Adam Devine's House Party (2013-2016) appeared simultaneously with
Workaholics -- apparently Comedy Central though that their viewers would watch anything with Adam Devine. And maybe they were right.
Adam plays "himself" (with his usual goofball persona) hosting a party in a gigantic mansion. He strikes out with girls a lot. Some of the guests play themselves, and others play fictional characters. Comedians drop by and riff. There are scripted plots. In the first season, it's about 70% comedy sets, 30% plot. You'll be reminded of the sitcom-standup mesh of The Larry Sanders Show a little bit, but it's really for fans of Adam's unique brand of self-referential comedy.
I reviewed Episode 1.3, "Foam Party," because Adam is trying to get a foam-based orgy started, and because one of the fictional characters, Steve, is played by Tony Cavalero. As far as I can tell, this is the first time the two worked together, six years before Kelvin and Keefe.
Scene 1: Adam charging admission. His parties are usually free, but today he's got a foam machine, so there's going to be a redunk orgy, no one with crabs allowed. A guy in the back yells at him.
So Adam is planning to have sex with girls and guys both? He invites the ladies to take off their panties, and dudes, if they're wearing panties.
Scene 2: People drinking, getting high. Ron Funches brought a rhubarb pie, but it's frozen solid.
Scene 3: Ron Funches riffs on moving to Oregon and trying new things, like iced coffee, white women, and bad rap: "If you can rhyme titties with titties, I'm a buy your album." Ok, it's heterosexist, I'm fast-forwarding.
Scene 4: Steve (Tony Cavalero) looks embarrassed that the girl he's with, Ariel, is drunk. He wants to leave, and tries to pull her away, but Adam intercedes: "We don't treat women like that. You're out."
Steve says "F*k you." Preparing to fight, Adam kisses his fists; "He's warm. He's ready."
As Adam makes martial arts moves, Steve says "You're weird!" and leaves. His girl remains. "I'm king of the party!" Adam exclaims. "Let's get naked!" We see his bare chest and pixilated bottom parts.
Scene 5: Before anyone else can get naked, the lights go off! No problem: Adam gives everyone glow sticks. But now the foam machine is not emitting enough for an orgy.
He tells the PA Guy (Steven Bailey) to fix it, but not to check the fuse box (Adam doesn't believe that fuse boxes exist). He has to go to the basement and crank a hand generator.
Steven Bailey starred with Adam in Pitch Perfect, and wrote or starred in many episodes of House Party and Workaholics
Scene 6: Drennan Davis performs a rap song. "So many girls/wanna take them back to my room/ we hit the sack/ but first we be drinking, yo." Fast-forward.
Scene 7: As the PA Guy cranks, Adam flirts with Ariel, Steve's girl. "If you were a mermaid, I'd still want to have sex with you, even though you'd be half fish, and that's bestiality." Good point.
Scene 8: Brent Morin (the one with the bulge) talks about unsuccessfully trying to be cool: "Like, I'll be at a party, I'll see a pretty girl, and...(
fast forward)..."I met Bradley Cooper once. Super hot...why
did I say hot? Whatever, I'm not gay, I'm not gay."
Having to specify so people don't get the wrong idea and look down on you? Not cool, dude. Scene 9: No foam, and no lights: everyone is leaving. Brent and Drennan (two of the comedians) want their money back: they're going to a better foam party at Jeff Ross's house. A running gag in Season 1 has the guests leaving Adam's party for Jeff Ross's.
Adam sits beside the pile of foam with Ariel. Just as he is about to kiss her, the PA Guy gives up the hand crank and flips the fuse box. The lights go on.
Ariel's boyfriend Steve returns; she rushes into his arms. "Thank God you're here. I thought this guy was going to rape me." Fickle, isn't she?
"No, it was consensual. If it was consensual, I'd be down." He winks at Steve. So you'd be down to have sex with Steve?
Steve challenges him: "Come rape me!"
"Ok, I'll rape you -- with my fists!" You know that fisting is a sexual act, right? "And with my knees!"Then the foam machine comes on and knocks him to the floor. Steve drags his girlfriend off. Adam gets foam in his eyes. The end.
Beefcake: Just Adam's chest shot.
Heterosexism: Two of the three comedians are stultifyingly heterosexist, and the third builds his set on anxiety on being mistaken for gay.
Gay Subtexts: Although he only mentions hooking up with hot girls, Adam appears to anticipate a bisexual foam orgy.
Fighting as a substitute for sex is a common trope in literature and film (note how straight guys often punch each other to display affection). Here it comes close to the surface, with Adam's "I'd be down" and wink, and Steve's facetious suggestion that Adam rape him instead of beat him up.
My Grade: Adam is thoroughly unpleasant, belittling ,demanding, and imperious, as well as dumb as a fence post. We see some glimmers of this aspect of his persona in his other characters -- Kelvin became a tyrant with the God Squad in Righteous Gemstones Season 2 -- but it is offset by some essential goodness, vulnerability, or at least politeness. Just having someone who loves him around gives viewers the impression that he can't be all jerk. But here the jerk rules. Nobody at the party seems to like him at all. And the heterosexism is rampant. D
See also: Adam Devine's House Party, Episode 3.1: Adam marries a dude. And it's not Tony Cavlero.
