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Party Girl (1995) More at IMDbPro »

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11 out of 14 people found the following comment useful :-
The second best movie ever made about librarians., 23 March 1999

Author: Randal Brandt (rbrandt@library.berkeley.edu) from Berkeley, California

This movie should be required viewing for all librarians or would-be librarians. All of the best lines are directly related to librarianship. The public library vs. academic library argument is a classic argument waged among librarians and library school students. It also breaks many librarian stereotypes. Librarians might even be capable of having fun -- even if they don't *usually* have sex in the romance languages section! (The best movie about librarians? Desk Set, with Katherine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, of course.)

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Put it back in the time capsule, 31 December 2007

Author: T Y from United States

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

For anyone craving a remake of 1989's Slaves of New York. What are there, seven of you? Here it is... was.

This undercooked movie has studiously vapid characters (Well they're club-kids, ya big jerk!) that are in holding patterns. The big question seems to be, just how long can a young adult remain juvenile? It took three people to write this 'story'? Good god, it was easier to come up with Citizen Kane. Rather than take viewers back, this movie should just embarrass anyone who was a scene-ster in the early 90s.

The idea that a fifty year old woman envies a bunch of self-absorbed kids from a different era is the world as only self-absorbed, twenty-somethings could imagine it. The odd sidebar about library work is not the sub-plot one expects from the equivalent of Parker Posey's Breakin 2: Electric Bugaloo. Her "I'm serious about graduate school!" while a stripper grinds on her is hysterical. Posey's shtick is always amusing, but there are projects that are beneath her. I was asleep before it crossed the 40 minute mark.

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Perfect Posey Fun!, 17 July 2006

Author: Kara Dahl Russell from United States

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!

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Surprisingly good movie, 14 August 2004

Author: dubbleglok from Canada

I remember seeing this years ago when it first came out and I was floored by Parker Posey's performance. And the movie was pretty good also. For anyone who's spent a little too much time in the nightclub/after-hours scene, this movie will have a special charm for you. Not too serious, mostly funny, and Parker Posey definitely blazes her talented way through this indie gem.

I especially liked the Diaz character (reminded me of every single struggling DJ I've ever known). And many other movies could take a cue from this movie on how to preach the virtue of responsibility without being boring and bland about it.

Babaganoosh!

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Behind the fun it's aweful., 19 February 2002
Author: clunker

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.

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6 out of 9 people found the following comment useful :-
Club hopping, 5 February 2005

Author: jotix100 from New York

"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.

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
I Wish Parker Posey Would Get More Star Vehicles Like This, 12 July 2006

Author: brocksilvey from United States

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

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
He-He-Hello!, 22 September 2003

Author: sdddz2 from Ohio

He-he-hello!! This is a really fun movie. Basically, in Party Girl, you have your fun-lovin', independent, early 90's New Yorker chick. Along with her party friends, she meets a mature Turkish Vendor. It is a comming of age story for those new adults who are searching for what they want to do. It is comforting to see a female slacker develop into a mature woman. Hope is given to all of us slackers who might feel like their only skills are being able to maintain while hammered and a nack for throwing good parties.

On a side note, Parker Posey makes this movie great. I have never been a great fan of her, but this movie makes me just want to watch all of her movies. There are subtle manerisms that perfected her character. If you want good laughs and a fun time, make sure to watch this movie. Repeated viewings are a must.

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2 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Clashing worlds, 1 October 2005

Author: Figtree from Iowa

I loved this movie, and I am one of the older people who is not supposed to enjoy it, or so it seems. No, this movie is not deep -- who cares? These kinds of movies never are. But strangely, there is a message in it. It's that we each have the potential to be whatever we want to be.

Parker Posey is great in this movie. I've always thought that she bears some resemblance facially to Katharine Hepburn. So, it's great to see that both Hepburn and Posey made movies about librarians (Hepburn's is The Desk Set). All librarians, especially those with a sense of humor, should see Party Girl.

I gave this movie an 8. It is not by any means a great film by cinematic standards, although there are some nice shots in it. But it is incredibly charming and entertaining.

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4 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
a good idea poorly imagined, underwritten, visually dull, 17 May 1999
Author: perfect-3 from Tucson, AZ

There is a good (short) movie in here somewhere, and I guess some people will respond to what this movie wanted to be, but I don't think it achieves much. The characters are one dimensional, the story is stretched too far, the visuals look like a mediocre film student with one camera and one lens took one take.

I did like watching Parker Posey prance around in pretty clothes, but that doesn't make a movie. I also like the library jokes, but they weren't presented well.

Maybe with some better writing and a much better director, this would have been a good film.

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