Episode 205: The Party

Cast:
Brendon Small – Brendon Small
Jason Penopolis – H. Jon Benjamin
Melissa Robbins – Melissa Bardin Galsky
Coach Jon McGuirk – H. Jon Benjamin
Paula Small – Janine Ditullo
Josie Small – Loren Bouchard
Trudy Mulley – Paula Plum
Fenton Mulley – Sam Seder
Walter & Perry – H. Jon Benjamin & Brendon Small
Junior Addleburg – Bill Braudis

Synopsis: It’s Fenton Mulley’s birthday party! Unfortunately, Fenton is just spoiled brat from the soccer team. Brendon makes a video for a gift that is less than complimentary; Melissa tries to stop Jason’s candy binge; Walter & Perry have some of their greatest moments; and McGuirk just might set Fenton straight.

History:
· This episode introduces Fenton Mulley, as well as his mother, Trudy Mulley.
· We also meet Ken Addleburg’s son, Junior Addleburg, in this episode.

Lawn Gnomes:
· Didn’t catch any, though I’m pretty sure there is one in there. I’m probably just missing it.

Brendon’s Filmography:
· “Kung Fu Fighters” – What else is there to say?
· “Happy Birthday, Chump!” – A birthday video to Fenton Mulley, where Brendon makes fun of him, honk honk.
· “Fenton is…” – A movie that shows the real Fenton Mulley.

The Movie-Episode Connection:
· Brendon’s storyline centers on the movie, so no real connection.

Songs:
· The music that plays in the background through most of Fenton’s party (credited as “The Birthday Song”) sounds a lot like “The Compliment Song” from Episode 210 – History.
· “Sunset Theme” – Instrumental.

Random Observations & Facts:

· This is the last time we will see Josie until 301 - Shore Leave.
· Brendon and Jason use plungers to fight in midair during “Kung Fu Fighters”.
· When Jason says, “that was a haiku”, it actually wasn’t. It had 16 syllables, not 17.
Melissa High How
Can You Jump? How High Do You
Need? Eighteen Feet.
· The birthday invitation has a bear eating cake on it.
· Brendon uses “Loco Coco” chocolate syrup.
· Brendon pours Loco Coco on his Sloppy Joe.
· Fenton complains about “Cristy” potato chips.
· On the Mulley’s fridge are Fenton’s tests. Grades include B, C-, and “Ok”.
· Pictures of Fenton at the Mulley’s: Fenton with a black eye, Fenton in a rabbit costume, Fenton as a baby, and Fenton with a dog.
· McGuirk brings two twelve-packs of Black Hole Brew to the party.
· McGuirk’s present is wrapped in soccer wrapping-paper.
· Jason eats “Chipz” and drinks “Spaz” cola.
· A balloon flies by that says Happy Birthday and then has a piece a paper that says “Fenton” taped on.
· McGuirk tosses the soccer ball when he puts it behind his back.
· Melissa rolls a 7, and McGuirk says she rolled a 4. It doesn’t matter since he didn’t explain the rules anyway.
· Jason’s pupils grow large and small as he looks at the Gummi Bears.
· How exactly did Jason get back to the party?
· Perry cries at Fenton’s behavior in “Fenton is…” Walter consoles him.
· The sunset scene is 1:08 long.

Movie & Other References:
· Brendon’s opening movie is a parody of all kung fu fighting movies, particularly “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”.
· There is a picture of Fenton in a rabbit costume at the Mulley’s, which might be a reference to the movie “A Christmas Story”.

End Credits: “Sunset Theme”

Reviews: WARNING: Spoilers

Randomguy: Amazing. I'm convinced I might have just witnessed the singular best episode of this series. Be forewarned, this is going to be a long review; there was a LOT that was done right this time around (In fact, I'm only listing good points- I can't think of anything that was so wrong with this episode that it should be mentioned).
This is what a rocked about "The Party" (Spoilers):
-The Opening Movie- a Crouching Tiger spoof, it was really funny. Looking over this and the Jazz fight from Hiatus, with their costumes and lighting, I think we can all agree that Brendan has progressed a lot from "Dark Side of the Law"
-Josie. She's alive and eating. Thank God.
-Walter and Perry. Some might find them annoying but I think they're a great addition to the series. Their interactions are hilarious- stemming no doubt from the improv technique; they play great off of each other. The romance angle between the two is hilarious. For two background characters that don't get a bunch of screen time, they do a nice job of adding a few laughs.
-Jason's candy problem. This thinly veiled metaphor for a drug problem was so gut-bustlingly funny it's unbelievable. It was so clichéd (purposefully) that it was great. Seeing Jason begging for just "One More Gummy Bear" was awesome. His talks with Melissa were good too, as well as, I believe, being the first Home Movies character to utter b***ch (Do I have to censor myself on an AS board), leading into....
-Melissa’s increased amount of screen time. She played really well off of both Jason and Brendan, be it talking about the movie or begging Jason to stop his bad habits. Further cementing my theory that she's a great character.
-McGuirk. 'Nuff Said, y'know? Having him barge into the party with beer was so random and unexpected. Even better, McGuirk (With Brendan's re-enforcement) finally showed some backbone, yelling down that snobby punk just as he deserved, and getting the partygoers the apology they deserved.
-The Annoying Kid (Already forgotten his name). He was great because he was SUPPPOSED to be irritating. Watching him get his comeuppance was suitably satisfying.
-Voice acting. I know I'm being random here, but I'd like to give the Home Movies cast props. They render the characters with just the right timing and emotion. Home Movies would be a pale shadow of what it is without such a great cast.
-The Ending. Pure and simple, this ending was great. The strength of Flash is really showing itself here, because the ending had the first shot ever in Home Movies to take my breath away. Up until this point, the animation has been a means to end, but that lost shot, cornball it might sound, was beautiful. First showing Walter and Perry walking away, shadows moving across their faces, to having Brendan, Melissa, and Jason strolling into an awesome sunset was one hell of an ending. Their dialogue here was great as well. Having them walk into the sunset talking about their next movie would have been a great way to end the whole series. Their was development here, actual growth, and it was really sweet, in a way. It proved to me that Home Movies and its central characters were deeper then I first gave them credit for. This was all complemented by a superb musical track, "Sunset Theme".

What really made this episode was the character interaction. Be it Walt off Perry, Jason off Melissa, Brendan off McGuirk, it was the dialogue that made this episode worth watching. All great shows have one thing in common, and that's characters. They're important to any good piece of work, and Soup2Nuts knows it. This whole episode was, more or less, the "Ballad of Fallen Angels" of Home Movies- everything was that spot on. I think it's clear, at the very least, that Home Movies has come a long from "Get Away From My Mom". I'm gonna watch it again Thursday, it's just so well-done. If Home Movies had ended here, I would have died a happy man. And that's saying something.

Spectre: This episode has a lot of awkward humor here and there -- Jason gets "drunk" but eating a lot of candy, and in a rather uncomfortable moment, he tries to kiss Melissa, er, "drunkenly." But the fact is that it's all funny. The awkwardness evokes laughter. "The Party" is about a party (surprised?) where Brendon, Melissa, Jason, practically the whole soccer team, and Coach McGuirk (eventually) go to a birthday party of Fenton Mewler, another student at their school. You have to laugh when Fenton's mom continually says "Video-film" and vice versa. You also have to laugh when Jason gets shoved in a cab while on a sugar high (or down). Brendon gets good jokes in; Paula does as well. She wasn't used to great effect like she could of been, but whenever she was on screen, it was time of value. This episode was probably the most "adult" episode of Home Movies so far -- Coach McGuirk brings beer to the kid's birthday party; Jason actually says a bad word; and Jason acts drunk (did I say this yet?). But we got to know all of the characters more, and in the end, you realize that this little party will probably be a good memory of our favorite characters -- Jason, Melissa, and Brendon -- as they grow up. It was a good episode, handled in a gentle and actually caring way. It ended, what can I say... perfectly. Grade: A

Jdogg: Generally regarded as the best post-season 1 episode, "The Party was not quite as good as I remember. It is still very good though. Very poignant. A

StrangerAtaru: For every "on" episode this show has, there just are some that seem to get to me no matter how much everyone likes them. This episode, while having a few funny bits in it, just doesn't have the comedic consistancy of something like "Hiatus" or "Director's Cut". Part of the blame has to go to the semi-important, yet still annoying, Fenton, who is introduced and gives new meanings to the word "brat". Fenton is the most obnoxious, whiny kid met so far, to the point that he would pretty much be holding back everyone else in the episode. But the Fenton situation does improve the comedic situations for at least 2 (or should I say 3) characters. The first one is obviously Brendon, who is pretty much forced to create a birthday video for the brat, both of which exploit how he really is. (the first one being just a bunch of insults while Brendon is in his "birthday suit", the other being the infamous "Fenton Is...") The other characters who actually work with the idiot well is Walter and Perry, whom you could probably consider Fenton's subliminal "arch-enemies". Their crazily cheerful (and obviously ambiguous) routine works in making Fenton even more aggrevated, especially as seen with the bathroom bit. (you can sort of tell Fenton and Walter and Perry just seem to mesh as well in "Field Trip", as well as smaller bits in "Writer's Block" and "Shore Leave") Meanwhile, Jason's "sweets obsession", while trying to parody alcoholism, just never works for me. Sure Melissa and Jason tried to make it funny, but it just seemed more disturbing considering that it's only candy. (and speaking of disturbing, is it just me or does Fenton's mom trying to do something with every male she coaxes other than her son?) As for McGurk, his eccentricities gave a bit more life to the insanities, from when he payed off the clown to get rid of him to his "dice game" against Melissa. However, he also seemed to channel himself to a more meaningful side, being the one who finally shuts Fenton up after everything he has done in this episode. And of course, who can't forget the famous Sunset ending.....well, maybe Melissa considering Brendon's and Jason's ideas. Overall, an episode that could have been a lot better, but at least has a few good things to it.

Mynd Hed: This episode is one of my personal favorites. This was the first episode containing Walter and Perry in full "ambiguously gay" mode, back when it was still fresh. Fenton was annoying, but that made it all the better when he finally got his comeuppance from McGuirk. McGuirk was great, bringing beer and playing dice at an eight-year-old's birthday party, and it was nice to see him actually do something good at the end of the episode and even get in with Fenton's mom a little. (-: Guy's gotta win sometime. And the high point of the episode, for me, was Jason's disturbing chocoholism. So wrong... and yet so funny.

Overall Grade: A+

DrWeird: If you ask me, this episode was a classic. Fenton is annoying, but still within the realm of funny, Walter & Perry have their first big part in an episode, Jason's candy addiction was really well done, Brendon's movies were great, I almost applauded the first time I saw McGuirk tell off Fenton...I thought just about every scene in this episode worked.

Fenton is an annoying character, yes, but he's not annoying to the point where he isn't funny. His annoyingness also gives other characters something to work off of, like his poor mother or Brendon and his movies. Fenton seems to change character by the next time we see him as a main focus of an episode, but I'll get to that when that airs.

Jason's addictions were great. Jason got some great lines ("They're looking at you in that rich ***** dress", quickly followed by "Please help me") and Melissa worked well trying to get Jason to stop. Melissa seemed to play a supporting character in this one, not really having her own plot but playing a part in everyone else's. Personally, I thought it worked well in this episode for her character.

McGuirk's time seemed to be kept to a minimum, which is why just about every scene with him is good ("Wow. That's awful." "Let the games begin!" "Who wants to play dice?" "Punch me in the stomach" "Fenton, shut up!"). Especially his "Fenton, shut up!" speech towards the end, which added to his character and was funny.

Brendon was great as the "trying-to-be-cool" Brendon in this episode. His quick conversations with party guests were funny ("I'd have to be Ultimate Skunk Commander") and his two movies (especially the first) were great. Honk honk.

Then there were Walter & Perry, love or hate characters. Personally, I think they're hilarious. They had some great scenes in this one ("We'll call it the Walter & Perry van") and some good sight gags as well (Perry crying during Fenton's video).

As for the ending Sunset Scene, it was great. Great music, great dialogue, great animation...don't know what else to say.

This episode gets an A+ from me. If you ever want to get someone to start watching this show, this is probably a good starter episode (it worked with a couple of people for me).

Positives: Loved it all.
Negatives: If might've been nice if Paula had a storyline