That's what made this episode even better for me. Because even Andy, one of the cringiest characters in the office, was getting uncomfortable. Look at charades and when Michael put his sign up.
That and Dwight, although he somewhat adds to the cringe (but his parts are genuinely really funny and standard Dwight) it's interesting that Andy and Dwight (who are usually causes of cringe themselves) serve as lightning rods for this episodes magic.
One of the reasons Jan says that Dwight can't come is because they don't have enough wine glasses. Of course he brings his own (giant) wine glasses, but what makes me laugh is during dinner, you can see roughly 50 wine glasses on the table. Zero water glasses - wine glasses with water in them.
What’s even more funnier is that he gets his giant glass filled to the brim with wine and even brings his own dinner because he knows Jan isn’t giving him any
I think the reason that both Jim and Pam’s talking heads took place in the bathroom is to show us how claustrophobic and suffocating this episode has made us feel.
My other favorite exchange is when Jan says "I guess that makes me the devil" - complete with horns and flames. Michael says, "Yes, she's the devil! I'm in hell and I'm burning! Help me!" How do the guests react to this literal cry for help? Angela can't see past the blasphemy. Jim and Pam see it but choose to ignore it, because what else could they do? And it goes completely over Andy's head, he is oblivious. The moment passes and Michael remains trapped in hell. It's his own chickens coming home to roost. He's made so many stupid jokes in response to serious situations that, when he reaches out in seriousness, everyone takes it as one of his jokes.
it could be that pam doesn't see the point of complaining to michael about his relationship with jan since she and the other women of the office already showed michael how toxic the relationship was and then he went back to her because she got a boob job. it can be annoying having the same conversation/argument twice
The color thing had never really clicked to me, so that was a fun eye-opener. I had caught onto the purposefulness of Jan's stuff taking over everything and every room of his home, and the callbacks - especially the camera. But watching 23:09 - 23:19 of your vid, it was beautiful seeing the visual eloquence of his one little blue shirt being swallowed by this sea of red tablecloth, placemats, dress, candles, painting.... And he gets up and walks away. Perfect.
FIRST: Love your work! 2nd, my favorite part of this episode is at the end, small shuttle, but totally shows the example of Dwight and his blustering. The cops show up, Dwight tries to take charge, the older cops says “Not now Dwight!” and Dwight moves away like a kids who’s been yelled at by a parent. The cop obviously knows him from Dwight’s volunteer work and is not indulging him one bit. The Best!
There’s a deleted scene where Dwight goes to the station to return his self purchased uniform. The cops knew him and commented how they’ve told him before not to do that, and asked how he got ahold of the real badge. If you can find it, it’s a true treat.
The funniest part of this episode to me - in a plethora of funny moments - and by far the most 'on brand' was when Andy playfully licks Angela's ice cream cone and Angela, not content with simply pitching the ice cream out the window, instead elects to smash it against the side of Andy's car. It was just too perfect as a microcosm of both characters and the nature of their relationship.
The talking heads in the bathroom make perfect sense. The camera crew films them every day in the office, so of course it's in-character for them to catch the guests alone to ask for some thoughts in a secluded spot. In the condo, that spot is the bathroom. I'd find it harder to believe the crew WOULDN'T try to get some talking heads.
@@vgcreviews8277 They've been doing it long enough to know that you get the good reactions in the moment. Some of the best talking head shots are Jim and Pam sweating it up and freaking
I didn’t really like this episode the first time I saw it because it is so cringe worthy. But the more I’ve watched it over the years, the funnier it has become. Best episode of The Office by far IMO
The red vs blue with Jan and Michael remind me of how Stanley Kubrick would always use colors to portray the characters. Especially within the movie Eyes Wide Shut.
The first time I watched the series, I told myself I would never again watch Scott's Tots or Dinner Party, no matter how much I loved the show. Then I read an article describing it as one of the greatest episodes of television in history. I was skeptical, to say the least. But hearing someone describe a thing they adore with all the love they have to pour out upon it can change your perspective, and so that article did. I converted, and now I love this episode more than any outside of my Jim&Pam faves.
I can't put my finger on what it means or what it symbolizes but the fact that Dwight was there to help Michael after the whole plasma TV incident almost made it seem like Dwight was some kinda guardian angle who came to save Michael from the devil that is Jan.
You know, I missed the camera at first, but then I remembered when Michael said that Jan filmed them and then watched them with her therapist. 😰 Also, when Michael got on his bench, I decided that this dinner party was a cry for help.
I give this review 5/5. Great job picking up on "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". I hadn't noticed that myself, even though Edward Albee is one of my favorite modern playwrights. (You should check out "The Zoo Story".) Also, you have quite the eagle eye to notice what is in each of Jan's pictures. I can barely make them out! One of my favorite parts of the episode is the exchange between Jim and Pam when he tries to bail on the party. I see it as yet another illustration of Jim's humanity and imperfection. Note that he initially planned for Pam to go with him. When Michael insists that Pam stay, Jim is caught up in the moment and sticks with his story, not thinking of Pam's reaction. It's a mistake, and Pam quickly points out that mistake. You're quite right that Pam is playing her own little game with Jim. When she says "You're not going to leave this *party* here all by itself" and "You can buy new stuff, but you can't buy a new *party*", it's clear that she's using "party" to mean "girlfriend". Jim picks up on this, realizes his mistake, and makes a smooth recovery. Michael is left to think that he has convinced Jim to stay, when actually it was Pam. This isn't the first time that the scriptwriters have played with using one word to substitute for another. Remember the "long talks" that were keeping Jim and Karen up every night?
One of my favorite moments is that after both Jim and Pam are traumatized he goes and buys them comfort food. There's no real evidence Jim is the one who pays for the burgers but of course he did cause he's the best boyfriend in history.
Ahhh!!! It’s finally time for my absolute favorite episode of The Office!! I was so uncomfortable the first time I watched this episode on Netflix. I honestly couldn’t believe that that was how Michael and Jan lived and so many lines horrified me but also yet had me in tears from laughter. Honestly Dwight’s arrival with his babysitter is on par with the dead Avengers returning in the portals in Endgame. One of the few episodes I never consider skipping whenever I binge the show.
I love your analysis of how the set design plays into the episode. My favorite aspect was Jan’s lit candle that stood on Michael’s table i’m sure there is a deeper metaphor to be explored there but to me it’s just funny as hell
Jan's candle is resting on Michael's seemingly very flimsy and unstable DIY table. If one "nail" comes undone or the table takes the slightest blow, the candle will drop and burn the entire house down. It's a completely reckless and hazardous set-up (just like Jan and Michael)! I believe it's a metaphor for the relationship (and the night) being on the brink of destruction...
Tall men are so sexy. They make us feel protected and safe. Plus, we can wear heels and still look up to them. They also have a subtle command of others and demand respect.
One of my favorite moments of this episode it's when Micheal whispers to Pam that Jan might've poisoned his food and then it cuts to Pam trying not to freak out because she definitely knows Jan didn't poison his food, but if there's was a chance of that, Jan would've poisoned her instead. I didn't expect Pam to hop on board to Michael's paranoia. It was hilarious!
Well, neither can leave. Michael hates confrontation and leaving Jan means being alone. Jan can't leave bc she has no money, the condo is Michael's, and presumably, in his name. Like, where did she even go? Did she take a loan out?
Going extra extra meta on the colors: The abundance of red signifies a "red pill", similar to the red pill in The Matrix, which is used to represent waking up from your dream and seeing an unpleasant truth. Michael's unpleasant truth is that he has made a mistake in giving Jan a second chance and she is making his life even worse than the first go-around. The blue (pill) he wears signifies his old life, while unfulfilled and lonely, was considerably more desirable than this. The police (the boys in blue) represent someone actually offering him a blue pill to go back to his old life. He takes it & immediately falls in love with a dead woman who actually faked her death and moved to Pawnee, Indiana.
The line when Pam tells Jim that he can't leave this party "All by itself" reminds me of my own pleading with my husband when he tries to abandon me with "the wives" at his friends' parties...
Omg, getting stuck with the wives sucks. I mean, there are some really cool women and I adore women and making friends, but there is an underlying aggressiveness and jealousy, at least with the majority of the wives of my ex husband's coworkers. They're very status oriented and insecure, esp of you are attractive in any way that they are not. I wish they'd understand that I, not the other pretty wives do Not want to sleep with their husbands. Ever. Hell, being a stepmom to some of their monster, entitled kids would be deterrent enough even if the men weren't married. Hanging with the husbands is always more fun, but you can't because then the wives will gossip about you. Again, not all wives, but let's be honest, many if not most. I can't stand insecure, petty, jealous ppl. Grow tf up.
This was the first episode I ever worked on on the Office. I rigged the condo for lighting and was a SLT for the entire time on location. I had to walk off set when Michael was talking about his vasectomy. The gaffer and I would laugh about Jan spray painting F-you on the dog for months.
@@Mulverine most of my best stories are crew related. I worked in lighting so I didn't interact with the cast that much. So I don't have a lot of gosip. My favorite story is about the prank war us electricians got into with the camera department.
I’m not sure what a “man knocking a woman down the stairs” has to do with cringe humor. Dark humor and cringe humor are not synonymous. It would work as cringe if, say, Todd Packer was telling a joke where the punchline was a man pushing a woman down the stairs, while the listening characters just sit there awkwardly or in shock. The cringe comes from the reality that everyone has experienced a moment like that.
“Make someone laugh, do a pratfall. Make a comedy writer laugh, depict misogyny” is what I got from that quote to be honest. Explains a lot about a lot of comedy that hasn’t done it for me in the past. Of course, when I say that I’m not talking about the Office, which remains as fantastic a show as ever.
This was a pretty good analysis of Dinner Party. I really enjoyed it! I liked how you brought attention to the color schemes in the episode, most clearly symbolized in the clothes that Michael and Jan are wearing, to represent how they're total opposites or mismatched. Watching this, I think the choice of red was also intended to symbolize how Jan also doesn't belong in Scranton. It's clearer through her interior design and decoration, but you can look at what all the characters are wearing at the dinner party, Jan is the only one whose clothes don't quite match with her partner's color scheme. Compare that to Andy/Angela with black/blue/white, Pam and Jim with blue, and Dwight/Dwight's old babysitter and brown. But she's also the only one who clearly stands out from the other characters and doesn't seem to make much effort to blend in or fit in. There's some relative harmony between the rest of the cast, even with Dwight, as unexpected as their presence was. But Jan intentionally stands out and seems uninterested in compromising to fit in.
@Mulverine We can all relate to Pam wanting to keep Jim from escaping just as much as we can relate to Jim wanting to escape at all costs. The beauty of their relationship lies in this moment, as Pam agrees to go along with Jim's lie and not rat him out, as long as he is willing to stay with her and keep her company through this most uncomfortable moment.
I watched your other video on this episode two days ago and was so confused why it was being recommended again, so I was thrilled when I realized it was another take. I love this and your videos!!!
Did you notice in 23:17 that Angela has her steak covered with a napkin? Makes sense as she's a vegetarian. Never have noticed before. I thought that the Andy stamp on 1:24 was an example of what Andy stamp to look for. LOL
On the podcast Office Girls..Jenna and Angela said this was one of their favorite episodes. .Angela was very pregnant on it and they had to hide her belly the whole time which is why Andy had such a big bouquet of flowers lol also note Michael had said they only had six wine glasses, but at the dinner table they were also using multiple wine glasses for water.
This is the best episode of the series. It’s always a blast to rewatch and the awkwardness isn’t all that bad. I’ve never cringed when watching it, just felt a bit awkward at a few moments, though I’m pretty sure that was part of the point of the episode.
The red versus blue motif reminds me so much of Heathers! They played around with blue and red lights a lot in that movie (like the dumpster fire scene).
Ah Snap! That's such a good point. I mean, I've never seen Heathers, but I easily could have done a quick montage of other red/blue motifs (Darth/Luke, Red Pill/Blue Pill, etc.)
@@Mulverine You should watch it, then! That is, if you’re into really, really dark comedies. Keep in mind it’s from 1989, so a lot of the language is outdated and very offensive if put in modern day context. I really love your videos, btw! They’re very insightful.
Here's Why Talking Head in bathroom, (IMO) It has to be a silent room, There has to be a bit privacy when recording Talking heads, therefore they use Conference room for rest of the office except Michael, why ?? because Michael have his own Office, and all his talking head is recorded in his office, Back to Michael's home, It can't be done in bedroom, because of obvious privacy plus all the weird stuff might make others (Jim) uncomfortable, 1. There is a room of candles, and we all know it smells bad, so no no 2. The hall is full of people, 3. Kitchen is where anyone can move in and out and will create disturbance, 4. Garage is too cold, Hence Bathroom, I hope it makes sense, i would love to know if there's any other option, P.S. Apologies for my bad English,
Right I get that, but it wouldn't make a ton of sense to do talking heads in general, right? Jim eyeballs the camera guy and they go walk off, I'm pretty sure Michael would make a big deal about it? right??? And your English is fine!
@@Mulverine ya also it was done only 3 times, 1 jim and 2X Pam no one else, Therefor as said by @Ocean above, Michael might think something positive out of it, Or IDK maybe they just wanted to show the bathroom (Since it wasn't a part of tour), :)
I wonder if anyone else ever noticed that during the house tour, they shut the second documentary camera person inside the candle room. The scene in the candle room cut between two different cameras, but when the characters all leave the room, we don't see the second camera person come out.
I absolutely love this episode. I'm always excited when I see it's next in my rewatch. I wouldn't consider it my favourite because I'm more partial to more Pam and Jim centric episodes
Chris, I think I've mentioned this on one of your Season 2 videos last year, but the writer's name is Gene Stupnitsky, pronouned "stoop-NIT-ski" not Stupinksi. Literally the only negative thing I've got to say about your videos. Freaking love them! Especially this newer format with more of you in them. Well done!!
"The Dinner Party" has to be one of my favorite OFFICE episodes; my favorite scene: "You have no idea how painful THREE VASECTOMIES are for a guy! SNIP SNAP SNIP SNAP SNIP!" (Also, though I watched THE OFFICE right up until Steve Carell left, I never understood why Michael hates Toby so much. My sister [who is an HR exec; she says she loves hiring & particularly firing people] says it's because Michael hates Toby since Toby is director of personnel [but I am not sure if that is correct]...I also missed the "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" as well references [it was before my time] Who played Elizabeth Taylor? Was it Melora Hardin [Jan]? Who played Richard Burton? Was it Steve Carell/Michael? Sandy Dennis had to be Jenna Fischer [Pam] ....I don't know who Jim is supposed to signify...can anyone help? Thank you!
I’m pretty sure that neon grill sign that Michael has is seen later in the office when Ryan gets his own office “given” to him by Jim. Not totally sure but it seems like it
You called it. Michael declines to sell it at the Garage Sale but when Holly says she has a neon guy who can fix it and that he might want to keep it, “just in case”, they both verbalize that they don’t have any doubts about the longevity of their relationship. This prompts the proposal which is the catalyst to Michael’s departure. We have to assume Michael’s prized possession ceases to matter and is subsequently left behind when he moves to Co to begin his life with Holly.
I really didn’t find Dinner Party cringey. That honor goes to Scotts Tots. But I can see why people would find it difficult to watch. Watching Michael and Jan disintegrate right before our eyes can be difficult. But I was kind of rooting for that for a while. I was starting to feel bad for Michael especially starting around The Deposition. So I found myself rooting for Michael and enjoying the anguish brought upon Jan. Kind of a Shaudenfruede (sp?) thing for me 😮
Keep up the good work. I like watching your videos when I’ve finished the office for like the 80th time and have to wait a month before restarting it lol
im so behind on this series (your reflection on the show) and my goodness its helped me through my job these days. but my goodness this show is amazing and my goodness the superfan episode makes this one even better
We finally fully, one hundred percent agree on an episode! The episode is one of the best pieces of television of all time. While I agree the cold open could've been better, the rest was top notch which completely compensates for the lackluster intro. Great video man!
Ive never skipped this episode, and always get suprised when i hear people say its too uncomfortable to watch, maybe im used to this kinda arguing and cringey stuff at home
If they do a more accurate remake of A Song of Ice and Fire after the last two books 📚 are completed they should cast Melora Hardin as Cersei Lannister 👸🏼.
*Which is funnier?* (reply to vote) Michael's $200 plasma screen TV getting killed by Jan *OR* the obnoxiously bright neon beer sign at the dinner table?
Holy I just learned this now and I’m sorry I just cannot get over the fact that those 2 bozo workers (the ones who sold Michael “weed”) are writers!! 😂 Obviously no offense to the real people!
Jim was still trying to get out of the party alone, because once Michael said "you don't need two people for that", Jim was put on the spot to continue the act/lie.
remember the episode when Michael says Hey I have two tickets for the party in NY.... and then they figured out that one is for Michael and Jim sacrifices himself because tie goes the girlfriend.... well Pam should've allow Jim go home and fix the flood thing 😁
@@Mulverine true. I forgot was it a 40 minute episode? I think 20. I feel like it could have been longer. It’s one of my favorite episodes. How do you feel about season 9? Also how do you feel about dwight and Angela’s storyline? I’ve seen mixed opinions on both of these, I like both
This is arguably one of the greatest office episodes, but when it comes to the greatest sitcom episode of all time, no contest for me it's "Remedial Chaos Theory" from Community (if you haven't seen it, then what are you doing?), it's the only sitcom episode of anything I can't fault
