IFC’s “Food Party” is less than appetizing…
I’m all for off-kilter comedy, but getting through three episodes of IFC’s “Food Party” was damned near painful. The series, which appears as part of the network’s Automat line-up (which is loosely translated as the IFC equivalent of Adult Swim), is the brainchild of one Thu Tran, a Cleveland-based artist.
Here’s how the network describes the show:
“Food Party” is a mind-bending, non-reality cooking show with Thu Tran as your hostess, a cast of unruly puppets as culinary aides, and a cavalcade of fictitious celebrities as surprise dinner guests. Shot on location in a Technicolor cardboard kitchen as well as other foreign and exotic cardboard locations, each episode will or will not instruct you on how to prepare wild gourmet multi-course meals with ingredients you probably have on hand in your kitchen already, such as pretzel rods, eggs, narwhal lungs, bizarre plot twists, secret ingredients, and pizza. After all, you never know who might show up for dinner.
Each episode lasts about 12 minutes, and although I endured all three episodes provided by the network (”Thu Become One,” “Cave Duck,” and “Horrorsode”) in the name of TV criticism, it was such an excruciating experience that I feel obliged to warn off any who might consider watching it for themselves. While there’s certainly something to be said for the “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse”-inspired look of the show, all I kept thinking while I was watching it was, “I don’t know a single person who would be able to sit through this without saying either ‘this isn’t funny’ or ‘this is gross.’” (The latter would almost certainly be uttered during “Horrorsode,” in which we see Thu’s water break, bear witness to all manner of disgusting liquids flowing forth from her nether regions, and eventually give birth to a pie filled with kittens.)
If you’ve ever watched “Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job!” and thought, “You know, this would be great if it was just a little bit more out there,” then maybe you’ll enjoy “Food Party.” Personally, I found it ranging from terribly unfunny to legitimately disconcerting, but that’s me.
Feel free to make up your own mind by watching this clip from the show’s first episode:
don’t know what you’re talking about, this show looks pretty awesome to me.
It’s all yours, brother. I’ll stick with “The Wrong Door.”
it’s Horrorsode. “in the name of TV criticism” you could at least get the titles right
In the name of TV criticism, I have gone back and corrected the two places where I referred to “Horrorsode” as “Horroscope.” I blame the original error on trying to put the show behind me as quickly as possible, but I can assure you that the accidental inaccuracy of the episode title in my writeup in no way affects my position on the show.
Will, you are so right…. Food Party is so far beyond having your brain crushed by two large gold bricks that it defies any explanation.
A couple of points, at least its creative, original and I don’t have to pay $12 to watch it, like I do to see a Hollywood remake of an 80’s movie. Maybe the second season is better than the first. I think it’s hilarious.
i love it
I like it, its surreal. I’m pretty sure the bad acting is intentional, in the same way the set is made to be unrealistic. Some of the unease people feel may be linked to roboticist Masahiro Mori’s idea of the uncanny valley, the point in which things approaching normal and recognizably human become unsettling.
Oh, that Masahiro Mori. He’s such a stitch…
My feelings on “Food Party” haven’t really changed in the 11 months since I wrote this, but I will say that I’ve since met Thu Than, and she’s an absolute sweetheart. It doesn’t help me enjoy her show, though.
I’m with Eric. I turned my daqughter on to it and we both tihnk it’s hilariously unique.
I’ve always found food to be inherently funny. I love this show, even when it grosses me out. The puppets are amazing and the humor is so ridiculous, it’s wonderful.
I agree with the reviewer – PAINFUL is the word – the sing-songy voice of the hostess, the absurd (and not in a good way) story line make this worse than fingernails on a blackbord