Una chica divertida

Strange, avant-garde, campy, AND feel-good. This movie walks a delicate line. Parker Posey is phenomenal, but so is the writing and directing which crams every moment and every character with witty humor. It's a cool, sly type of humor, for example: a librarian yells out "I've already got you on the list for the new Danielle Steele." Then we see that she's talking to a young black man who gives a confused look. Young black males are not Danielle Steele's targeted demographic, so is this a unique man who is embarrassed by being outed as a Steele fan or has the librarian confused him with someone else. That moment causes us to question our stereotypes and gives us a laugh at the same time. But that is one miniscule joke in a movie that has thousands of such bits. It's thoughtful, intelligent and a bit emotional when it comes to the main character's search for herself and her full potential. Bravo!

In the very early 1990s, low budget movies were rebranded as "indies" and 'Party Girl' is a prime example. You have to be really into one of three things (preferably all three) to get the most out of this movie: early 90s house and club music; a nostalgia for that pre-Internet, recession era-ish NYC of the early 90s when people could still be poor and live in Manhattan; and Parker Posey: of whom this is a total star vehicle for and who carries the entire movie, appearing in nearly every scene. The rest of the cast manages-with varying results. There are a few good lines and almost-developments, but overall nothing really happens plot-wise. It has a lot of style, NYC Lower East Side club scene authenticity, and the Director Daisy von Scherler Mayer seems interestingly influenced by her brilliant, golden-age-of-Hollywood, real-life grandfather: a frequent collaborator with Ernst Lubitsch. An oddly charming bore that you want to love but it never really connects and delivers...although at times it sorta seems like a low budget 'Legally Blonde' if you swap out 'lawyer' for 'librarian.' But hey: there's a male stripper in a jock strap at a birthday party at the end.

I remember seeing this years ago when it first came out and I was floored by Parker Posey's performance. And the movie was pretty good also. For anyone who's spent a little too much time in the nightclub/after-hours scene, this movie will have a special charm for you. Not too serious, mostly funny, and Parker Posey definitely blazes her talented way through this indie gem.

I especially liked the Diaz character (reminded me of every single struggling DJ I've ever known). And many other movies could take a cue from this movie on how to preach the virtue of responsibility without being boring and bland about it.

Babaganoosh!

After 20 years of only hearing about this quirky comedy, I finally watched this on a DVD I borrowed from the, yes, library. Parker Posey is Mary-the title character who ends up working at the place where books are borrowed because a friend (her godmother who she calls by her first name, Judy) of her late mom is one of the employees there. But Mary, well, she's not always the most responsible of people. Still, she's quite charming especially when dancing or just wearing many of her stylish outfits either in the streets or at the dance clubs she frequents. Ms. Posey is funny and stunning throughout the movie. And her charms are multiplied every time she speaks. And I liked many of the mostly unknown supporting cast that's presented here. So on that note, I highly recommend Party Girl.

Parker Posey flashes her 1,000-kilowatt smile frequently in this film, and your enjoyment of the movie will rely primarily on how smitten you are by Posey's quirky charm.

Count me as a follower. I think Posey is a hoot in everything she's in, incapable of giving an ordinary performance. I have a feeling that in "Party Girl" she plays a variation of herself, but that's just fine with me. She appears in virtually every frame of the film, but the movie isn't much of anything without her, so I welcomed the overdose of Posey.

The script for "Party Girl" feels half-assed, though I did appreciate the existential crisis faced by Posey's character and the shelter she seeks in the Dewey Decimal System as a way of bringing order to her chaotic existence. I wish the screenwriters had taken clever hooks like that further. And the ending had a conventional, all-loose-ends-tied-up quality that would better suit a television sitcom than an out-there indie film.

But none of these faults take anything away from Posey herself, so really, how serious can they be?

Grade: B