When the Party's Over

This medium depth examination of the lives and inter-relationships of a group of upwardly mobile young friends sharing a house will be of most interest to fans of Rae Dawn Chong and Sandra Bullock although the unattractive Alexander Midnight (played with flair and verve by Fisher Stevens) is by far the scene stealer and a very interesting and complex character.

A worth while watch with a timely message\moral.

Good movie, easy to follow, but enough depth to stay focused. There's no clearly outlined story here, just a glimpse of the life of a group of friends finding their way in a big and individualistic world. The characters are believable, and the sketch of the absurdity of Hollywood wannabee life is entertaining and over the right top. Bullock is OK, but I cannot see real exquisite marvel in her eyes. Chong and Berridge are very good and the parts of Mr. Midnight and the little brother serve as welcome optimistic counter figures.

All in all this movie can be seen as a high-quality soap opera in that it manages to plant an entire season's drama in just 110 minutes and the emotional perceptions are almost authentic. To top that we receive some profound glances of the whims and fancies of human personality and the attitude on life.

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...)

Being a part of Gen X thought I'd check this out since I never seen this movie. It's remnants of the 80s decadence. I couldn't stomach how frivolous this movie was. It was a waste of my time. Perhaps if I was in my 20s decades ago watching this movie I would appreciate it more. I ended up not being able to finish this movie to even appreciate it for what it was. The story was about the young free selfish group of people who struggle through young adulthood. The ensemble of stars where solid, but the story lacked & didn't transcend time to curreny social climate of 2025.

I didn't finish it to even find out if there was a lesson learned from the interaction. I might give it another chance if I get into the right mindset to watch it. I'm rating it 50% since I only put it 50% & only watched 50%.

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.