PARTY GIRL
A film review by James Meek
Copyright 1995 James Meek
First Look Pictures Releasing Directed by: Daisy von Scherler Mayer Cinematography by: Michael Slovis Written by: Harry Birckmayer, Sheila Gaffney, Daisy von Scherler Mayer Edited by: Cara Silverman Starring: Parker Posey, Omar Townsend, Sasha Von Scherler, Guillermo Diaz
PARTY GIRL is the kind of movie that brings out the kitschy adjective thesaurus in me: It's a swanky flourish of a movie that grooves its way into your heart.
Parker Posey, as Mary, is the driving force behind the movie. Without her, the film would be a fairly run-of-the-mill Happening Scene movie about glammy people in New York. Without Posey, in fact, the movie would be downright dull. Posey, however, incarnates a wonderful screen charisma. Not only does she have great gams, slightly pouty lips, and a killer jawline (reminiscent of Ione Skye), but she's got capital-P Pizzazz! She's the life of the party, the belle of the ball, the hostess with the mostest.
You might remember Posey from DAZED AND CONFUSED, the film from a couple of summers ago about high school in the '70's. That film featured a large, diverse cast, but Posey still stood out (more so than Milla Jovovich, who had a larger but less inhabited part) as a sadistic senior princess putting freshwomen through their paces. PARTY GIRL puts Posey front and center, and she runs away with the movie.
Part of Posey's charm is her complete ease in being the center of attention, even when she's the only person in the room. It's easy to look like a sophisticated party queen, but Posey manages not to look as foolish as mere mortals would while dancing in her kitchen, humming Middle Eastern melodies while faux belly-dancing with a dishtowel. It's quite a feat. If PARTY GIRL does at all well, Posey should (she deserves to) move into the on deck circle of Hollywood stardom. Now that Sandra Bullock's all but clinched the dream-girl-next-door starring role position in Hollywood, Posey's poised to take Sandy's empty slot in the lineup.
Oh, yeah--the plot (such as it is). Posey is Mary, a party girl (hence the title) in New York who lives in a low-rent apartment but wears a high-class wardrobe. At the beginning of the film, Mary is arrested for throwing an illegal party, and calls her godmother, Mrs. Lindendorf (Sasha Von Scherler), her "only family," for bail and a loan. Her godmother is not pleased, of course, and to repay the loan Mary takes a job under her godmother at the public library as a clerk (Mrs. Lindendorf is a full-fledged librarian). At first she breezes through the position, not much caring, but when challenged decides to master the Dewey Decimal System and become the best damn clerk she can.
There's also a love story between Mary and Omar, a falafel vendor from Lebanon, and Mary's roommate's efforts to get hired as a DJ in a really trendy club. PARTY GIRL is only loosely about its plot, however. It doesn't even have nearly as much partying as you might expect. The film rises and sets with Posey's performance, so the filmmakers are lucky (or were perceptive enough to see) that Posey's up to the challenge.
What sets Posey apart from just any actress in the role is her ability to play a character most people (including herself) believe is a low-density flibbertigibbet, while letting the audience see, in the tilt of her head and the low-key intensity of her voice, that Mary's not as dumb as she likes to project. She manages to surprise herself with her library talents, but not us. We knew she had it in her, because Posey let us see it all along.
Grade for the course: B (I'm changing to the ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY report-card summary method--it's much more satisfying)
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