Now Seating for Dinner for Five

My busy week continues but I had to share my joy as last night I received a lifetime supply of dinners. No I didn't win some kinds of Fatburner giveaway or get free lessons from a gourmet chef, nope I got the complete series of Dinner for Five (DoF). Airing on and off again on the Independent Film Channel over the last six year, DoF is the brilliant concoction of actor/director Jon Favreau. I think of Jon as a household name but when I told my mom about this she stared back blankly. Favreau is probably best known to anyone under 40 as one of the stars of Swingers (the other guy not Vince Vaughn) and as the director of Elf and next summer's blockbuster Iron Man. He pops up in small bits in other films and TV like Friends, The Sopranos, and starred in his directorial debut with Vaughn, the underappreciated Made. Long story short the guy has lived a charmed Hollywood life and seems to be a genuinely well liked guy. In DoF, Favreau has used his connections and his friends connections to concoct one of the most honest peepholes there's been into the professional lives of some of the most fascinating entertainers.

The show is exactly what it says it is, Favreau and four other actors, comedians, writers, directors, novelists, and musicians having dinner at one of many fabu restaurants in LA. Sometimes the dinner is a group of closely related people such as one from season 4 with Friday Night Lights as its focus. Author Buzz Bissinger of the original non fiction work is joined by the film versions keys, producer Brian Glazer, director Peter Berg and star Billy Bob Thornton. Other times the connections are looser such as Family Guy's Seth McFarlane, skater turned director Stacey Peralta, skater Tony Hawk and Napolean Dynamite himself Jon Heder. Other stars to swing by include Burt Reynolds, Ben Affleck, Kevin Smith, Martin Scorcese and Tracey Morgan. Yes that's an odd group but that's the point. Favreau brings in people based more on their talent then their fame and guides the conversations while keeping them organic. Plus, the single screen titles break up the near hour long shows into bite size nuggets. Its available now as a complete series for around $50 but you can also buy it in individual seasons or try out something new where you can choose specific clips and make your own DVD (find that option at Amazon.com/dinnerforfive. As someone who has worked in film and TV and finds the industry both fascinating and revolting this is truly a show that speaks to me but really its a show with famous people being honest and often times really fucking funny. Check out this clip of Vaughn, the guy from Dazed and Confused and Brian Cox, for a taste of what I'll be having for dinner for months to come:

BEWARE LANGUAGE IN VIDEO IS NOT SAFE FOR WORK AND SHOULD POP UP IN A SEPERATE WINDOW