The Office’s humor can encompass many different styles, but one of the things the show is best at is scenes that are both funny and uncomfortable at the same time.The Officeregularly accomplishes this; for example,“Scott’s Tots” is a hard episode to rewatchfor the discomfort it causes in between the laughs. Steve Carell’s Michael Scott is a character who evokes this style of humor in particular, as it’s not uncommon for him to make ridiculous decisions without thinking that later blow up in his face.
There are times when Michael surprises the audience by thinking ahead, of course, but his well-meaning mistakes can be difficult to watch. However, the ridiculous decisions made both by Michael and by other characters around him also provide some ofThe Office’s best moments. When the humor is as well-written as it is inThe Office’s best episodes, that turns the uncomfortable humor from something that’s difficult to watch to a train wreck that’s impossible to look away from while getting at the deeper truths of who Michael is as a character.
“Dinner Party” Is One Of The Office’s Best Episodes
Every Joke In “Dinner Party” Lands
“Dinner Party” is an episode ofThe Officethat’s particularly noted for being difficult to watch, but it’s also one ofThe Office’s funniest episodes. “Dinner Party” shows Michael and Jan hosting a dinner party for some of Michael’s employees at Dunder Mifflin, most of whom don’t really want to be there. The episode’s concept is based on the Edward Albee playWho’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and the inspiration helps strengthen the episode. The writers knew exactly what kind of story they wanted to tell.
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Right from the beginning of the episode, the humor is spot-on. After initially telling them they would have to work overtime, Michael then tells his employees and planned dinner party guests that they have the night off. However, he only releases them from overtime after confirming with Jim that he and Pam don’t have any plans for the night, and thus, no excuses to skip Michael’s party.It’s the perfect way to get Jim and Pam in place for the dinner party, and it’s a great moment because it feels unlikely that there’s any other way he would have been able to convince them to be there.
It’s also made clear throughout the episode that Jan has strong opinions about her party’s guest list – namely, Dwight. The reasons they give Dwight for him not being invited are that he needs a date and that they don’t have enough wineglasses. So Dwight brings his babysitter, wineglasses, and food for himself and his guest to solve the problem. Later in the episode, the other guests are shown to have two wineglasses each, one for wine and one for water,showing how much thought was put into even the subtle details of the humor.
What Makes “Dinner Party” So Uncomfortable To Watch
Michael And Jan’s Life Together Is Extraordinarily Weird
A lot of subtle details are also used throughout the episode to increase the discomfortaround both the dinner party and Michael and Jan’s life together more generally. A lot of thought was put into the appearance of Michael and Jan’s condo, with the episode implying that Michael was in Hell and Jan was the Devil. Jan’s outfit being red is an intentional reference to this, as are her candles surrounding Michael. The episode was specifically designed to bea painful episode ofThe Officeto watch, both for the viewers and for the dinner guests as they waited for their meal.
The episode was specifically designed to be uncomfortable, both for the viewers and for the dinner guests as they waited for their meal.
Some of the jokes in the episode also increase the discomfort while simultaneously being hysterical.It’s both ridiculous and so sadthat Michael sleeps on the bench at the foot of the bed rather than actually in bed with Jan. The introduction of Michael’s pride in his tiny little “plasma” TV is hilarious, and all the details of Michael and Jan’s life that are revealed after that lead up to Jan throwing a Dundie award at his TV during the climax of the episode, smashing it. It’s painfully hard to watch, but also absurd and funny.
“Dinner Party” Managed To Be Successful Even During The Writer’s Strike
The Writers Put A Lot Of Time And Thought Into This Episode
The “Dinner Party” episode of theOffice Ladiespodcast gave some insight into what the production of this episode was like, revealing thatwriters Gene Stupnitsky and Lee Eisenberg spent more time on the script for this episode than writers did on most other episodes of the show. It was written over their summer hiatus, and rather than taking off for two weeks, they spent all three weeks writing the episode. The network was uncertain about it because of how dark the episode was, but they were allowed to proceed.
The writer’s strike occurred after the table read for the episode, soits production had to be put on pause. This meant that by the time the episode was filmed, Angela Kinsey was much more pregnant than she had been when the episode was written. As a result, they had to put thought into how to hide her baby belly, using things such as a large coat or a bouquet of flowers to mask her pregnancy.
While strikes can have a negative impact on television, it’s likely that the pause in the middle of the production of “Dinner Party” just made everyone even more excited to work out the small details. Thesebehind-the-scenesThe Officefactsshow how much thought and care was put into “Dinner Party,” proving that it’s one ofThe Office’s greatest episodes.
