Though it’s been just one week since the finale aired, your friends at EW are already officially suffering from Parks and Recreation withdrawal. So the following video — in which P&R star Amy Poehler delivers a very funny, surprisingly touching speech to Harvard’s graduating class — hit the internet just in time. As a bonus, Poehler’s address is almost 15 minutes long, which makes it just seven minutes shorter than the average episode of Parks and Rec. (Yes, we are obsessed enough to know these things.)
The speech itself is smart and frequently quoteworthy, if not quite as LOL-inducing as some of Poehler’s best work (“The Fight” FTW!). In it, the lady behind Leslie Knope talks a little about her own background — she went to Boston College, “which some call the Harvard of Boston” — and gives the graduates advice both as a Bostonian (“Just because you’re wicked smaht doesn’t mean you’re better than me”) and as a New Yorker (“Excuse me, m’am, could you move, please?”) before revealing that the true secret to happiness is living your life by the rules of improv comedy. She recommends that the grads take these tips to heart, whether they’re trying to be better people or trying to entertain a drunk audience at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater: “Listen. Say yes. Live in the moment. Make sure you play with people who have your back. Make big choices early and often. Don’t start a scene where two people are talking about jumping out of a plane — start the scene having already jumped.”
Watch the whole thing for yourself below. It’s not quite NBC Thursday… but it’s good enough for now.
Read more:
This ‘Parks and Rec’ video is LITERALLY the best thing you will watch today
Who’s your favorite TV couple now? (Don’t hurt us, Leslie and Ben!)
‘Parks and Recreation’ earns early pickup for fall
why does EW keep writing articles on Parks and Rec related things..but didn’t write a recap for it’s awesome finale?
Yes – exactly this!
Totally.
And other recaps that must be:
Community, How I Met Your Mother.
These shows are not getting any recapping love, EW!
My thoughts exactly! Li’l Sebastian deserves an amazing recap.
P.S. “Just like the cow in the video” “He was a horse” ” Yea, because he followed his dreams”. Hahahah! Awesome.
It’s almost as bad as the time last year when the “Park and Rec” recap simply disappeared a few episodes before the finale.
So I’m not really surprised.
Agree! I keep searching for the recap, I thought I had missed it.
Hey guys—I just wrote a response to you on Entertainment Weekly’s Tumblr. I can’t post a link here, but if you google “entertainment weekly tumblr,” you’ll find it. Thanks for reading!
Thanks for, at least, providing an explanation/response.
All the love the show has been getting on this site is great, but I’m still not sure it makes up for no recap and missing out on rehashing Ron’s circular desk, the death of Lil’ Sebastian and fantasy casting Ron’s other Tammy with my fellow Popwatchers.
Still, it’s much appreciated.
I love Amy Poehler!
Ok, what the guy in the hat does at the 1:05 marker will haunt me in my dreams tonight.
Holy S***!
How unfortunate for him (youtube notoriety) and us (cause it’s gross).
AAAH!
hahahahahahahahahaha that is so disgusting!
Mmmmm….eye booger.
Ew. I didn’t even notice, but now I need a bath. Harvard, you really aren’t better than me.
TOTALLY !!!! disgusting.
Stephanie, I had to watch for it–so disgusting!!!! yuck! what was that!!!! Thanks for pointing it out. I don’t have time to watch the whole thing yet.
That was great. Love Amy and hope she gets the Emmy love she deserves this year.
LOVED this! She’s witty as I expected, but also incredibly thoughtful and poignant. Love, love, love her.
Amy Poehler is Parks and Recreation. This speech was funny and touching, just like the show. She is wonderful. She deserves the emmy this year.
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