When the Party's Over

A powerful and intimate look at success, friendship and sex in the 90's, 3 girls and two boys living together in an up market LA house, you see into their lives as a fly on the wall sort of film. MJ uses her looks and charm to manipulates everybody, even her house mates. but happens when the party's over?? Not one of Sandra Better films, but you have to start somewhere!.

I don't like movies about relationships, so I didn't like this one. The main reason for watching this movie was Sandra Bullock. But she's not seen much. If you expect to see Sandra Bullock in an R movie, keep in mind, there are some sexual scenes, but absolutely no nudity.

In Los Angeles, the broker M. J. (Rae Dawn Chong) rents rooms at her house to the wannabe artist Amanda (Sandra Bullock); to the social worker Frankie (Elizabeth Berridge); and to the gay aspirant actor Banks (Kris Kamm). They are all in their twenty and something, and M. J. is a promiscuous and selfish woman that has problem with relationships. Frankie has been dating Taylor (Brian McNamara) for one year and is considering to marry him. However, she does not know that Taylor has cheated on her with M. J. Amanda's teenage brother Willie (Michael Landes) is every now and then with Amanda and her housemates. When Amanda meets the Zen artist Alexander Midnight (Fisher Stevens) in a party, they feel attraction for each other. Along the housemates' relationship, they discuss problems that happen with them, such as rape, smoking, sexuality and infidelity.

"When the Party's Over" is a type of movie very common in the 90's, with group of young people with twenty and something years facing difficulties in relationships, love and to start a professional career. I do not whether this type of film is dated in the present days, or I am too old, but I found it boring. Sandra Bullock in the beginning of her career wears awful costumes but her character is nice. Rae Dawn Chong's performance is great as usual and the cast performs well. The distribution of this film in Brazil was made by minor companies. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Quando a Festa Acabar" ("When the Party's Over") Title on VHS: "E Quando a Festa Acabou..." ("And When the Party Was Over...)

I didn't come out of watching this movie very satisfied. Nor did I feel I wasted time. It was an interesting few hours spent looking into the lives of these characters. They were not well-developed, or necessarily consistent. Personally, I think the story would have been better off starting where the movie ended. There were late night chats that seemed to be thrown in for effect, but did not necessarily have continuity with the day's events. All-in-all, if you're a fan of Sandra Bullock or Fischer Stevens and like seeing actors early in their careers (or in some cases, the height) it's a relaxing, non-challenging way to spend time. Worth a watch if nothing else on and you don't want to clean the house or think too hard.

Yes, this is an ensemble piece, and a "year in the life of" type of film -- but a fine example of what can be accomplished in this area, for those who appreciate these works. Bullock does act well here -- she's not especially likeable, for several reasons -- but she's believable, and it's one of a handful of roles she's done exceptionally well. Fisher Stevens steals this show, however. And how! He's an entirely winning character -- among a bunch of twenty-somethings who haven't quite figured themselves out, let alone what they want or what makes living worth all the fuss. Many of them are interesting or quite appealing, all the same. Without Stevens setting the counterpoint, a person who wins at life whether he gets what he wants or not, someone who doesn't decide ahead of time what's supposed to happen and how people are supposed to respond to him -- without him in this role, it would be just another story of searching and/or alienation. Not that there haven't been some fine films of just that sort, but this is something more. "When the Party's Over" stands up well alongside such films as "Bob & Ted & Carol & Alice" and the Australian film "Bob's Party" (if I'm remembering the latter's title correctly here). Those films are superficially more entertaining, clearly more commercial, even more conventional -- and more about actual parties and sexual games than this one. But all of them share the same group spirit. In the long run, a decade or more later, it is Fisher Stevens' role as Alexander which lives on in my mind and heart more than any of the others. Nor will I forget Bullock or Rae Dawn Chong and their characters in this film. The story builds slowly, doesn't go where you expect it to or hope it will, but rewards those who are patient and observant.