‘Community’s ‘Kiss From A Rose’ Sequence Is the Best Use of A Hit Song in Sitcom History
Small-screen magic was made when Seal’s “Kiss From A Rose” was karaokied — and parodied — in Season Three of Community. Many of the Dan Harmon show’s fans contend that it may be the best usage of a hit song in sitcom history (yes, even better than the time It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia did it).
The scene seamlessly blends four ongoing plot lines in one montage, which fans think is an excellent exposition of all of (or most of) the characters in the show.
As the song begins, we see Jeff (Joel McHale) and Dean Craig Pelton (Jim Rash), randomly holed up at a Mexican restaurant for lunch in a green screen karaoke session of “Kiss From A Rose.” (They’re also both in matching outfits at this point of the sequence.) “Dean hits his first note so hard, and it sends me every single time,” X user @MuffinsBasket wrote in a thread about the scene. “The zooming in and out as Jeff and Craig sing is everything lmao. Also need the video of them fighting as the greenscreen plays random stock footage it cracks me up every time,” added @keelanAU.
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As Dean Pelton continues to belt his heart out to the ‘94 U.K. R&B bop, the scene changes to Pierce Hawthorne (Chevy Chase) hallucinating after getting high on paint fumes while playing handyman at Troy (Donald Glover) and Abed’s (Danny Pudi) apartment, daydreaming that he’s playing the song’s instrumentals on the piano while hula dancers sway beside him.
The song then transitions from karaoke to parody, as Community guest star Brendan Hunt, who played a hitchhiker with delusions of religious grandeur, believes himself to be Jesus. Hunt begins singing his beliefs in the car to the tune of “Kiss From A Rose,” before switching the lyrics — drastically. “I cannot listen to kiss from a rose without singing jesus loves marijuana halfway through anymore,” @Naveevdgr explained in the thread.
Oh, and according to Hunt’s character, Jesus also loves drinking human blood — that definitely wasn’t in Seal’s original hit.