By using our website, you agree to the use of our cookies.
Categories

Love to Hate ‘Em: Ben Chang from Community 

Photo Credit: NBC

I am all about loving to hate Ken Jeong‘s Ben Chang. I’m not sure who decided to bring him on after the pilot was shot, but that person might be a genius. Let’s get our hate on.

I don’t know about you but I loved the twist at the end of Season One when Chang was fired as a teacher and decided to enroll as a student. How is that not ripe with countless comedic opportunities? I love that Chang is trying to get into the study group so he can destroy it but no matter what he does they just won’t let him in. Until, tonight that is. When he becomes the lesser of two evils he gets Shirley’s swing vote. The only problem with that is Pierce is so mad they’re letting Rich get away he lets Shirley and Chang’s dirty little secret out: they had sex on Halloween! Not only is Chang not surprised but apparently he has photographic proof of their tryst. And all he wants to do is text the photos.

I love that Chang isn’t even surprised he had sex with Shirley. I love that all he wants to do is share those dirty pictures. Does Chang even care that this kid could be (and probably is) his? Does he give any thought or concern to what Shirley might be going through? Not so much. And that’s why I love to hate him. But that’s not the only reason. I also love that he was in the study room when the group arrived and no one noticed him until he spoke up. I love that he’s (in his own words) “always around.” I love that he does seem to to under- and over-inflect words at random. I love that he uses “Chang” in place of “change” and thinks it’s clever. I love that he doesn’t know how to use the slow clap properly until after Jeff’s speech. I could go on. I guess what I love most, though, is that it’s easy and fun to hate him. It’s a fake kind of hate because secretly I can’t wait to see what outrageous thing he’ll do next. Maybe that’s what will make me genuinely hate him. But I doubt it.

Related posts

Leave a Reply

Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.