Laughs, Friends, & Movie Nights: The Perfect Summer Combo

[00:00:06] Sophia Wronsky: I think first off, there’s so much pressure to be a good host these days. If you open up your Instagram, TikTok, whatever platform you have, you’ll see these stunning tablescapes and printed menus and coordinated outfits, and you don’t need that.

[00:00:22] At the end of the day, all you need is to invite people over and try to make them comfortable.

[00:00:30] Ellen Scanlon: Welcome to How To Do the Pot, the award-winning podcast, helping you feel confident with cannabis. I’m your host, Ellen Scanlan.

[00:00:44] I just got back to Foggy San Francisco after a great summer on the East Coast with hot weather and lots of family time. I’m excited to hold onto those summer vibes. So this August I am thinking about [00:01:00] movie nights. I asked our friends on Instagram at Do the Pot. What makes someone a great movie night host?

[00:01:08] More than half of you said snacks not perfect tablescapes or fancy cocktails, just snacks and a good vibe. So I’m excited to kick off a three part movie night series with my friend Sophia Roski, who you just heard from. Sophia is a New York based writer and former tech and healthcare investor and operator.

[00:01:31] Now, she loves to throw what she calls ridiculous dinner parties. You can find her on Substack where she writes, Sophia is voracious and she gives us her hot takes on food and hosting. Today’s episode is all about comedy, the standup specials worth streaming, some stoner classics that still hold up and easy hosting tips, plus snacks to keep everyone laughing.

[00:01:59] Stay [00:02:00] tuned to my Substack for exclusive recipes and more hosting tips from Sophia. I hope you enjoy part one of my conversation with Sophia Roski.

[00:02:20] Let’s get started with comedy. When we started talking about this, the idea was to set a goal of a really fun night when you’re just giggling with your friends and lowering stress after a long week. And so what, to start off, are some of your recommendations for things to stream, to set the tone and, and maybe get people excited to come over for the invite?

[00:02:47] Sophia Wronsky: Well, I love getting a whole group of friends together, getting a little bit stoned and, and watching a funny movie. So I would say break it down in a couple different ways. One would be on the standup side. I’m a huge fan of [00:03:00] Mike Relia. I’ve seen him live a couple of times. I think he’s such an incredible storyteller.

[00:03:05] Really enjoyed his latest. Set, which is called The Good Life, but some of his earlier work is amazing and kinda a nice feel good comedy. I’d say. If you wanna go a little bit darker, I do have a soft spot for Bo Burnham’s inside, which he wrote produced during the Pandemic, and it’s just a wild feat of kind of solo musical theater that is worth a watch if you haven’t seen it.

[00:03:30] And then my, my third recommendation in the kinda standup arena is I’ve been loving Janelle James on Abbott Elementary, if you’ve seen that. She’s the principal and her style continues through in her standup, so she has a ton of YouTube videos and she’s also on the new movie, one of them days with Kiki Palmer and cisa, which is a really, really fun watch.

[00:03:52] Ellen Scanlon: I love her on Abbott Elementary. I try and watch it. I think I’m still in the second season and I think there are many more [00:04:00] seasons than that, but, but her role as the principal is just so amazing.

[00:04:05] Sophia Wronsky: It’s like a breath of fresh air. Those characters are so rare on TV these days that I just wanna, I would watch an entire show that was just.

[00:04:12] Her

[00:04:13] Ellen Scanlon: and now we get to with her standup. I didn’t realize she had standup. Well, I got a recommendation from another substack friend, uh, Jessica Alpert, and it was for a woman named Michelle Ow. And she, I think, is starring in a new Jennifer Lopez movie that’s coming out. I’m not sure what the movie is, but she’s very funny and she’s also a curly hair, so I love other curly haired people, but that was a really fun one to watch.

[00:04:40] Sophia Wronsky: Yes. She is so funny in Survival of The Thickest, which was her new Netflix show, and then I loved Her in Babes, which is a really, really hilarious story with her. And Alana Glazer, who’s another one of my favorites from from the Broad City Days. Talking about parenthood, I would say as a someone who doesn’t have kids themselves, [00:05:00] it, it makes the experience seem both really terrifying as, as well as really fun.

[00:05:07] Ellen Scanlon: Well, part of the reason that I am so happy to have you here is that. I made a commitment to myself at the beginning of the year that I was gonna watch 25 movies in 2025 because I used to watch movies voraciously, and now I really don’t. And so I am excited to get as many recommendations as you can give because I have a lot of watching to do.

[00:05:27] I don’t even think I’ve watched 10 movies yet, but Oh, I’m, this is a, this is gonna be very inspiring for me. So we’ve got through the standup, which I do love and I do make time for. What about some comedies? So I feel like with comedies there are the classics and then maybe there’s some new classics.

[00:05:46] Sophia Wronsky: Yeah. On the classic side, I think you can’t go wrong with a Christopher Guest movie. I, my husband and I recently re-watched Best in Show and had. The best time. We’ve been quoting it to each other for the last few months. [00:06:00] Super bad. Pineapple Express. They’re also really fun, kind of classic stoner movies to, to revisit.

[00:06:06] I would say my personal favorite is in the Lonely Island universe. So Andy Sandberg and a number of his friends, they were writers and performers on SNL did a lot of their musical skits. They have come out with a bunch of movies that are all. Really ridiculous. My, my personal favorite is this one called Pop Star, where they’re part of a, a boy band and it’s just two hours of, of the funniest comedy and actually really good music.

[00:06:32] I listen to the soundtrack more regularly than I would like to admit. They also do one called Seven Days in Hell, which is a spoof on tennis, and then they have another one called Hot Rod. So I would definitely go down that angle, especially if you have a bunch of. Early thirties to to mid forties. Men in the audience.

[00:06:52] If it’s more of a, of a girl’s night, I think there’s a lot of really fun new girl humor. 10, 15, if you [00:07:00] wanna do more of a series is. Almost too real for me. In many ways, it’s a coming of age story of two friends in middle school. They’re super awkward. They don’t know how to kiss, they don’t know how to wear thongs.

[00:07:14] There’s so much of my childhood that I see in them that I spend most of it like this, but it is just a really fun watch and if you get a couple of friends together and wanna make it a routine, uh, it’s a really, really great, great watch. Also on the girl’s side, I’m a huge Amy Schumer fan. I know she can be a bit divisive, but I think there’s truly no one who does physical comedy better.

[00:07:36] And her new movie kind of pregnant is hilarious. She decides to pretend to be pregnant because she is jealous of the attention, and then it snowballs from there. So it’s a really, really, really fun story set. In New York, will Forte is the love interest they have such. Hilarious chemistry ’cause they worked together for so long.

[00:07:59] Um, but [00:08:00] also they’re put in some really unbelievable situations. And train Wreck, of course, is one of her classic comedies that I returned to.

[00:08:08] Ellen Scanlon: Yes, I, I feel like a few, like maybe within a year or so of train wreck coming out, I saw her live and I thought she was so incredibly funny, so I didn’t realize that she had some new things out.

[00:08:21] So

[00:08:21] Sophia Wronsky: yeah,

[00:08:22] Ellen Scanlon: I’ll check those out for sure. Any other movies that we should talk about in the comedy genre that are crowd pleasers?

[00:08:31] Sophia Wronsky: Yeah, I think instead of doing a movie as you could actually just curate. A long list of your favorite YouTube videos. I like to crowdsource some of those in advance, or at least like know what people are into, but it kind of recreates the, the college dorm room feel of like, oh, remember that video or that one and, and everyone trading off.

[00:08:51] Um, but I find it’s helpful to have five or so just to really get the ball rolling.

[00:08:55] Ellen Scanlon: That’s a great tip. Let’s talk about party planning, and this is where I’m [00:09:00] really excited for your help because I am not as natural of a host. I’ve been living not in my home, and lots of reasons that it hasn’t been easy.

[00:09:09] And so tell me what you love about it and what are some of your hosting tips to set a great party.

[00:09:16] Sophia Wronsky: Yeah, well, I, I think first off, there’s so much pressure to be a quote unquote good host these days. If you open up your Instagram, TikTok, whatever platform you have, you’ll see these stunning tablescapes and printed menus and coordinated outfits, and you don’t need that.

[00:09:34] At the end of the day, all you need is to invite people over and try to make them comfortable, and you can do that by. Opening up whatever you have in your fridge, you can get DoorDash or you can just have soda and then go for a walk. Like, it doesn’t really need to be as big of a production as I’ll make it or as, uh, as many of my listeners and readers make it.

[00:09:54] So don’t feel bad. You can do it wherever and, and you also don’t have to. I would say for, for [00:10:00] this type of event or evening, I wanna make it kind of as fun and informal as possible. Maybe try to mimic what you get in the, the basement of Comedy Cellar in New York. So that might be. Reorganizing my apartment a little bit.

[00:10:16] So there are small seating areas, little chairs. I’m in New York and so we don’t have that many chairs, so there’s also gonna be some pillows on the floor, some bowls of popcorn around, or a spread so that people can easily snack while they’re there. When I lived in San Francisco, my downstairs neighbors would actually project movies into our courtyard and we’d all bring chairs down.

[00:10:41] So that’s another great option, especially in the summer if you have the space and, and a projector. But really try to make it, make it fun, uh, make it feel casual.

[00:10:51] Ellen Scanlon: My other hosting question is how do you invite people? Do you send a casual text? Do you send out a formal [00:11:00] digital beautiful card? What do you like to do?

[00:11:03] Sophia Wronsky: I’ve done all the above. I think if it’s for a a Friendsgiving, which we host almost every year, I’ll send out a more formal, you know, maybe it’s a paperless post and then an email with a link for people to sign up for dishes. It might just be a text. I try to get a little creative though, like I, I often send out a survey not only to collect dietary restrictions, but also to just collect kind of mood vibes.

[00:11:28] Like, how are people feeling? My, my favorite, and this is a really ridiculous thing to say, but I will, I’ll list a bunch of kitchen equipment and say, what should I use? And so I’ll end up having to. Put together a dinner that uses this really silly, um, Himalayan salt block and a toaster oven and a soine and immersion blender.

[00:11:49] And as the host, I, it makes it kind of a fun game to put together, but obviously not everyone needs to do that. But I think there are a lot of really fun ways that you can get people excited about [00:12:00] coming over, even before they do.

[00:12:02] Ellen Scanlon: Yeah, and if you’re inviting people who don’t know each other, that also is kind of a conversation starter that that can help to make people feel comfortable.

[00:12:10] So I think all excellent hosting tips. Okay. So what food would you serve for a comedy night?

[00:12:19] Sophia Wronsky: I think heavy snacking is really the, the name of the game here. I’ve been really obsessed with a couple of dips lately. I discovered this thing called, um, Meredith’s Dairy that I strongly recommend. It’s a marinated feta in olive oil and pepper, and it’s just the most delicious, luscious spread.

[00:12:40] You can throw it on crackers. If you’re a baker, you, it’s great on focaccia. Uh, but it’s just a really nice. Cheesy treat can also do a white bean dip if you have folks who are lactose intolerant. Uh, maybe some fresh veg. And then of course, since it’s almost tomato season here, uh, KARE salad [00:13:00] would be top of my list as a summer treat.

[00:13:02] I’d also have some things that would be really nice at room temperature so people can kind of graze. I really love a charred broccoli salad, um, from Jess Deek who wrote the Cookbook Health Nut. It’s kind of like an eighties hippie inspired salad with green goddess dressing, but it’s a really fun way to make sure that people get at least some vegetables in.

[00:13:26] Uh, and you can also do just a big pasta salad that will work well at room temp.

[00:13:31] Ellen Scanlon: What are you serving things on? Do you have special plates? What do you use to kind of keep the spillage to a minimum, but also the the after party work?

[00:13:43] Sophia Wronsky: Great question. First is that I never do dishes. I make my husband do all of the dishes or I make sure there aren’t any dishes to do.

[00:13:51] Um, so having a, a really clear division of responsibilities is, is my. Pro relationship tip, but also pro, uh, hosting tip. [00:14:00] And so I try to keep dishes at a minimum. For something like this, I’d probably use. Honestly, disposable plates. There are some really wonderful compostable paper or wooden ones that actually hold up to any sort of wet food, wetter heavy food, but can, you can easily throw them in the trash.

[00:14:17] Same with glassware. You can get some really nice just plastic stemless wine glasses or easy ones that I can throw in the dishwasher so that he’s not up polishing wine glasses late into the night.

[00:14:33] Ellen Scanlon: Great. Okay, so if you have gotten everyone comfortable, they’ve had their individual early snacks, what do you think the best snacks are for sort of an intermission in a movie?

[00:14:46] Sophia Wronsky: I love popcorn. I eat it all the time. I think it’s a really fun DIY thing as well where you can set out a couple of different flavorings. Um, you can do for a C, which is a sesame [00:15:00] and nore wasabi powder. You can use nutritional yeas. Um, an Aleppo Pepper is another like nice blend. You can make it a little more upscale with some truffle salt or truffle oil, or you can have them all out and have people kind of make their own blend.

[00:15:14] But it can be a nice interactive way to interrupt the movie. Also, as we’ve talked about a couple of times, fruit is just the most d. Snack and it’s a little less noisy than popcorn, so having some grapes, some apple slices, even just some watermelon, would also be lovely.

[00:15:34] Ellen Scanlon: Terrific. Okay. Before everyone heads home, do you like to serve dessert?

[00:15:39] Sophia Wronsky: I love dessert and I would say I, I don’t, I can’t remember the last time I guessed left my house without having dessert, uh, whether they wanted it or not. So I also think it’s a really, at least when I get a little bit stoned, I always want something a little sweet treat at the end of the night. For this, I’d probably do something that I could make in advance and either throw in [00:16:00] the freezer, do some frozen yogurt and fruit cups, or throw it in the oven really quickly.

[00:16:06] Lately I’ve been really into just a simple crisp, so putting some peaches in. I did a ton with rhubarb this spring, but that season is over, so we’ll do something with with stone fruit, some oats, and then obviously you need to have some ice cream as well.

[00:16:22] Ellen Scanlon: Let’s talk about drinks. What are you serving for people in the beverage area?

[00:16:29] Sophia Wronsky: Well, since it’s a, you know, it’s a trashy comedy night, you have to have some light beers. If that’s a Modelo, Heineken, you know, you can pick, pick your flavor there. I also like to have something that’s gonna be a little more bitter and refreshing for the non-beer drinkers. Maybe it’s Campari and grapefruit.

[00:16:47] Mix that with some soda, something that’s gonna be light and lower a BV. But for some people they like to have a little bit of THC as well as a little harder alcohol. And so I might do a [00:17:00] Negroni or a play on a, a frozen Negroni, which one of my favorite restaurants a couple blocks away makes. Uh, and I’ve been perfecting my recipe this summer ’cause it’s a wonderful, refreshing adult slush.

[00:17:12] Ellen Scanlon: Excellent. And what are your weed tips for guests? Do you let them know that this is gonna be a kind of a cannabis forward night? And do some people try it and others don’t? How do you manage that?

[00:17:26] Sophia Wronsky: Definitely let them know, especially in kind of the, the pre-planning. If it’s a larger group, might throw it at the bottom of the invite.

[00:17:35] But if it’s just four or five people, we probably have a group text and I say, you know, hey, I’m planning on having some gummies. I’ll have these available. If you want something else, bring it. But also no pressure. Uh, there’s a couple that we hang out with a ton, then one of them. As soon as he walks in the door, he has a 10 milligram edible and the other one doesn’t partake at all.

[00:17:56] Um, and so the goal is to make both of them feel really comfortable. [00:18:00] And so that’s providing enough options for everyone. My personal recommendation would be to have something almost as soon as you get there. If it’s just two, like two and a half or five of a, maybe a two to one or one-to-one to make sure that you are getting into the giggles right when the content starts.

[00:18:23] Ellen Scanlon: That’s part one of our movie night series. In part two, we’re switching gears to the Coziest genre comfort movies. Think of your emotional favorites and the kind of food you want when everyone’s curled up on the couch. If this episode sparked an idea for your own movie night, please share it with a friend and let me know what you’re watching.

[00:18:47] I’m still working on my 25 movies in 2025 goal, and I’d love to get your recommendations. Thank you for listening to How to Do the Pot.[00:19:00]

[00:19:04] For lots more information and past episodes, visit do the pot.com, and that’s also where you can sign up for my substack newsletter. If you like how to do the pot, please rate and review us on the podcast platform that you use for listening. It really helps more people find the show. Thank you to our producer, Nick Patri.

[00:19:25] I am Ellen Scanlan, and stay tuned for more of how to do the pot.