Parks & Recreation: 5 Times Mona-Lisa Was The Best (& 5 Times She Was The Worst)
Mona-Lisa Saperstein is the wild twin sister of Jean-Ralphio, Tom's best friend, in Parks and Recreation. She didn't make an appearance until the fifth season but her arrival was strong enough to turn into a reoccurring guest role.
Similar to Jean-Ralphio, Mona-Lisa is spoiled and self-centered. It's not clear what she even does with her time but when she does grace Pawnee with her presence, she doesn't do much to make the town a better place. But was she really all that bad? Mona-Lisa gets a bad rap for how she behaves but maybe she's not as bad as fans think she is. Keep scrolling to see five times Mona-Lisa was the first (and five times she wasn't all that bad).
10 Best: She Helped Tom When He Was Down On His Luck
We first meet Mona-Lisa in the episode "Bailout." Tom's store Rent-A-Swag is now officially open and he invites the shareholders to see the store on opening day. Mona-Lisa introduces herself to Ron, Ben, and Chris as Tom says she'll be his employee.
Ben finally puts together that Mona-Lisa is Jean-Ralphio's sister and looks understandably shocked that there could be two versions of Jean-Ralphio in Pawnee. While Mona-Lisa didn't make the best first impression it was thoughtful of her to help Tom out when he needed it.
9 Worst: But She Was A Horrible Employee
Mona-Lisa may have offered to help Tom run Rent-A-Swag but she was a horrible employee. She napped on the couch, asked to borrow money from the store, and always wanted to leave work early when something better came along. It seemed like Mona-Lisa was only "working" at Rent-A-Swag to do something when she was bored.
8 Best: She Was A Loving Daughter
"Loving" may seem far fetched but fans can't deny that Mona-Lisa didn't care for her father. After all, Dr. Saperstein is the one who gave her money and a place to live. Without her daddy—or his money—around, Mona-Lisa would not be as cocky as she is when we met her.
She has to be sweet and loving to him because he's her meal ticket. It's clear she loves her dad and brother, it's just she and Jean-Ralphio go head-to-head for a lot of stuff. But her dad believes Mona-Lisa has never done anything wrong in her life. Now that's pure.
7 Worst: She Helped Jean Ralphio Fake His Death
In the series finale "One Last Ride," we see what ends up happening to our favorite people of the Pawnee Parks and Rec. Department, including Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa. It appears the duo are still running around Pawnee scamming people for more money.
We see Jean-Ralphio asking Leslie if she would be his fake wife in an insurance scam with him. She, of course, declines and the scene fast forwards to the year 2022. We then see a funeral being held for Jean-Ralphio but is he dead? The camera then darts behind a tree where we see Jean-Ralphio and Mona-Lisa dancing around, excited that their plan worked.
6 Best: She Actually Showed Some Respect For Ann
After seeing how Mona-Lisa treated Tom when they were dating, one would guess that she'd be a super jealous and mischievous girlfriend who despised any female that came in contact with Tom.
But on the contrary, Mona-Lisa seemed like a real girl's girl. Sure, she threatened to fight Ann at one point but that hostility quickly changed when she realized Ann was trying to help her. Seeing someone like Mona-Lisa be so grateful for Ann (who was an ex-girlfriend of Tom's) was a pleasant surprise. It showed real maturity.
5 Worst: She Acts Like A Kid When Ben Doesn't Give Her Money
Is there anything more nauseating than Mona-Lisa begging her dad for money? She uses a high pitch voice and sticks out her hand like she's a 5-year-old asking for candy.
Her dad is a successful doctor who does well for himself, and he's actually happy to give her the money, but seeing her use her dad for his wealth is sickening. It's one thing if Mona-Lisa respected her father and tried working to match his success but she instead sits back and lives off his hard-earned cash.
4 Best: She's A Dedicated Twin Sister
Jean-Ralphio may tell everyone he encounters that Mona-Lisa is "the worst," but it's obvious these two love each other. Deep down, despite all the insults they throw at each other, these two care for one another.
If they didn't, they wouldn't accidentally match so often, team up for different scams, or get along with the same kinds of people. There's a reason these two are both friendly with Tom and that's because they're practically the same person.
3 Worst: She Breaks Up With Tom When She Finds Out He's Broke
After dating Mona-Lisa for one too many days, Tom has a hard time trying to break up with her. She can be pretty dramatic and cause a scene when she's not getting her way. The last thing Tom wants is to be seen as unprofessional after becoming a small business tycoon in Pawnee.
To help him end it with Mona-Lisa, Ann helps Tom come up with a plan. Ann essentially corners Mona-Lisa in a bar and tells her that Tom is broke. He may own his own business but he's in a lot of debt. The thought of dating someone who didn't have money was enough to make her dump him that night.
2 Best: She Put Tom In His Place
It took Tom dating Mona-Lisa to realize what he really wanted in life. After ditching Jean-Ralphio as a business partner to get a loan from Ron, getting rid of Mona-Lisa was the next thing to do to grow as a person. However, had he not date Mona-Lisa, who knows if he would have ever gotten his life together.
It took him dating her to realize that he was treating women wrong for years and that if he didn't cut her loose, he would have been embarrassed of his girlfriend for years to come.
1 Worst: She Checked Out Other Guys When She Was With Tom
To be fair, Jean-Ralphio warned Tom that Mona-Lisa got around and wasn't exactly faithful. And when the pair first started dating, it seemed like Tom was only doing it for the opportunity to sleep with a woman. Nevertheless, it still bothered him when she was hitting on other men around him.
These two never took each other too seriously but it sure does make you wonder why they even got together in the first place.
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