Community/Recap/S1 E15 Romantic Expressionism

Annie starts dating Vaughn, and both Britta and Jeff attempt to derail this nascent relationship. Meanwhile the rest of the studygroup and Chang have a movie night to do some good old-fashioned MS Ting.

The Community episode "Romantic Expressionism" provides examples of:
"Abed: When you guys first came in, we were as wholesome as the family in The Brady Bunch. Now we’re as dysfunctional and incestuous as the cast of The Brady Bunch."
 * Call Back:
 * Vaughn remembers how the study group made fun of him for writing Britta poems.
 * Cast Incest: Invoked by Abed.

"Britta: I guess we feel like we're sort of all a family, and Jeff and I are like your Greendale parents.
 * Celebrity Resemblance: Vaughn calls Shirley "that Sherri Shepard lady."
 * Crack Pairing: In-Universe. "Romantic Expressionism" parodies this with a long sequence of Ship Tease suggestive glances between all of the characters. In order, it goes: Pierce / Shirley / Jeff / Britta / Abed / Britta / Annie / Britta (gasp!) / Annie (gasp!) / Troy / Shirley / Troy / Annie / Pierce / Annie / Jeff / Annie / Jeff / Abed.
 * Designated Parents: Jeff & Britta.

Annie: You're not my mom, Britta. She would never wear boots that go up that high."

"Pierce: Directed by Kim Yang. Asian. Can't direct, can't drive.
 * Dude, Not Funny: In-universe example.

Chang: Dude, I'm right here."

"Jeff: [Annie] is 18. Her taste in men hasn't been established. Creepier and creepier dudes will start thinking of her as an option, and it all starts with Vaughn. He’s a gateway douchebag.
 * Fan Film: In-universe example -- Kickpuncher with Abed and Troy.
 * Fight Scene Failure: Invoked with the incredibly cheesy film that the study group watches on their movie night, "Kickpuncher". Even more so in the Fan Film Abed and Troy make.
 * Foreshadowing:

Starburns: See that guy over there? (Points across the cafeteria to ) Yeah, he's a douchebag."

"Kickpuncher Narrator: It is the year 2006 A.D. and nuclear war has ravaged the planet.
 * The Great Politics Mess-Up:

Abed: Must have missed that."

"Troy: Are you sure Britta couldn't do your part?
 * Ho Yay: In Troy and Abed's Kickpuncher film, with Troy playing Kickpuncher and Abed as Kickpucher's girlfriend-

Abed: I asked her. She wasn't available.

Troy: Let's go film the sex scene."

"Pierce: You don't feel good about yourselves so you have tear down everything around you. What's the matter? Mama Chang didn't breastfeed?
 * I Resemble That Remark:

Chang: (sad face) She read in a book that it wouldn't make a difference."

"Jeff: Crash course in manipulation. You don't actually tell the person what you want them to do. You help them realize they want to do it, so it can't be traced back to you."
 * Love Dodecahedron
 * Manipulative Bastard: Jeff & Britta

"Pierce: Change! Time to change the channel! This guy'll be begging for change soon, he keeps making movies this terrible! We should change to something good, this movie stinks! We should change his diaper. That's change we can believe in!
 * Matzo Fever: Troy is particularly impressed with Annie for this.
 * MS Ting: Abed and Troy apparently have a tradition of doing this to horrendous B-movies; Shirley, Pierce, and Señor Chang show up, too. (And yet Jeff, played by the one cast member who had guest starred on Riff Trax, does NOT show up.)
 * Pierce attempts to compensate for his lack of ability at this by writing his jokes with a team of writers beforehand, like the actual Mystery Science Theater 3000 did after its first season.
 * Noodle Incident: Jeff really did eat all the macaroni. It's weird that Leonard knows that.
 * Off-the-Shelf FX: Used by Abed and Troy in The Tag.
 * Rapid-Fire Comedy: How Pierce tries to compensate for his failure to perform on the first MS Ting night.

Abed: [Hits pause] Okay, it's obvious something strange is happening here.

Pierce: What are you talking about? I'm making jokes during a movie.

Troy: Yeah, but you're doing it with the speed and determination of the incomparable Robin Williams."

"Chang: Obviously none of my other plans fell through. (motions toward his tuxedo)"
 * Sarcasm Mode:

"Pierce: So, just to be clear... I don't have a shot with any of you?
 * Ship Sinking: Pierce/Everyone Else, played for laughs:

[Everyone else shudders audibly and hurries away from him.]"

"Troy: Thanks for taking ugly Annie out of the palm of my hand, and turning her into another hottie WHO WILL NEVER GET WITH ME!"
 * Shout-Out: To the speed and determination of incomparable Robin Williams
 * Slippery Slope Fallacy: Jeff thinks that Annie would be more attractive to douchebags by dating Vaughn, the "gateway douchebag."
 * Shut UP, Hannibal: When his second attempt at making the group laugh while MS Ting ends in failure, Pierce lambasts them for snidely making fun of the creative endeavors of others rather than attempting to create anything of their own and using mockery to compensate for their own lack of self-worth. The group immediately calls bullshit, accurately pointing out that Pierce doesn't give a damn about defending the creativity of others and is just sour that he couldn't get a laugh.
 * Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Jeff and Britta make this happen for Troy.

"Jeff: If we say we disapprove, we'll just drive her further into his hemp-braceleted arms. We need to be smart, we need to hatch a scheme.
 * Zany Scheme:

Britta: Mmm... hatching schemes' not really my wheelhouse.

Jeff: Let's not confine ourselves to your wheelhouse. This problem won't respond to tap dancing or casual revelations that you spent time in New York."