matt besser played crazy ira on parks and rec.
who plays crazy ira on parks and rec?
matt besser
crazy ira (matt besser) and howard "the douche" tuttleman (nick kroll) are two shock jocks of a morning zoo-style pawnee radio program. they serve primarily as a parody of those types of radio shows, especially in a small-town market like pawnee. the show prominently features fart jokes and "your mom" insults, as well as constant sound effects from their sound man "china joe", who hates his job. crazy ira and the douche are widely admired in pawnee, especially by tom haverford, and are considered much better than their rival radio show, "tubby tony and the papaya" (who never appear on-screen). they first appeared on "media blitz" when, during an interview with leslie and tom about the upcoming harvest festival, they revealed their true motive was to lambast ben for his failed tenure as a city mayor during his teen years. the interview proved disastrous for ben, who was so socially awkward he could barely talk, and it led to other pawnee media taking on the story and nearly ruining the harvest festival. the douche reappeared in "the fight", when he went on a date with ann to the snakehole lounge bar. this came at a time when ann was regularly going on a string of dates with random, underachieving men, and the date with the douche led to a major argument between ann and leslie because ann was supposed to be preparing for a job interview leslie had arranged for her. later, on his radio show, the douche dismissed both ann and leslie as likely lesbians.
list of parks and recreation characters
"time" magazine writer james poniewozik said the episode continued the development of the town of pawnee, which he said was like a character itself and compared it to "the simpsons"' springfield. poniewozik said "media blitz" also showed how well integrated scott has become with the cast, and called the "crazy ira and the douche" interview "maybe the most perfect scene "p&r" has put together yet". likewise, steve heisler of the a.v. club called ben's interview with perd hapley "one of the best scenes "parks & rec" has ever done". heisler enjoyed how the series gradually built up ben wyatt's backstory throughout the season, "then took it "way" over-the-top". however, he expressed disappointment that the ann and chris subplot ended with no resolution. zap2it writer rick porter, called the episode a "great showcase for scott's deadpan gifts" and wrote, "this show hasn't had a real miss yet this season." porter said the april and andy subplot was less interesting, but he enjoyed the scenes between ron and andy. steve kandell of "new york" magazine praised the episode for bringing scott's character to the forefront, as well as for providing satire on small-town politics without coming across as preachy. kandell said of the april and andy story, "if their kiss at the shoeshine stand, as expected and inevitable as it may have been, didn't make your heart soar just a little bit, then you're dead inside and probably just turned on nbc for "outsourced" a few minutes early." joel keller of tv squad complimented scott, calling him a "current-generation bob newhart" and "one of those actors who can just give someone a look and it conveys everything you need to know about what his character is thinking". keller said he also enjoyed seeing april and andy reconcile, but felt the crazy ira and the douche scene was ineffective because, regarding morning zoo radio shows, "it's hard to parody something that's already a parody of itself".
media blitz