Party Down: Season 1

• PARTY DOWN SEASON 1 (DVD MOVIE)

Hot screen favorites Freddie Prinze, Jr. (She's All That) and Julia Stiles (TVs Dexter) sizzle in a fun and sexy comedy where the magic of first love collides with the challenges of real life.

From the moment they meet amid the chaos of college in New York City, Al (Prinze) and Imogen (Stiles) begin a romantic journey where true love often competes with the temptation to stray. As time passes and an outrageous array of friends enter the scene, they celebrate all the highs and confront all the lows that greet their passionate affair. Also featuring Henry Winkler (The Waterboy), Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions), Ashton Kutcher (No Strings Attached) and Rosario Dawson (Unstoppable) in a stellar castyoull want to join this irresistible couple as they face the future...with ! some wildly unexpected results.Hot screen favorites Freddie Prinze Jr. (SHE'S ALL THAT, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER) and Julia Stiles (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) sizzle in a fun and sexy comedy where the magic of first love collides with the challenges of real life! From the moment they meet amid the chaos of college in New York City, Al (Prinze) and Imogen (Stiles) begin a romantic journey where true love often competes with the temptation to stray from commitment! As time passes and an outrageous array of friends enter the scene, they'll celebrate all the highs and confront all the lows that greet their passionate affair. Also featuring Henry Winkler (THE WATERBOY), Selma Blair (CRUEL INTENTIONS), and Shawn Hatosy (OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE, THE FACULTY) in a stellar cast -- you'll want to join this irresistible couple as they face the future ... with some wildly unexpected results!Al (Freddie Prinze Jr., from She's All That and I Know What You Did Last Summer) and Imogen (Julia Stiles from 10 Things I Hate About Yo! u) t ake turns narrating the story of their college romance. Al has a celebrity chef for a father (an amusing turn from Henry Winkler) and a rising porn star for a best friend (Zak Orth). The dialogue is stale, the story flounders, and the movie can't seem to decide whether it wants to be a sweet romance or a social satire. Down to You keeps dropping into odd fantasy bits that have nothing to do with, well, much of anything. But all the stars--including Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions) and Shawn Hatosy (Outside Providence) are pleasant and well groomed (well, except for Hatosy, who bears the brunt of being the poster boy for every fad of the '90s), and the soundtrack (featuring Cibo Matto, early David Bowie, Yo La Tengo, and others) is excellent. --Bret FetzerHot screen favorites Freddie Prinze Jr. (SHE'S ALL THAT, I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER) and Julia Stiles (10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) sizzle in a fun and sexy comedy where the magic of first love ! collides with the challenges of real life! From the moment they meet amid the chaos of college in New York City, Al (Prinze) and Imogen (Stiles) begin a romantic journey where true love often competes with the temptation to stray from commitment! As time passes and an outrageous array of friends enter the scene, they'll celebrate all the highs and confront all the lows that greet their passionate affair. Also featuring Henry Winkler (THE WATERBOY), Selma Blair (CRUEL INTENTIONS), and Shawn Hatosy (OUTSIDE PROVIDENCE, THE FACULTY) in a stellar cast -- you'll want to join this irresistible couple as they face the future ... with some wildly unexpected results!Al (Freddie Prinze Jr., from She's All That and I Know What You Did Last Summer) and Imogen (Julia Stiles from 10 Things I Hate About You) take turns narrating the story of their college romance. Al has a celebrity chef for a father (an amusing turn from Henry Winkler) and a rising porn star for a ! best friend (Zak Orth). The dialogue is stale, the story floun! ders, an d the movie can't seem to decide whether it wants to be a sweet romance or a social satire. Down to You keeps dropping into odd fantasy bits that have nothing to do with, well, much of anything. But all the stars--including Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions) and Shawn Hatosy (Outside Providence) are pleasant and well groomed (well, except for Hatosy, who bears the brunt of being the poster boy for every fad of the '90s), and the soundtrack (featuring Cibo Matto, early David Bowie, Yo La Tengo, and others) is excellent. --Bret FetzerAn irresistible cast of Hollywood's young faces star in this fun, sexy comedy hit about the power of attraction and the pressures of popularity! Stung when his bombshell girlfriend abruptly dumps him for a TV celebrity, big man on campus Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr., SCOOBY-DOO, BOYS AND GIRLS, DOWN TO YOU) wagers with a classmate he can quickly turn any girl -- even the school's biggest geek, Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Co! ok, TEXAS RANGERS, JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS) -- into the prom queen! He wasn't, however, betting on falling in love! After an amazing makeover, Laney is transformed from nobody to knockout ... but when she learns of Zack's deception, it could ruin any chance he had with his newfound dream girl! With a hip, modern soundtrack and a hilarious story that audiences loved, this great comedy is all that ... and more!This charming update of Pygmalion (by way of the John Hughes oeuvre, most notably Pretty in Pink) rode the crest of the late-'90s wave of immensely popular teen films (Varsity Blues, etc.), thanks primarily to the immense charisma of its two leads, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Rachael Leigh Cook. When school star Zach (Prinze)--who's a jock, smart, and popular--gets dumped by vacuous Taylor (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe) after spring break, he's left dateless for the all-important prom. With a little goading from his less-than-sensitive best friend (hunky Pau! l Walker), he bets that he can make any girl into prom queen a! mere ei ght weeks before the dance. The object of their wager: misfit Laney (Cook), a gawky art student too busy with her paintings and taking care of her brother and dad to worry about school politics. However, after a couple looks from Zach, and a few dates that reveal him to be a hunk of substance, Laney's armor begins to melt--and her stock at school soars. Soon enough, she's the lone candidate for prom queen against the bitchy and relentless Taylor.

What elevates She's All That above the realm of standard teen fare is its mixture of good-natured fairy-tale romance and surprisingly clear-eyed view of high school social strata. The lines of class are demarcated as clearly as if in a Jane Austen novel, but the satire is equally deflating and affectionate. Sure, high school could be bad sometimes, but it was lots of fun too; this is a movie good-natured enough to take time out for an extended hip-hop dance number at the prom. Director Robert Iscove (who also helmed the ! Brandy-starring TV adaptation of Cinderella) has also assembled a great young cast, including a scene-stealing Anna Paquin as Zach's no-nonsense sister, Kieran Culkin as Laney's geeky brother, and a stupidly goofy Matthew Lillard as a Real World cast member whose arrival shakes things up a little too much. And amidst all the comedy and prom drama, you'd be hard-pressed to find two teen stars as talented, attractive, and appealing as Prinze and Cook. Prinze is an approachable and sensitive jock, though it's Cook who's the true star, investing Laney with confidence, humor, and heart. Like Zach, you'll be hard-pressed not to fall in love with her. By the story's end, both Cook and the film will have charmed the socks off of you. --Mark EnglehartExciting young stars Freddie Prinze Jr. (DOWN TO YOU, SHE'S ALL THAT) and Claire Forlani (MYSTERY MEN, MEET JOE BLACK) ride a fun rollercoaster to romance in this sexy comedy hit! Shy bookworm Ryan (Prinze) ! and the outgoing, free-spirited Jennifer (Forlani) couldn't be! more di fferent. So when they first meet, they can't stand each other. When they meet again, they loathe each other! But when they finally reconnect in college, all that friction eventually explodes into red-hot romantic fireworks! With hilarious friends Jason Biggs (AMERICAN PIE), Amanda Detmer (FINAL DESTINATION, DROP DEAD GORGEOUS), and Heather Donahue (THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT) along to pump up the fun, you'll laugh along as these irresistible boys and girls sort out all of love's confusing complexities!Behind the generic title of Boys & Girls lies a surprising enjoyable and nuanced romantic comedy. Teen heartthrob Freddie Prinze Jr. plays Ryan, a dorky, emotionally sincere young guy who keeps crossing paths with Jennifer, played by Claire Forlani, an independent and willfully unattached young woman. Their chance meetings coincide with relationship traumas and they start to confide in each other, which leads to a more genuine friendship and, in the midst of their college ! years, a romance. It's a bit of a stock plot line to have their friendship threatened by sexual attraction, but Boys & Girls has just enough genuine feeling to make it compelling. Meanwhile, Jason Biggs (from American Pie) plays Ryan's roommate, a compulsive liar and would-be scam artist, who carries off some pretty funny scenes. Forlani and Prinze work together quite well. Their performances hearken back to the classic screwball comedies of the 1930s, with the repressed male simultaneously attracted and horrified by a footloose dame. Some kooky moments are a little strained, but at other times the movie has a refreshing realism about human emotions. Overall, a much more engaging and entertaining flick than its ad campaign suggests. Also featuring Alyson Hannigan from the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Heather Donahue from The Blair Witch Project. --Bret FetzerStarring most of the club kids in Hollywood, The Boys and Girls Guide to H! ollywood is an outrageous story blended with a how to guide ! to enjoy a truly insane party lifestyle. The film follows a group of Hollywood party-goers on their escapade as they travel from home to bar to party to after-party seeking the ultimate party experience. Through their adventure, viewers will learn truly insightful and at times politically incorrect lessons in nightlife etiquette, which will leave you feeling a bit dirty for enjoying it so much.Al (Freddie Prinze Jr., from She's All That and I Know What You Did Last Summer) and Imogen (Julia Stiles from 10 Things I Hate About You) take turns narrating the story of their college romance. Al has a celebrity chef for a father (an amusing turn from Henry Winkler) and a rising porn star for a best friend (Zak Orth). The dialogue is stale, the story flounders, and the movie can't seem to decide whether it wants to be a sweet romance or a social satire. Down to You keeps dropping into odd fantasy bits that have nothing to do with, well, much of anything. ! But all the stars--including Selma Blair (Cruel Intentions) and Shawn Hatosy (Outside Providence) are pleasant and well groomed (well, except for Hatosy, who bears the brunt of being the poster boy for every fad of the '90s), and the soundtrack (featuring Cibo Matto, early David Bowie, Yo La Tengo, and others) is excellent. --Bret FetzerParty Down is a Starz original series about a group of struggling dreamers who are stuck working for tips while waiting for their big break. As employees of the L.A. catering company “Party Down,” these misfits mingle with guests at everything from sweet sixteen parties to the most lavish Hollywood soirees. Follow these engaging wannabes as they wait on guests while waiting on something better to come along.

Stills from Party Down: Season 1 (Click for larger image)