During a 24-hour period of time last weekend I watched a loser-revenge chick flick fantasy and a TV show about jaded caterers working for the rich in L.A. I watched both on the family of movie channels known as Starz. Yes, I realize that Starz is the Joey Fatone of the movie channels, but hey, I was bored. And I have point. So shut up and bear with me.
The first program I watched was the pairing of two mid-90’s icons, Mira Sorvino and Lisa Kudrow, in the somewhat-popular film Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion. It’s about two best friends who were objects of ridicule in their high school years, and when they hear their reunion is coming up they decide to go back and shove their success in the collective face of their high school class.
The problem is that they have not done squat since they graduated from school. Neither of them have jobs or what most people would constitute as success. So they decide to make up that they invented the Post-It note. The evil cheerleader girls figure out they’re lying, blah blah blah, there’s a rich successful nerd played by a dude that looks like Pee Wee Herman, they play “Time After Time” about 20 times. (Talk about Time after Time, eh?). And they end up with their own clothing store. A completely unrealistic movie, barely mediocre, most of the time that would have been a gigantic waste of time, right? Not quite.
About a day later, I was watching my new favorite TV show that almost no one knows about called “Party Down” It’s a terrific show. The main character Henry, played by Adam Scott, who was Derrick in Step Brothers, is a depressed former actor who goes back to his old job as a caterer for the Party Down catering company. His claim to fame is being in a beer commercial where he yells the catchphrase “Are we having fun yet?”
The episode I watched was when the leader of the Party Down group, Ron (played by Ken Marino), insists that his group cater his own high school reunion. Ron was a drunken imbecile in high school who has been clean for a couple of years. The people in his class only remember him as the guy who failed to drink an entire bottle of Whiskey á la Bluto in Animal House.
As you can imagine, it goes horribly wrong. He eventually goes to the stage and succeeds in drinking an entire bottle of whiskey, impressing no one. In subsequent episodes he has gone into a drunken tailspin, making a case if there ever was one that high school reunions should be avoided at all costs.
And this brings me to my point. What is the point of high school reunions? Is it just a way to feel terrible and have your life appear to be meaningless? Or to shamelessly boast about how awesome your life is? It really made me ponder over what my high school reunion would be like. And yes, I realize that Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion caused me to reevaluate life and think strongly about my future.
It led to many questions. Like what will my high school reunion will be like? Will all those APEX nerds be the scientists, doctors, and lawyers that they were programmed since birth to become? Who will be the guy or gal that completely lucked into a seven-figure salary? Who will be fat? Who will look way better? Anyone famous?
Should one even go to their high school reunion? What if I’m not as successful as I should be? What if they that one incredibly annoying p-ick is super rich and has Shia LaBeouf in his contacts?
These are all pressing questions, but do they even matter? Success, even though it will always be viewed through the prism of society, is internal. Success should not be measured in academic accolades or how similar your life is to Tony Stark. It should be based on the personal satisfaction of loving your job and having meaning in your life. At least in theory.
In the case of the Party Down episode, Ron faces the major issue of his life: he doesn’t have one. He’s a caterer to people way more successful then him. It’s gritty and harsh but also an honest view of the way we live our lives: most people are never satisfied with the way their lives have turned out. The holes can be obvious when one confronts one’s high school reunion.
Romy and Michelle’s High School Reunion has a far more optimistic, fantastical vision, as the stars of the movie end up in the rich nerd’s helicopter flying away from their classmates.
I really don’t know what to do about my high school reunion. I know it may be a bit early to already stress out about it, but should I really go if I don’t have a career that I can shove in everyone’s face?
A more optimistic view may be that I should go to see all my old friends.
Either way, I think that high school reunions serve their purpose. Even if someone has doubts about one life, they should come in and enjoy themselves. Ther’s no point in comparing youself to others. It’s unproductive. And the people that will try and boast about their six figure salary are not worth worrying about. I am now at ease about my future high school reunion.
If I wanted you to take one lesson from this it’s that if you ever feel like having a life-altering experience while sitting on the couch, watch a mid-90’s chick flick.
