History Main / DinnerAndAShow

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* AJ's Annual Party from ''Literature/NakedLunch''. The party involves a live sex show (with possibly-simulated hangings), an orgy, and AJ decapitating a group of party-crashers while singing [[TreasureIsland "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest".]]

%%* ''WesternAnimation/{{Doug}}'': "There's a bomb in the lasagna!"

* [[{{Doug}} "There's a bomb in the lasagna!"]]

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* The Thanksgiving movie ''WhatsCooking?''. You get FOUR dinners and FOUR shows as four diverse families celebrate the holiday in Los Angeles.

* AJ's Annual Party from ''NakedLunch''. The party involves a live sex show (with possibly-simulated hangings), an orgy, and AJ decapitating a group of party-crashers while singing [[TreasureIsland "Fifteen Men on a Dead Man's Chest".]]

* This is the basic premise of the stage comedy ''YouCantTakeItWithYou'' by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.

* ''HeyArnold'' had quite a few of these, too.
** Most notably the Thanksgiving episode where the phrase is uttered during Mr Simmons Thanksgiving dinner. When the girl known as Joy starts choking, Mr Simmons' "friend" Peter dryly states this as he sips some red wine.

* Lampshaded by [[GilmoreGirls Lorelai]] when she and Rory once arrived for Friday Night Dinner and they watched an argument between Richard and Emily.

* ''BrothersAndSisters'', where Walker family dinners inevitably result in an argument. The only reason they're not the the page image is because deciding which dinner to use is a Herculean effort. They've started LampshadeHanging it, especially Robert [=McAllister=]:

* One of the defining characteristics of the Crane family from ''{{Frasier}}'', although usually some guests are involved as well. Recounting every time the family has thrown a disastrous dinner that descended into blood, tears, and chaos by the third act would take up half the page, but special mention should go to the time it was heavily {{Lampshaded}} in "Daphne Does Dinner", which featured a bizarre, NoodleImplements-filled opening scene, and in which Daphne's EpicFailure at her first lavish dinner since marrying Niles causes Frasier to proclaim that she is now [[CrowningMomentOfHeartwarming "officially a Crane."]]
%%* ''{{Soap}}''

* Basically every episode of ''EverybodyLovesRaymond'', whether or not more extended family members or Debra or Amy's parents are involved.

* ''{{Titus}}'' was fond of this trope as well: There was the episode where Titus' family and Erin's family came for Thanksgiving and wound up in the hospital, twice with his mother making dinner (one time drugging the entire family and trying to kill his dad, another with her psychiatrist fiancé showing up and making Titus and his dad upset), and once when Tommy was dating a woman who had slept with Titus - they went to her restaurant. Ken Titus even used the trope title as things got more and more awkward.

* ''MalcolmInTheMiddle''. In fact, the family probably aren't any more [[DysfunctionalFamily dysfunctional]] at dinner than the rest of the time - it just brings them all [[CabinFever into close proximity]].
* If we are to go by ''SixFeetUnder'', family dinners can get quite interesting when one member of the family has had ecstasy. Without him knowing about it.
* So common on ''PicketFences'' whenever they have dinner guests, that lawyer Wambaugh [[LampshadeHanging lampshaded]] it when urging another guest to accept an invitation: "Strange things happen when they ''eat''."

* ''{{Soap}}''
* ''Series/{{Bread}}''

* In ''MeetTheRobinsons'', the family dinner turns into a kung fu fight between Frani and her brothers, armed with spaghetti and meatballs, while the rest of the family cheers.

* The fight between Rex and Fly in ''Film/Babe'' prompts Mr. Hogget to leave his dinner and try to split the dogs up.

* A very uncomfortable example in Literature/WhaleMusic. Claire invites Dennis' friends, most of whom haven't seen him in years, and he has a meltdown, thinking Danny is speaking to him.

* In ''IceAge'', when Manny, Sid and Diego steal a melon from the dodos, the dodos fight back hysterically (and ineffectually) prompting Manny (played by Ray Romano, who's [[EverybodyLovesRaymond seen this trope played out many times before]]) to comment, "Wow, dinner ''and'' a show."

-->'''Miles''': My dinner party. It's just breaking up... And sinking. All souls feared lost.

When a family get together in a SitCom for a big family dinner, expect [[HilarityEnsues hilarity to ensue]]. Sometimes this is treated as just normal craziness that happens when the family get together.

* The Thanksgiving movie ''What's Cooking?''. You get FOUR dinners and FOUR shows as four diverse families celebrate the holiday in Los Angeles.

* [[Series/ArrestedDevelopment All in all, it was one of the Bluth family's better parties.]]

* ''{{Californication}}'' seems to be going out of its way to have one of these every series. They're yet to top the one from series 2 though.
* One SaturdayNightLive sketch was an advertisement for the greatest hits of dysfunctional family holiday dinners (for those who can't make it home this year). Each one ended with the father (Will Ferrell) yelling "*BLEEP* this, I'm leaving!" and flipping his dinner plate into the air. What really made this funny was that Ferrell's plate flips just got harder every time until the last one where he practically launches it across the table.

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* In ''MeetTheRobinsons'', the family dinner turns into a kung fu fight between Trudi and her brothers, armed with spaghetti and meatballs, while the rest of the family cheers.

->Wow. Dinner ''and'' a show.
-->--'''The comment of a guest as yet another [[BrothersAndSisters Walker]] family dinner descends into an argument'''

->What is this, Cabaret? Entertainment while you eat?
-->--'''The Cat''', Series/RedDwarf

* On ''Series/{{Heroes}}'', Thanksgiving dinner at the Bennet house starts with a massive argument and ends with Claire self-mutilating in order to demonstrate her HealingFactor, causing her mom's new boyfriend to pass out. Meanwhile, at the Petrelli house, they discuss [[spoiler:how one of the brothers is actually dead, with his memories transferred into the body of a mindwiped shapeshifting villain]].

-->Robert: Is this your first Walker family dinner?
-->Sarah's latest male friend: Yes.
-->Robert: Good luck.