Seth Rogen fans were eagerly awaiting a druggy episode of his hit Apple TV+ series The Studio. Ep. 9 ("CinemaCon") delivers in a major way.
Rogen's Matt Remick, the insecure head of Continental Studios, is a bundle of nerves. His kinetic energy is infectious but also frightening at times.
For the penultimate episode of Season 1, Matt and his team head to Vegas for an important trade show preceded by a night of partying. That's his first mistake.
Beware of spoilers from this point on...
Matt meets Dave Franco's nutritionist outside an L.A. restaurant. She gives him a mini-shopping bag full of mushroom chocalate bars, He tells her, "I'm into shrooms bigtime," then asks, "How strong are these?" She replies several times, "Two eighths in each one," referring to the bars. After some confusion, he says, "Ok, I got it," and gives her cash. Second mistake: not understanding the dosage. (Mushroom bars are separated into squares like most chocolate bars.)
RELATED: Episode 2 Features a Joint
In the limo to the airport, Matt exalts, "We're gonna party tonight like it's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas." But his deputy Sal Saperstein (Ike Barinholtz) challenges him. "You're gonna do drugs?" Sal asks. "You hardly smoke weed anymore. How many times have you done mushrooms?" He sheepishly replies, "Four."
Matt keeps referring to creating an "old-school Hollywood-style buffet," noting how he plans to put the chocolates "out on a platter" without informimg the guests what's in them. That's Mistake No. 3.
The party takes place at the Venetian Resort, a swanky Vegas hotel/casino that has gondola rides on their famous Grand Canal. The filming took place last year while Dead & Company were performing at the Sphere. To get to the Sphere, you can walk through the Venetian. Rogen thought it was hilarious – the tiedyed hoard in the hotel where they were shooting – and decided to go to a show. He took acid and promptly became a Deadhead,
But back to the party that's about to go out of control. First, Matt finds an already blasted Zoë Kravitz, who's in one of Continental's next movies. She has a shit-fit when Matt tells her the chocolates are loaded with psilocybin. "This is a microdose," he keeps telling her. "It hit me strong but now it's manageable."
Matt puts Zoe in a room and leaves for a minute. When he returns, she's full-scale tripping.
Zoë Kravitz Explains How She Prepared for the Stony Role
"It had been a while since I had taken mushrooms, so I was just remembering that and really trying to make it as accurate as possible," she tells Variety. "Mushrooms are so specific. And then, the rest of this is about letting go and being free. And the whole point, actually, is that you are not in control when you’re tripping.
"I was really in a zone and just trying to stay loose, and then, at the same time, be ready for when the camera comes in because of the long take. It’s this funny combination of being completely out of it and [remaining] very precise because of the camerawork.” The Studio, directed by Rogen and Evan Goldberg, employs long camera takes.
"There was a whole part where [Matt and Sal] come back in and I’ve built a fort and I’m holding French fries, making crazy animal noises and rolling around," she continues. "I think I break a vase and it shatters everywhere, and then Kathryn Hahn [Maya] tackles me to the ground, slaps me in the face and sings ‘Kumbaya’ to me — which I’m so sad didn’t make it. Being slapped in the face by her was the honor of a lifetime.”
Bryan Cranston Hasn't Gotten This High Since Breaking Bad
Bryan Cranston plays Matt's boss Griffin Mill, who's also in Vegas for the big event and party. He too eats a few too many shroom squares and is really gone. Griffin makes inappopriate comments, then takes off into the casino where Matt and others chase him but he proves to be elusive and ends up falling into a gondola.
The Daily Beast quickly posted that "Bryan Cranston Tripping on Shrooms Is the Best Thing to Happen to TV." Writer Claire Donaldson declared the episode "the funniest thing to happen on TV this year."
Worried about Amazon gobbling up Continental, Mills gets blotto on booze and the chocolates (though he too is unaware of the psychedelic ingredient). Mills eventually passes out in the gondola.
Dave Franco Practically Steals the Episode
Dave Franco, brother of Rogen's former associate James, figures out the dosing problem. He's mega high and keeps telling anyone who will listen "they are NOT a microdose." Rogen contends "there's two-eighths of a gram in each one." Laughing hysterically, Franco blurts out, "NO! Two eighths of an ounce! What the fuck is two eighths of a gram? That's not a thing."
Sal chimes in, "You fucked up the math with the mushrooms. There are seven grams per chocolate."
When Zoe says she ate three, Franco implores, "You got this! Ride the wave, baby!"
It's Not the First Time Rogen Has Eaten Shrooms on Screen
Remember the scene in Knocked Up where Rogen as Ben Stone and his BF Pete (Paul Rudd) go to Vegas to blow off some steam? They gobble shrooms and go to a Cirque du Soleil event. No freakout happens.
The final episode of The Studio streams on May 21. The series has been renewed for a Season 2.
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