Party Down: Constance Carmell Wedding Rewatch

March 25, 2021 7:29 AM - Season 2, Episode 10

Constance is getting married and she's hired her Party Down friends to make sure they attend. Ron, guided by Constance's wisdom to 'follow your heart', makes a desperate bid for love.
posted by guiseroom (3 comments total)

This is a great ending. Bringing back Jane Lynch was a nice touch but why wasn't her roommate and rival Bobbie St. Brown (Jennifer Coolidge) at the wedding? I also love how Constance totally shuns Lydia. It's such a relatable moment for anyone who has ever hung out with old work buddies along with the unfamiliar tagalong that replaced you, but it also garners sympathy for Lydia because being that newb is always overwhelming and discombobulating.

The appearance of "Duffles" trying to stop the wedding is one of those little unexpected moments that I always forget about. It totally works, not just as a surprise celebrity cameo, but as confirmation of all of Constance's Hollywood stories and namedropping. Patrick Duffy still looks great.

The relationship of Henry and Casey is the lifeblood of this series, and it's a very real world type of coworker relationship that is unique to the service industry, and, much like the show itself, it's not wrapped up all pretty and perfect with a nice little bow on top. This was never a "will they/won't they" show, something made clear very early on when they had perfectly "adequate" sex at work. I don't know if Henry and Casey ever got together, I think it's more likely that they don't, but I like to think that Henry got the role he goes in to audition for at the end which ultimately leads to a series regular gig on a popular TV show a few years later.

That's a wrap on Party Down. Or is it?

I'm conflicted about the revival. There's a lot to work with here, like how Ryan Hansen has basically been playing the same type of character for almost 20 years. While it will be nice to have this show back, I also don't want to see the same people still doing this catering gig, or returning to it yet again after bombing out again. At the same time, would it be realistic if they all made it? Statistically, no, but this show was created by four guys who worked as caterers while trying to make it in Hollywood and the mere existence of this show is proof that they all made it.
posted by guiseroom at 8:22 AM on March 25, 2021

We just watched the series for the first time. Kinda surprised to learn, after this episode, that the series was canceled after 2 seasons. In my mind, this could have been a long-running series where big-name TV actors pop in, as Party Down staff, for an episode or two as their schedules permitted. Kinda like a pick-up basketball game. I mean, the nature of the service industry is that people come and go (and come again). Aw, a shame. Fun show.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 5:40 AM on April 4, 2021

Also, we thought the actor who played Kyle really stole the show.
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 5:44 AM on April 4, 2021