How ‘Party Down’ Pulled Off Its Hilarious ‘Big Lebowski’ Inspired Episode
Talk about a party. Episode 4 of Starz’s party down revival obeys with big lebowski– inspired A half hour that is not only one of the best episodes in the show’s history, but one of the funniest stoner comedies since its blazing glory days. Half-baked and smile.Lebowski It was definitely in my head,” said the episode’s director — and party down Cast Members — Ken Marino confirms with Yahoo Entertainment about comparisons to 1998 Coen Brothers favorites. “That’s right.”
“KSGY-95 Prizewinner’s Luau” hires a popular catering waiter to serve drinks and pass hors d’oeuvres at a very special luau hosted by a local radio station, inviting VIP guests to a Sting concert. Behind the scenes, Henry (Adam Scott) and his girlfriend Evie (Jennifer Garner) decide to throw a party for themselves with a magic mushroom, while the rest of his down crew (Marino’s outspoken boss) except Ron, who is looking forward to it.
But as the mushrooms take hold, each mind threatens to split in two. Soon, resident chef Lucy (Zoe Chao) is making appetizers out of wood pulp. Aspiring influencer Saxon (Tyrell Jackson Williams) goes missing while live-streaming his first trip. Henry and Evie are manly trying to solve the mystery of where he went. Meanwhile, the group’s resident, his sci-fi-loving cynic Roman (Martin Starr), discovers he harbors as great a paranoia as his love for Philip K. Dick. actual A police undercover operation designed to catch Deadbeat’s father for skipping alimony payments.
Clearly, there’s a lot going on in this episode, but Marino and the cast keep the room together by doing a great deal of drag humor… but it’s not that too big. “The purpose of shooting something like that is to make it as realistic as possible,” the director explains. “Don’t be too joking. Be as specific as possible.”
Scott, like Marino, discussed how to play a thoroughly stoned Henry. “If you have to get drunk or play with stones, it’s always challenging because you don’t want it to be fake. parks and recreation A fan favorite explains. “We’ve all seen fake versions of different kinds of addictions. I’ve always thought the more specific the better, so I usually start there. Hand in hand.” Let’s jump off that cliff together.”
according to party down According to showrunner John Enbom, the specs for the “KSGY-95 Winner’s Luau” underwent major changes during the production of Season 3. It featured Lizzie Caplan prominently as Henry’s second-time, second-time girlfriend, Casey Klein. had to decline, and that was when Garner enlisted. to revive her romantic comedy As Henry’s new lover.)
“Once we realized it wasn’t a Lizzie episode anymore, we had to rethink what we were doing,” Enbom continues. It was a tedious task, so one thing was to try mushrooms, that’s where we started, and everything else we came up with. [later].”
like every episode of party down — which has always relied heavily on improvisation — the cast had plenty of leeway to decide how their characters would behave during each trip. ” says Williams, who was not on the show’s earlier seasons. so strong and negative. Ken told me, “You can go as far as you want. If you need to dial it back, I’ll dial it back.”
And many Saxon outtakes hit the cutting room floor, largely due to lack of time. “There are many scenes during his audio live on his stream where Saxon is babbling incoherently and Ken says, ‘Leave the mic on. Say anything,'” the actor recalled. increase. “Some of the stuff that came out of my mouth was so silly! But it was a lot of fun. I hope some of it sees the light of day.”
Chao — she makes it too party down Debuting this year — says Williams’ mushroom-enhanced performance has become the gold standard that other cast members must follow. Ken was like “you guys”. I have to do it See Tyrell in ‘Shroom,'” the actress says with a laugh. Luckily, she was able to create her own version of how Lucy’s travels would play out.
“I got on the show in season 3, so it was really stressful. I didn’t want to ruin it.” Because I’m figuring it out, and I’m thinking about what that character will be like when he’s high. It was like. Instead of being in a place where Lucy is angry and resentful, it’s fun to see her in this blissful, inspiring creative space and just going for it. ”
Another scene that didn’t make the final cut is Roman’s reaction when he discovers his car has been stolen by one of Deadbeat’s dads. Needless to say, he’s not that happy. “When we were filming, I was like, ‘My car is here,’ so I got in and pretended to drive, but it wasn’t there. I was just walking around. It was a quality bit — where’s the blooper reel?”
Naturally, someone had to stay sober while the episode was being shot, and that responsibility fell on Marino and Enbom’s shoulders. “I spent a lot of time in my trailer, but everyone else was just running around and having fun in this park in Malibu,” says the showrunner. We are here!”
Marino calls the episode “blurred,” but not because of the substances he imbibed while directing. “We were moving so fast and I was involved in every moment of it,” he recalls. It shows that he channeled his inner Walter Sobchak in how he stayed in character and kept a straight face while watching the rest of the cast lose their minds. “When someone is playing an altered version of themselves, it’s fun to just sit back and watch and react. Based on what they give you, you can react differently.” That’s just his opinion, man.
party down It airs Fridays at 10 p.m. on Starz.