Are We Having Fun Yet?!

I have yet another tv show recommendation. This one is extremely underrated and was actually cancelled after only two seasons. But, it's still a great show and has gained somewhat of a cult following. It's pretty much what happened with Arrested Development and Freaks and Geeks. Audiences don't realize how good it is until it's gone.

Party Down is about a hodgepodge group of people who work for a catering company. They work several different events which almost always turns into a hot mess. One of my favorite episodes includes them catering a porn star award show.

One main reason I believe people would be inclined to go back and watch this show is because of the amazing cast. They all bring something really special to their characters. This show is where Adam Scott kind of got his start in TV before his starring role in Parks and Recreation. 

That ~sexual tension~

His character also has a fun will they/won't they relationship with Lizzy Caplan's character (yes, she played Janis Ian in Mean Girls.)









Other key players include Ken Marino, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen, Megan Mullally and Jane Lynch. There's also a huge array of secondary characters and cameo appearances. Some names to mention include Jennifer Coolidge, J.K. Simmons and Ken Jeong.






I love how a simple idea of cater workers explodes into a comedic gem. They openly don't care too much about their job, including the boss, and goof around every event they work. (other than when they cater the boss's high school reunion, another great episode *cough cough*)









           Anyway the writing is great and the cast is killer, so add this to your "to watch" list.

Feeding the Crew for Dummies

FOOD.

Great! Now that I have your attention, I'd like to discuss an important matter with you all. For years, film crews have been going hunger. Whether they're not being properly fed on set or if they simply forgot their granola bar at home as they were running out the door to make call time, film crew members are hungry. Heck, I'm hungry right now! Imagine how the people working feel! With the poor, malnourished souls in mind, I think it's time. It's time to learn how to feed these hard workers. It's time to learn how to keep your crew happy. It's time for "Feeding the Crew for Dummies!"

Now, everyone knows that a person with a full stomach is a happy person. It's a fact of life. If you don't agree with me, get out. Leave. Don't ever come back here again. If you do agree with me, or if you simply don't care enough to leave, then join me as we explore the inner workings of the film food business. Essentially, the business includes three branches: craft services, caterers, and food stylists. These wonderful people have a lot on their plate...get it? Let's see what their exact responsibilities are...

Craft Services.
Sounds simple enough, right? Craft services, which is a separate entity from catering, encompasses all of the wonderfully assorted snacks and beverages provided to the film crew. The godsend in charge of craft service sets and maintains a station near the production that makes these snacks and beverages available to all the hardworking folk on the crew. A budget is given to the craft service person prior to attaining all the refreshments. I guess Costco just isn't good enough for some people. Personally, I'd be fine with some Cheez-Its and juice boxes.

Caterers.

The caterer takes care of the main meals for a production. While craft services prepares the snacks, the caterer plans, organizes, and prepares all the substantial nourishment for everyone. Having a caterer on location is a serious convenience. On one hand, the crew can be more efficient. The food is right there for them to grab on a thirty-minute lunch break. On the other hand, you save extremely valuable production time and money without the need to transport the crew to and from meals. Caterers have been known to serve small crews from ten people to enormous crews of hundreds of people. "But what can I eat? I'm vegan?" "What about me? I can't eat gluten!" No worries! These are fairly common requests for production caterers. They'll cater to your personal needs! (I'm on fire today with these puns).

Food Stylists.

But what if you want your food to look nice? Let's be honest, we ALL want our food to look as good as it [hopefully] tastes. This is where the food stylist comes in. Their job is to prepare and arrange food in a particularly appealing way. They typically have an extensive background in cooking, recipe development, and the ability to make food look its best. Oh yeah, I almost forgot to tell you that the food stylist doesn't actually help out the crew. Not really, anyway. Their job is aimed at food used in photographs, commercials, or movies. So they're making sure the food looks good on camera, not on your plate. Sorry I didn't mention that sooner.

It's often a crew member's first question when walking on set (or at least it's mine) to ask what's being served for lunch. It turns out that it's not actually the producers' job to take care of it, although that's how we've been doing it on our student films. Food service workers are, in my personal opinion, some of the most spectacular people on a production. And if you don't agree with that, well, you can just keep that to yourself.

In the Reach of Greatness

Last January I watched the cancelled Starz show "Party Down" when it was still on Netflix. I had heard it was a good show and I watched a few episodes, but I didn't really see why people loved it so much. I watched all twenty episodes, and towards the end of the series, the show did get better. Recently, I finished watching it a second time and I realized that the show was actually borderline brilliant, just short of greatness before it reached its potential.

The show is about a catering team made up of 6 people played by Ken Marino, Adam Scott, Lizzie Kaplan, Ryan Hansen, Martin Starr, and Jane Lynch (who later went on to Glee and was replaced by Megan Mullally). These characters are aspiring musicians, actors, writers, and one who wants to own a soup restaurant. All of them want to make it big, but are stuck at the bottom  serving people who are richer and more successful them (and also obnoxious). They work multiple events, such as a wake, weddings, sweet sixteens, and Steve Guttenberg's birthday (which is probably the best episode).

The show is not always laugh out loud funny like "It's Always Sunny" or "How I Met Your Mother," but the humor lies in the realism of the dialogue. I really recommend it to anyone who likes the actors I listed (especially Jane Lynch and Martin Starr who probably do their best work here).

The show has great guest stars, including Joe Lo Trugglio, J.K. Simmons, George Takei,  and Steve Guttenberg.

Aesthetically, the show is like Arrested Development, with hand held cameras, not always going for super close ups.

Thematically it's about failure and how sometimes not all of us can be successful in life. This theme plays out through all twenty episodes, leading to a very subtlety poignant final scene.

Here's one of my favorite clips showcasing Martin Starr's Roman and Jane Lynch's Constance.