"Chicago Party Aunt": A Halloween Party at the Best Gay Bar in Chicago

 

Free spirit paired with stick-in-the mud, "life is a banquet" paired with "that's not a good idea", "it's only 2:00 am" paired with "I have a big test tomorrow," has been traditional comedy since the days of Laverne and Shirley and The Odd Couple, In this case, it's Chicago Party Aunt on Netflix, pairing the free-spirit middle-aged Diane with her stick-in-the-mud 18-year old nephew, Daniel. I watched Episode 4: Daniel tries to get his first kiss at a Halloween party.  No hope that either of the two regulars will be gay, but there might be some gay friends at the party.

Scene 1: Diane takes Daniel to get his first fake id: you have to order "two Chicago hot dogs" at a restaurant, then go through a secret door through the kitchen, a meat locker, another secret door, and into the basement, where a gangster-type offers the id for "his usual fee": a kidney.  Just kidding: $200.

Scene 2: Breakfast in their apartment. Oatmeal for Daniel,  Kahlua for Diane.  They discuss the upcoming Halloween party at Roscoe's, the best gay bar in Chicago.  Daniel is excited about his "first queer Halloween."  Daniel is gay!  I'm speechless!

He wants to get his first kiss from a random hot guy at the party: "I'll go up to him and say 'Would you like to kiss?."  That won't work, dude.  Diane gives him some cruising tips: open with a joke, then a compliment, then a smouldering look, then the kiss. 

"I can't stay out late because I have a dentist appointment tomorrow.  Ugh!  I hate it when Dr. Gluck make jokes with his hand in my mouth."

"Cancel it!  Tonight you're going to get more than a hand in your mouth!"  

Scene 3: The hair salon. Everyone wearing Halloween costumes. Diane bursts in and asks if they are going to the party tonight.  No, they have other plans.  So who will Diane party with while Daniel is cruising hot guys?  "Why not ask Gideon?"

"Gideon??? That boring wet blanket?  No way!"  

Gideon, the salon manager, happens to be standing behind her, and criticizes her for her substance abuse and reckless behavior.  Hey, he sounds like Daniel's type.  Hint, hint.

Scene 4:  Daniel working at a coffee shop that sells beet juice and green algae.  I thought he was a teenager?  He tries cruising a hot guy, and fails miserably.   

Meanwhile, Gideon is on a lunch date with a guy he met on a dating app, who is discussing his bizarre diet.  "So, any fun plans for Halloween?"  "Face Time with my Mom back in Georgia," Gideon says.  His date is not impressed.

Back at the coffee shop, the manager asks about Daniel's lame cruising attempts.  He says that he's hoping to kiss someone tonight.  Manager advises against taking cruising advice from raunchy Aunt Diane: "She calls me Vanilla Lice, and I'm pretty sure she crop dusted the nut cheese aisle."  I don't know what that is.

Scene 5:  Gideon depressed, wondering if he is too boring to meet anyone.  

Daniel comes into the hair salon in drag, with a moustache: "Salvador Dali Parton."  Diane is going as a "sexy Blues Brother."  At the last minute, Gideon appears: he wants to go to the party with them, dressed as Medusa, with snake-hair that actually moves (a prop from Clash of the Titans).  He had all this in his office?

Scene 6: There is a long line to get into the party.  Gideon gets them in by claiming that Daniel (now dressed in a sexier costume that shows off his chest) is "the Number One DJ in Belgium."  

Chrome does not allow screen captures from Netflix, and Netflix doesn't work on Firefox, so I'm out of luck: no screen captures.  But Daniel is rather hot.  

At the party, Diane drinks pumpkin spice kamikazes and Gideon complains: "My lunch date said I wasn't fun.  I was at the last party at Studio 54!"  In 1986?    He would be a senior citizen.  "I was point man at Halston's biggest orgy."  

Daniel approaches a hot guy: "Your costume looks good.  It would look even better carefully hung up on one of my hangers."  Nope.

Suddenly a hot guy dressed as Zorro approaches him and asks "Would you like to kiss?"  Hey, that's the approach Daniel originally planned, before Diane's advice screwed with him. They kiss briefly and go to the foam room (not an orgy room).

Scene 7:  While Gideon is in the bathroom, his Mom calls.  Diane answers, and tells her all about the party they are attending at the best gay bar in town.  When he returns, he is furious -- Gideon is not out to his Mom!  "Well, you are now."  He rushes out in anger.

Meanwhile, Daniel and Zorro take off their masks so they can kiss better.  Ulp, it's Dr. Gluck, his dentist!  Ugh!  Embarrassed, Daniel runs away.  Dr. Gluck follows.  "You've been my dentist for 15 years.  Why didn't you tell me you were gay?"  So, he's going to come out to a random three year old?  "You're going to run into people from your past who are gay," Dr. Gluck advises.  "You can't let it throw you."  I would welcome it!  They decide to be friends.

Scene 8:  Diane follows Gideon to a burger place. They argue.  The regulars agree that Diane was out of line.  How would she know that in 2021, a grown man would not be out to his mother?

Scene 9:  Back at the apartment, Diane is depressed over her breakup with Gideon.  She apologizes with two tickets to a Thelma Houston concert, but it doesn't help: "We are not friends, but we can continue to work together."  

Beefcake: A lot of hot guys.

Gay Characters: Are you kidding?

Raunchiness:  No worse than a Cartoon Network Adult Swim show.

Plot Twists:  After the episode devoted so much time to establishing that Daniel and Gideon had similar personalities, I was surprised that they didn't hook up.  Sure, there is a significant age difference, but Daniel was making out with a guy at least 25 years older (already a practicing dentist when he was three), so who cares?

I definitely didn't like Gideon not forgiving Diane for her blunder, and ending the friendship.  

Will I Keep Watching: Sure.  I want to go through Episodes 1-3 to see if Daniel is out from the beginning or comes out at some point. And the later episodes to see if he gets a boyfriend.