Binge-r #233: Party Down + The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
Service Stations: Ron (Ken Marino) and Henry (Adam Scott) in Party Down
PARTY DOWN S1 + S2
Streaming Service: Stan
Availability: All 10 episodes of both seasons now streaming
Fittingly for a show about how the only thing you can rely on is being thwarted, it took more than a decade for Party Down to make a comeback. The announcement last week that this acerbic American comedy, which aired on cable in the pre-streaming years of 2009 and 2010, was being revived for a third season was wholly unexpected. The series, about a crew of struggling Los Angeles hopefuls working functions for a catering company, had been ignored on release, found belated cult success, and then disappeared again; all the viewing cycles were seemingly complete. The news was intriguing – after all, everyone involved is a decade older – but it did accomplish one important thing: I remembered that both seasons of Party Down are hidden away on Stan and that they remain terrific viewing.
Driven by slights and workplace woes – each episode takes place at a different event, some wildly worrying – this is a bracing comedy that has the immediacy of semi-improvised punchlines matched to the assuredness of deeply realised characters. The silliest of outlines is capable of outrageous predicaments and genuine pathos, especially with a cast that now looks a comedic supergroup. There’s Henry (Adam Scott), a former actor who’s given up on the game, recovering alcoholic Ron (Ken Marino), who self-dedication is tinged with loopiness, struggling stand-up Casey (Lizzy Caplan), all-purpose bro Kyle (Ryan Hansen), snobbish screenwriter Roman (Martin Starr), and daffy audition hound Constance (Jane Lynch). Captured on the fly, their dynamic is brightly bilious – sniping at each other keeps them going, much to Ron’s consternation.
The show was created by Rob Thomas (Veronica Mars), John Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Paul Rudd (who had too many movie roles to follow through with actually starring in it), and it’s a pithy take on Los Angeles tribal mores, complete with guest appearances – hello Steve Guttenberg! – that twist each episode’s narrative into a weird new shape. Most of the parties actually aren’t that fun, and there’s a consolatory spirit that ultimately offsets the sometimes brutal banter that Party Down delivers. The odd scene hasn’t aged well but I’ve been rewatching it since the reunion news broke and a decade on too few workplace comedies have hit the same heights. Most weeks I’m focused on the latest streaming release, but it’s good to look back to one of the best. Consider doing the same.
Business Casual: Anthony Mackie (Falcon) and Sebastian Stan (Winter Soldier) in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier
THE FALCON AND THE WINTER SOLDIER (Disney+, all six episodes now streaming): I’ve only seen the first episode of Marvel’s new superhero sidekick series, which unites the second bananas from different eras of the absent Captain America, Brooklyn pal turned assassin the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) and the wing-wielding Falcon (Anthony Mackie). With the latter enjoying a lengthy action scene introduction across the skies of Tunisia, the follow-up to Wandavision very much feels like a Marvel movie. That’s not necessarily a bad thing – Wandavision’s nods to grief and television history weren’t exactly revelatory in the end – and the six episode span should allow for some character detail for the out of uniform Bucky and Sam and a suitably threatening plot that allows the mismatched allies to bicker and clear house. The mantle of Steve Rogers, the first Captain America but apparently not the last, hangs over both the characters and the show: how can the supporting cast distinguish themselves without the main attraction? Expect forthright competence and heroic flourishes, but that’s just the baseline for a Marvel venture.
NEWLY ADDED MOVIES
New on Netflix: Tightly wound, so you feel both trapped and a witness, Predestination (2014, 97 minutes) is a time-travel thriller (shot in Melbourne) starring Ethan Hawke and Sarah Snook, who gives a compelling breakthrough performance; Sherpa (2015, 95 minutes), from Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom, is a compelling documentary about privilege and loss atop the Himalayas.
New on Stan: Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010, 113 minutes) is a deliriously funny and technically buoyant mix of indie romance and video game culture with Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and a scene-stealing Kieran Culkin; Steve Jobs (2015, 123 minutes) stars Michael Fassbender as Apple’s unholy man, with Aaron Sorkin’s episodic screenplay turning self-belief into a form of devotional strength.
New on SBS on Demand: From one of Italy’s leading directors, Matteo Garrone’s masterful Dogman (2018, 100 minutes) delivers a vivid, anthropological examination of the gangster mentality as a dog groomer and drug dealer from the decrepit suburbs of Rome has to deal with a monstrous customer who both abuses him and craves his friendship.
>> Missed last week’s BINGE-R? Click here to read about Netflix’s twisty love and tech thriller The One plus SBS on Demand’s quirky science-fiction drama Beforeigners.
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