[The show never leaves the workplace. The complexities of these
characters’ lives and relationships are teased out within the
confines of their job, blurring the boundaries between personal and
professional to create an almost claustrophobic intimacy. It’s also
strangely prescient of the current, increasingly precarious gig
economy.]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE
PARTY DOWN: CHARMINGLY LOW-BUDGET WORKPLACE SATIRE FROM THE MAKERS OF
VERONICA MARS
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Giselle Au-Nhien Nguyen
August 23, 2020
The Guardian
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_ The show never leaves the workplace. The complexities of these
characters’ lives and relationships are teased out within the
confines of their job, blurring the boundaries between personal and
professional to create an almost claustrophobic intimacy. It’s also
strangely prescient of the current, increasingly precarious gig
economy. _
Failed actor Henry Pollard returns to work at Party Down catering,
reuniting with a team of aspiring stars who seek fortune and fame in
Hollywood’s entertainment industry., Photograph: Colleen E
Hayes/Starz Media
This dry, two-season comedy plays on the blurred boundaries between
personal and professional life with an impressive ensemble cast
When we talk about the sitcoms of the late 2000s and early 2010s –
The Office, Arrested Development, Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock –
there’s one name that is consistently overlooked. Running for just
two seasons on the US cable channel Starz from 2009 to 2010, Party
Down is up there with the best of its contemporaries, bringing
together an impressive ensemble cast to deliver a drily hilarious
workplace satire.
Created by Paul Rudd and the minds behind Veronica Mars – Rob
Thomas, John Enbom and Dan Etheridge – the charmingly low-budget
show centres on a group of Hollywood caterers. Working for the
eponymous catering company, they’re all creatives “slinging
d’oeuvres” to make money on the side from their aspirational
hustles, from acting to comedy to writing.
Except for Ron Donald (Ken Marino), the reformed party boy boss whose
earnest dream is to manage a Soup R’ Crackers franchise – a
fictional all-you-can-eat restaurant chain. His foil is Henry Pollard
(Parks and Recreation’s Adam Scott), a failed actor whose biggest
break was one line in a beer commercial that he’d rather forget.
Eight years later, Henry has reluctantly returned to his old catering
job. Scott’s straight-faced delivery is much of what makes Party
Down such a delight – while he never directly breaks the fourth
wall, there’s a knowing between character and audience that creates
a mutual understanding of the absurdity of his situation.
Then there’s Casey Klein (Lizzy Caplan), a struggling, recently
divorced comedian and Henry’s love interest; Kyle Bradway (Ryan
Hansen), a handsome yet deeply unintelligent actor and musician;
Constance Carmell (Jane Lynch), an older former actress who is still
trying to live out the glory days; and Roman DeBeers (Martin Starr), a
surly, pretentious “hard sci-fi” fan and screenwriter who
personifies the modern incel.
In the second season, Lynch – who had by then left due to the
success of her role in Glee – is replaced by the perennially
wonderful Megan Mullally, whose portrayal of lovable ditz and aspiring
stage mum Lydia Dunfree has more than a hint of her best-known
character, Will and Grace’s Karen Walker.
The interactions of this motley crew – with the people at the
parties they cater, from a Young Republicans event to a porn awards
afterparty – are often surprising, revealing something new about the
characters and the world they inhabit. Each episode focuses,
mockumentary-style, on a single event, introducing the viewer to an
array of entitled party guests who are never seen again. A bottle
episode with actor Steve Guttenberg, in which he stages an impromptu
writers’ workshop in his home, is particularly memorable for its
complete ridiculousness.
The show never leaves the workplace. The complexities of these
characters’ lives and relationships are teased out within the
confines of their job, blurring the boundaries between personal and
professional to create an almost claustrophobic intimacy. It’s also
strangely prescient of the current, increasingly precarious gig
economy, especially as Henry rises through the ranks and his
priorities and attitudes begin to shift.
Party Down isn’t a perfect show. It was made in a time before
conversations about diversity and sensitivity were common in the
entertainment industry. It’s very white and some of its more
irreverent jokes probably wouldn’t pass in a writers’ room in
2020. But it is raucously funny in a subtle way – its most brilliant
moments are often in a glance or a pithy one-liner. Starr in
particular shines – the Freaks and Geeks actor is a master of
deadpan, and his intensely unlikable character is one of the best in
the show.
During a cast reunion at the 2019 Vulture festival, Thomas quipped
that he’d never seen viewership numbers as low as Party Down’s on
network television. It’s a shame, because had it not been for the
show’s premature cancellation, there could have been so many more
parties to cater, so many more people to meet. But like every cult
classic, it’s remembered for what it was, not what it could have
become. The dead-eyed expressions of the actors as they bring out yet
another plate of appetisers, pour yet another glass of champagne, echo
the desperation of Henry’s infamous beer ad line: “Are we having
fun yet?”
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