Set!

“The Olympics of table setting” is how the contestants refer to the highly competitive event that is at the heart of Set! Every year during the Orange County Fair in California, a table-setting competition is held, attended by a varied group of women from the region.

For these well-to-do ladies, setting the dinner table is not a chore, but a creative sport to which they give their all. Months in advance they start collecting crystal, props, and table linen, and crafting the design with which they hope to win the coveted “Best of Show” ribbon.

With a dose of humor, the documentary follows a number of these ladies—and one gentleman—in the run-up to the contest and during the event itself. The contestants vividly describe their previous victories, and explain how the competition affects their lives, what their loved ones think about it, and what they think of the work of their competitors. And here they don’t pull any punches.