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by Alex Keen Published: April 16, 2002
 Jon Favreau - M.C. and creator of "Dinner for Five" | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Tonight I had the opportunity to watch the second episode of Jon Favreau’s new television series, “Dinner for Five.” The show, airing on the Independent Film Channel (Mondays at 8pm), brings Favreau and four celebrity guests together for a meal and conversation. This episode had Peter Falk, Vince Vaughn, Cheri Oteri, and Garry Shandling as guests. Topics ranged from the opening box office of major wide releases to whether the waiter was having make-up applied for the show. Basically this was a collection of friends candidly discussing life and cinema. For those of you who don’t know, Favreau is the writer and star of the indie classic “Swingers,” and also directed his follow-up “Made.” Favreau has known Vaughn for quite some time (they met on the filming of “Rudy”) and are the closest of friends. Their rapport is unmatched, sparring with jokes and interjections that only best friends can time. If you’ve heard their commentary on “Made,” or seen their scenes in “Swingers,” you’d recognize that they are equal or better than the comedic celebrity pairings of Stiller & Wilson, and Affleck & Smith. Falk recently co-starred in “Made,” and is one of Favreau’s favorite actors. Favreau is such a fan of Falk, that when I interviewed him last year, he defended his elder's then soon to be released mob-comedy, “Corky Romano.” I saw “Corky Romano,” and the only person that would defend that movie would have to be a good friend – it was terrible. Shandling, last seen in the box office catastrophes “Town & Country” and “What Planet Are You From,” proves that he is not just a comedian that reads jokes. The guy comes up with quick jabs and sly stabs created from a mind trained in the world of stand-up and improvisation. While he lends very little input to the discussions regarding movie grosses and the independent spirit, he does a wonderful job of probing indie veterans Favreau and Falk (who starred in several of indie god John Cassavetes’ films). Oteri, clearly the least experienced and the least interesting person at the table, seems overwhelmed by Shandling and Vaughn. Her only real opportunity to express her perspective comes when Vaughn probes the lack of movie roles for accomplished female SNL-ers. On the show, Oteri fails to really address the question because the subject quickly changes to the importance of being on SNL. I was kind of hoping Oteri would talk about former cast mate Molly Shannon’s starring role in the minor hit “Superstar.” The film was the first starring debut for a SNL grad since the abysmal failure “It’s Pat.” She has been much less fortunate since her departure from SNL in 2000, having only small starring roles in “Love & Sex” and “Scary Movie.” While I have been somewhat critical of Oteri on the show, in no way did I dislike her. In fact I am very interested in hearing what she had to say in the moments left on the cutting room floor. The ultimate charm of “Dinner for Five” is the simplicity and fun. If you enjoy Favreau’s movies and are interested in hearing more of his serious side, “Dinner” is worth the thirty minutes out of your Monday. The image above comes from Favreau's website, dinnerforfive.com. The show airs on Mondays at 8:00 pm on the Independent Film Channel.  Coming Soon: Spirited Away | About a Boy | Heaven | Insomnia | Minority Report | Photograph by Robert Zuckerman |
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