Annie film what they call "missing lover footage", a TV trope from shows like Twin Peaks where a kidnapped or murdered victim has been filmed being totally loveable and happy by her lover, and which is then viewed by the investigators when the tragic events have taken place.
• Parody:
  • The end tag also shows a parodic version of the Community writers' room. Every writer is replaced by a stand-in and Dan Harmon is replaced by a somewhat similar looking man with receding hair. Harmon's preferred Ketel One vodka bottle is replaced by a cheap off-brand vodka. A Rick and Morty tinfoil ship is hovering over the writers desk and a mock version of a story circle is also shown, including supposed story beats for the season. These include:
    • "To save Greendale or not save Greendale, that is the ??"
    • "City college demands ransom for Dean"
    • "Troy returns? or Pierce?"
    • "Questions time?"
    • "Are these clues for 613?"

Trivia

• Abed does not appear in this episode, he is present only through a voiceover.
• The end tag mistakingly refers to Stacy and Garrett as first cousins but they are actually second cousins.

Season Six Episodes
1. "Ladders" 2. "Lawnmower Maintenance and Postnatal Care" 3. "Basic Crisis Room Decorum" 4. "Queer Studies & Advanced Waxing" 5. "Laws of Robotics & Party Rights" 6. "Basic Email Security" 7. "Advanced Safety Features"	8. "Intro to Recycled Cinema" 9. "Grifting 101" 10. "Basic RV Repair and Palmistry" 11. "Modern Espionage" 12. "Wedding Videography" 13. "Emotional Consequences of Broadcast Television"
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