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The worst Ivory-Merchant film I've seen is THE WILD PARTY, very loosely based on the Roscoe Arbuckle scandal. More specifically it's based on a hideously maudlin poem by Joseph Moncure March published in 1928. The Ivory-Merchant team so famous for its impeccable period detail in any number of films totally flops in capturing the 1929 Holly glam look. What they did capture is the 1975 look. James Coco stars as Jolly Grimm, a washed up silent film comic hoping for a comeback in his latest and self-backed film on the life of Brother Juniper. His live-in girlfriend and former extra is played by Raquel Welch. She gets to sing and dance to one of the film's many horrid songs. Perry King plays a flashy new film star, Tiffany Bolling plays his jaded party date, Bobo Lewis plays the maid, Royal Dano plays Tex the former stuntman, David Dukes plays the guy who writes the poem. The majority of the cast is unrecognizable. The story hits of just about every stereotype. There's the Valentino type, a vamp who's really a lesbian, studio heads with thick Euro accents, and worst of all is the little puke who'll do anything to get into the movies so she crashes the party and does an Isadora dance draped in dish towels.

Everything is wrong although there could have been a decent movie with James Coco and none of the rest of the cast. The costumes are all wrong as is the women's hair and makeup. The several songs are the type that Paul Williams used to sing with that gag-worthy diction of his. There are also lots of clips of Coco playing Brother Juniper in the silent movie. As the cannibals trap him and lead him to the giant cauldron, Juniper says..... "You can't boil me. I'm a friar!" And that's the high point of the film.

Unforgettable, very well done depticition of decadent 1920s Hollywood. Raquel Welch is superb as the desperate, sweet mistress of a deeply disturbed overweight and washed up comic named Jolly Grimm, ably played by James Coco. To resuscitate his career, Jolly throws a party that ends in tragedy. Very loosley based on Fatty Arbuckles story, this unforgettable and devastating film features fine support from Perry King as a Valentiniesque actor, and especailly from Miss Tiffany Bolling, as a lovely but unhappy film starlet. All in all, a class A effort that should have gotten a better recption at the time, but may well emerge as a cult classic. It is newly released on DVD , which should add to the fine film.

It's 1929 and talkies are taking over. Veteran comedian Jolly Grimm (James Coco) is putting together a new silent film with his own money. It's an old style broad comedy. He's throwing a party but is having trouble gaining support for his film. He hopes to show the movie during the party and get some backing. He's afraid to lose his girlfriend Queenie (Raquel Welch) who catches the eye of hunky new leading man Dale Sword (Perry King).

This is a different Merchant-Ivory movie from their more famous 80's and 90's fare. They are still doing historical dramas but not necessarily this type. For most of it, I liked this movie and was surprised at the critical panning. The dark ugliness of Hollywood could be off-putting. I'm not a fan of the ending. It's often an easy out for a movie to end with gun fire. A better climax may be Jolly trying to get into the Pickford party and refused entry. All in all, I like this as one of many takedown of Hollywood people.

This is with out a doubt the worst movie I have ever seen. Plastic characters spewing the most amazingly bad dialog imaginable. If Ed Wood had still been directing in the 70's, this could have been his masterpiece. I am still surprised that Perry King and Raquel Welch did not pool their funds to buy out every print, so they could be spared the embarrassment of the general public seeing the most laughable dance sequence ever put on celluloid. It is especially sad to think that this was a big movie for James Coco. His true comedic talents were totally wasted in this mess of a film. The film is so unbelievably bad that I am surprised that it has not reached some sort of "cult film" status. It should be played at midnight at art house all over the US. It would bring screams of laughter from everyone in the audience. Maybe John Waters should do the re-make?

The combination of director James Ivory and his producing partner Ismail Merchant with sensual star Raquel Welch should have resulted in a dynamic art-house hit, but "The Wild Party" is a series of missed opportunities (you're more acutely aware of all the possibilities that went unrealized than you are gripped by what made it to the screen). Loosely based on the Fatty Arbuckle scandal, this is a well-intentioned, noble failure with James Coco playing a silent-screen star in early 1930s Hollywood who throws a bash to celebrate his comeback in talkies, but his big night goes awry. A.I.P. recut the film for its theatrical run to punch up the sex--which gave the pic something of a sullied reputation--however MGM has since restored Ivory's cut. Coco, Welch (as mistress Queenie), and Perry King (as another in his stable of studs) all do fine work, and some of the dialogue has snap. The film is certainly a curiosity, but Ivory's handling is plastic and his pacing and musical effects are colorless. *1/2 from ****