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

This film is a delightful, light hearted look at both sides of where the "club kid" rave scene blends with the New York art, music and performance art worlds (with a cameo by the omnipresent Miss Bunny). This is "Torch Song Trilogy" for the perky-post-teen girls. "That Girl" for our disaffected, affected millennium times.

The dialogue is fast and funny, and Parker Posey's costumer deserves - if not an academy award, at least - a stadium "wave" of kudos.

Of course, this film rests on the very stylish platform heels of Miss Posey, and she is perfectly cast. Like a lot of her acting work, it may not be very deep, it is often self-referential and, well, posey... but it all WORKS. She is a talented comedienne, an incredible entertainer, and this film entertains, she carries it on her shoulders like a faux leopard wrap, and never lets it drop to the floor.

Mary is a superficial party fashionista who isn't above stealing designer clothing from a friend's closet or making out with someone else's boyfriend. On a deeper level, this is a story of a girl and her friends who are care-less in every sense of the word, including about other people; and the process of learning that caring is necessary to life.

The script is beautifully crafted, witty, and the only performance that disappoints is the Aunt, in a role that was much too one-dimensional and heavy handed; a more nuanced performance from her, would have deepened the relationship between the two... but... hey... this is comedy. A surprisingly deep role, that gives this film some substance and world vision, is the fallafel selling boyfriend. We should all be so lucky... is he the one for Mary? or the one that gets away?

I rate this as a 8 because it isn't a great moment of film history, it is not a classic, and it is not great art (all of which get deeper and richer on re-viewing). Like "Desperately Seeking Susan" it represents something very true about it's time period, but may become irrelevant with time. Still, it has everything an entertaining film needs, and is worth viewing several times for the clothes alone!

"Party Girl" is one of my all time favorite movies. The movie portrayed early 90's raving very well. Raves became distorted in later movies and television shows trying to depict that era of clubbing. The only show I can think of at the moment is "Saved by the Bell: The College Years" where Zack, wearing all plaid, has an idea to have a rave on campus, decked out with black lights, horrible music, and "whip-its."

"Party Girl" set itself apart from these stereotypical rave-umentaries by showing how raves (true raves) were not glow-stick, lolly-sucking teenage rebellion-fests. Posey, showing style and attitude, portrayed an over-the-top character who isn't necessarily perfect, but plays her part well. The movie isn't all about drugs, like other genre movies such as "Playing Mona Lisa." Posey played a girl that I know many of.

The movie epitomized the early 90's rave era. Watch this movie at least once just for Posey's performance.

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!

"Party Girl" capitalizes on the tremendous charm of Parker Posey. In fact, at times, the movie seems to be a vehicle in which Ms. Posey is allow to play herself, as she normally is in real life.

The film, directed by Daisy Von Scherler Mayer, is a treat for Ms. Posey's fans. Ms. Von Scherler Mayer takes us on a wild trip into lower Manhattan to show us this aimless soul whose life is dedicated to have fun in the different clubs she constantly frequents. This is an era that still was more naive than what that area and the adjacent Meat Market districts became. At least, there are no pretensions in the films and we see down to earth people going about their lives in a normal way, if we can call it that way.

Parker Posey makes an amazing Mary. It's because of Parker Posey we enjoy the movie more than if another actress would have played Mary. She is the whole picture. The rest of the cast is good.