With a smile of Christian charity great Casey's visage shone...
Party Down - Season 1 (2009)
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
The first season of Party Down makes the right choices about the kind of people its heroes really are. The show's producers are an interesting bunch: on the one hand, San Marcos High graduate Rob Thomas, still upset about the cancellation of Veronica Mars; on the other, Paul Rudd, likable dude. The Party Down team is likable, too, but they navigate a world both clannish and impersonal. LA being LA, you get plenty of variety in the setting for each catering job (from ranch house to boat), and the best episodes love the hosts (like the California College Conservative Union Caucus) almost as much as the help.
My favorite character is Roman DeBeers, because Martin Starr plays him like the asshole that guys like Roman really are. They smother you with Star Trek trivia and frighten the pretty girls who would be more scared still if they saw the heart of Roman's misogynistic intentions. But Roman works as part of a team because he's good with cruel asides, and teams rely on shifting allegiances to remain cohesive. It's the same with friends, and that bite is important to Party Down's success.
At its worst (and Thomas himself wrote "Investors Dinner," by far the most terrible episode), Party Down is mawkish, too bitter, and not funny. But most of the time, it's warm-hearted and sweet. Kristen Bell has never been more endearing than in the moment when she asks Henry on a date. Adam Scott belongs to this world more than Kenny Powers'. These are people who want the freedom of fame - to date beautiful co-stars, to swim on exotic beaches, to smoke pot while eating lunch by the pool - but couldn't care less about the money, per say. They already know the friends they want to be around because they choose to be caterers instead of some other average, minimum wage job. It's Entourage in reverse, but more generous, and with just as few Latinos!
Memo to Netflix: it would be nice if I could rent Season 2.
rating: 3 out of 5 cravats
on DVD from Netflix
The first season of Party Down makes the right choices about the kind of people its heroes really are. The show's producers are an interesting bunch: on the one hand, San Marcos High graduate Rob Thomas, still upset about the cancellation of Veronica Mars; on the other, Paul Rudd, likable dude. The Party Down team is likable, too, but they navigate a world both clannish and impersonal. LA being LA, you get plenty of variety in the setting for each catering job (from ranch house to boat), and the best episodes love the hosts (like the California College Conservative Union Caucus) almost as much as the help.
My favorite character is Roman DeBeers, because Martin Starr plays him like the asshole that guys like Roman really are. They smother you with Star Trek trivia and frighten the pretty girls who would be more scared still if they saw the heart of Roman's misogynistic intentions. But Roman works as part of a team because he's good with cruel asides, and teams rely on shifting allegiances to remain cohesive. It's the same with friends, and that bite is important to Party Down's success.
At its worst (and Thomas himself wrote "Investors Dinner," by far the most terrible episode), Party Down is mawkish, too bitter, and not funny. But most of the time, it's warm-hearted and sweet. Kristen Bell has never been more endearing than in the moment when she asks Henry on a date. Adam Scott belongs to this world more than Kenny Powers'. These are people who want the freedom of fame - to date beautiful co-stars, to swim on exotic beaches, to smoke pot while eating lunch by the pool - but couldn't care less about the money, per say. They already know the friends they want to be around because they choose to be caterers instead of some other average, minimum wage job. It's Entourage in reverse, but more generous, and with just as few Latinos!
Memo to Netflix: it would be nice if I could rent Season 2.
posted by NPK at 12:01 AM
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