Kings of Kleen - so you think you can party?

Ok, confession of the week: I'm somewhat of a social ostrich (sorry Dana, I know you 'own' this expression). The club district is something I see in the news whenever there's a shooting. Cherry Street is a route I take when I want to bike down to the lake in the summer. The Docks is this place I once played minigolf at...
I wasn't always this way - yes, it comes with old age (and boring friends - ouch! no, my friends are crazy party animals!).
Back in the golden years I used to love going to clubs, and big parties, and galas, and awards ceremonies. But now I'm stuck with an office job and school projects up to my ears...

So... when my friend G invited me to his reality TV show Kings of Kleen screening party, I was ecstatic!! Yes, of course, I wanted to see the show, and to provide some support for my friend's launching producer career. But my (not-so-secret) motivation was to go out, dress to impress, and see what these Toronto night clubs are all about.

The invitation said: doors open at 10, screening starts at 11, it's only screened once, be there by 10:15 latest. So I got ready in time, and was there by 10:30ish. Needless to say my friend and I were the first in the wait line. Of course the club wasn't open yet. Of course none of the important people were there at that hour.. What was I thinking...?
So we waited for a good 20 minutes or so, keeping each other entertained - yes, we can do that, although we didn't have to do it for long, as entertainment soon started showing up. The crowd lining up behind us was young, glitzy, chatty, and anxious to get in. A couple young kids holding big Canons tried to by-pass the bouncer who wouldn't hear any of it (at which point I was seriously regretting having arrived that early and being the first in line - bystanders get shot all the time in this area, right?). As the paparazzi weren't going to move to the back of the line, they started taking pictures of a group of scantily dressed girls who apparently knew all the bouncers in town. Immediately after, they all got access to the club right underneath our noses!

My poor friend, who came along without reading the invitation, was starting to wonder what kind of screening this really was... Apparently, at film festivals, you go sit down and watch a movie with a bunch of middle-aged, bohemian-looking men, at a reasonable tea-serving hour. Oh, well, this was certainly not THAT kind of screening. It is, after all, a reality TV show about two guys organizing parties! This HAD to be a party! And, my friends, newsflash for you: if you don't have ladies wearing nothing but lingerie at your event, well, then, it's not much of a party!

We finally got in. The place was rather small for the expected turnout. We quickly got forced into a tight slow-dance, as people were making their nonchalant tour d'honneur around the room. It seemed like everybody knew everybody, and they were there to enjoy yet another night of drinking and dancing in the company of old (I mean young) friends. Their bodies were floating around us easily, allowing their extravagance to rub off on us as we made contact. It felt a little bit like the good old days...

But this crowd was different. There wasn't much dancing for the whole time we were there. People were mingling, ordering drinks, and hunting anyone with a photo camera, in the hopes of having their head shot on Facebook the next morning. The VIPs stuck to their cozy booths, staring down at the rest of us. A horde of glam girls kept making organized trips from the bar to the coat check, scanning the place for suitable beaus. 11pm had come and gone, and no one seemed too worried that the screening wasn't happening yet. They had all the time in the world. My friend and I kept checking our watches and asking the organizer how much longer till the screening. We had to be at work in the morning. I know, we're those people bitching in the corner while everybody else is having fun. Oh, well, we're just too old for this stuff, what can you do...

With about half an hour delay, the show finally starts playing - no introduction needed, after all we (they) all know who's who.
As to not be totally egocentric, I will say that the Kings of Kleen pilot has great production value, good star potential, and plenty of stories to tell. Mark and Sergio have plenty of charisma, which explains the swarming ladies around them. It won't be long till you too will know who they are.
Having assumed this was reality TV, and not a docudrama, I was a bit bothered by the obviously scripted/directed scenes - an element that will surely get polished as the show develops into a (hopefully successful) series.

My friend and I left as soon as the credits rolled, with the excuse of having to get up early, and the regret of not having made any new friends. The day after, I noticed the Facebook pictures from the event. I couldn't stop wondering why I did not recognize one face (except for my friends, and the show's stars). I guess it was a case of not seeing the trees because of the forest... oh, wait, was it the other way around?