La Party

Is there a more iconic comedic prologue than The Party's, with Hrundi Bakshi (Peter Sellers, priceless), a bumbling actor involuntarily, repeatedly sabotaging some kind of schlocky adventure / period piece first by refusing to die, then by showing his wholly anachronistic watch and finally by blowing up the set while trying to tie his shoelaces? Because if there is, I can't think of one at the moment.

The movie belongs to veteran comedy director Blake Edwards and especially to Sellers, who provides an hilarious turn as Bakshi, a sweet, meek individual so clumsy and inclined to disaster, he is essentially the human version of a tornado. Material is droll, but at times so thin that with a lesser lead it would have collapsed - Sellers being who he is, the mere sight of him staring with awkward alarm at a toilet which refuses to stop flushing provokes laughter.

8,5/10

What can you say about Peter Sellers? From the Goon Show, through the Ealing comedies, the Pink Panther films, up to Being There, he was consistently brilliant! Kubrick knew it, Blake Edwards knew it, and this movie does a lot to prove it to everyone else. Instead of making his stereotype just a vehicle for laughs, he brings out the pathos and beauty inherent in alienation..instead of using scripted antique gags as an invitation to walk through the role, he transcends each tired joke with impeccable timing and facial expressions. Even the silly sixties situations don't ruin the comedy here, as they did in Alice B. Toklas. In my opinion, this one is timeless, and should be seen by anyone who has a sense of humor.

This film has to be regarded as a hilarious one-man-act by Peter Sellers. I saw it on its first run UK cinema release in 1969 and I've seen it at least a dozen times since. I would gladly watch it another dozen times; it always makes me laugh. The supporting cast perform adequately but Peter Sellers does all the work. He is simply one of the all-time greatest masters of great comedy timing. I was surprised to read so many negative comments on this site in association with this film. I can only surmise that they have come from a younger generation who have had their sense of humour surgically removed due to a force fed diet of unamusing US sitcoms. If you can't laugh at this film you must be birdie-num-num!

The movie is still fresh after all these years. It's an homage to the slapstick comedy, an homage to the Laurel & Hardy films, and to Chaplin movies as well.

"The party" is the finest achievement of Sellers & Edwards, the film is far superior to the "Pink Panther" series. Why? The story is absolutely simple: by mistake an Indian actor goes to a party in a Hollywood villa. End of the story.

Mr. Hrundi V. Bakshi (the name of the main character) is the kindest and most awkward person you can meet... The film is just made by a group of gags -many are improvised-.

We can see that Peter Sellers, a terrific actor, is also a mime -he can do whatever with the expressions of his face and his body-. For doing such film you have to have a very intelligent and patient director, who knows all the comedy's tricks and let actors play with a total freedom... Blake Edwards is an eclectic director who allows that. Working with Peter Sellers (as Edwards says) was not easy -he had a very difficult personality, either he was the funniest man in the world or he was the most unbearable person. But he was a genius, he let many many gems.

"The Party" is one of them. Brilliant and moving.

Legendary Peter Sellers improvised his role using only Director Blake Edwards' 50 page film outline with no set scripted dialogue. Sellers is left to devise and improvise each scene. This required assembling a highly competent ensemble of supporting actors capable of keeping up with Peter, and they pulled it off very well. Larry David uses this same approach in his 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' in case you did not know.

The film's scenes were largely shot in sequence to preserve the comic flow, allowing Sellers to figure out what astoundingly destructive comic mess his character Hrundi Bakshi (the character being an actor brought in from India to lend authenticity to a period film) would innocently create next for his Hollywood producer boss while shooting the film on location, and the "big man" president of the studio, whose Beverly Hills VIP party Bakshi inadvertently gets an invite to attend.

Truly hilarious deadpanned slapstick scenes abound - one of the most memorable being the "Birdie Num Nums" bit.

This movie has captured an ever growing number of fans over the years, myself included.

One may be offended by the cliche' India culture stereotyping Sellers applies via his character's mannerisms and accent, but If you want to be compelled to laugh out-loud, this may be just the ticket.