Party Girl (1995)

Director:

Daisy von Scherler Mayer

Writers:

Harry Birckmayer (screenplay)
Harry Birckmayer (story)

Release Date:

9 June 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

Sassy, savvy and definitely clued-in!

Plot:

Mary is a free-spirited young woman with a run-down New York apartment and a high fashion wardrobe. She calls her godmother...

Plot Keywords:

Library | Librarian | Club DJ | Club | New York City

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Parker Posey	...	Mary
Anthony DeSando	...	Derrick
Guillermo Díaz	...	Leo
Donna Mitchell	...	Rene
Liev Schreiber	...	Nigel
Omar Townsend	...	Mustafa
Sasha von Scherler	...	Judy Lindendorf
Lum Chang Pang	...	Policeman
Elizabeth Beer	...	Hi-Tech Falafel Vendor
Richard Topol	...	Hannah Buff
C. Francis Blackchild	...	Wanda
John Ventimiglia	...	Tough Guy (as Johnny Ventimiglia)
Dwight Ewell	...	He-He-Hello Trio
Teresa Lebron	...	He-He-Hello Trio
Wendell Daughtery	...	He-He-Hello Trio

MPAA:

Rated R for language and drug content.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Argentina:13 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Party Productions

Trivia:

On June 3, 1995, it became the first feature film to be shown in its entirety on the Internet through Glenn Fleishman's Point of Presence Company (POPCO). Parker Posey appeared live in the POPCO offices to introduce the film and welcome Internet viewers.

Quotes:

Mary: He-he- hello!

Movie Connections:

References Star Wars (1977)

Soundtrack:

What You About?

Behind the fun it's aweful.

Party Girl's basically a movie about how your friend's superficial, mean-spirited, disenchanted mom got to be that way. It's a fun movie with good music that will have you saying "he-he-hellooo" for days. But it's also a sadly confused tale full of stupid decisions and wrong assumptions; bad ideas masquerading as big life lessons.

Mary's a natural people-person and a reckless party girl. Her nightclub friends straddle that goofy fun and out-of-control divide as if written by someone in the know. She's tired of never having the rent though, and wants to grow up. She looks to her godmother for guidance: a terminally unhappy and out-of-shape woman who lives in stability as a librarian. The woman's an unpleasant toad who never learns jack, and yet she still somehow represents an ideal of responsibility and good life choices. Wacky.

So Mary decides to toss her social skills, erase her personality, and pursue a career she cares nothing about. Hey, who needs event co-ordinators and creative directors when we can have librarians who don't read? It's hard work, but it pays off. She becomes an achiever. She even sets her sights on a certain hunky guy, and totally lands her man! Turns out they absolutely nothing in common, but it's Love. Of course she'll have to stay in line if she wants to keep him. There's some necessary turmoil around the corner.

I'd like this movie if it was just a bunch of funny stuff, but it's not. I'd like it if it was a win some/loose some character examination, but it's not that either. It's really a movie where characters are supposed to grow and learn something; instead they just go after prizes. The nightlife setting pokes fun at itself in believable ways, but then falls through as a plot element because no superior lifestyle is presented. It might as well be an office story.