THE PARTY
A film review by David Landers
Copyright 1997 David Landers
RATING: *** out of **** - 7.0 out of 10.0 CAST: Peter Sellers (Hrundi V. Bakshi), J. Edward McKinley (Fred Clutterbuck), Herbert Ellis (Director), Claudine Longet (Michele Monet) DIRECTOR: Blake Edwards CERTIFICATION: PG YEAR OF PRODUCTION: 1968
THE PARTY is one of those classic slapstick comedies that will leave you, at times, cracking up. The film takes place, for the most part, in real-time during an exclusive evening party that is attended only by the biggest names in Hollywood.
Hrundi V. Bakshi, played very well by Peter Sellers, is a struggling actor who just came to America from his homeland, India. Hrundi tries out his acting talents, but it seems that he just isn't cut out for the job. On the set of his current film that he stars in, Hrundi seems to make everything go for the worse. During the filming of this movie set in the 1800's, Hrundi manages to annoy the director (Herbert Ellis) in any way he can. This includes a pitiful acting job in many scenes, wearing an underwater watch in one scene, and accidentally detonating a massive set.
Many of the Hollywood producers and big names want Hrundi out of the business forever. And when the director makes a personal phone call to Mr. Clutterbuck (J. Edward McKinley) pleading for Hrundi's ejection from Hollywood, everything is pretty much over for Hrundi. Clutterbuck writes his name down on a piece of paper to insure that Hrundi will never again work in Hollywood. But when this piece of paper turns out to be the guest list for Clutterbuck's exclusive party, Hrundi is invited, and certain chaos is bound to occur.
Of course, as predicted, Hrundi causes lots of trouble. Each scene in which Hrundi encounters a situation, usually one that he can't handle, is almost always very humorous. And each scene with Hrundi and the drunken waiter, who is alone hilarious, adds to the comedy in a great way.
THE PARTY can be compared to many other films of it's type, specifically the trio of NAKED GUN movies and the AIRPLANE movies, but THE PARTY is a delightful movie that incorporates very well played out comedy into believable situations. It also includes a number of memorable scenes (can anyone say "birdy num-num"?). If you're in the mood for fun and enjoyable slapstick comedy, check out THE PARTY. It's not going to be one of your all-time favorites, but if you enjoy this type of humor, you'll enjoy THE PARTY.
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