Party Girl

Summary

“Your mother was a woman with no common sense.”

Fun City Editions has given the 1995 independent comedy Party Girl a proper Blu-ray release based on a new 4K scan and restoration. This is Fun City Editions’ first release that they have distributed away from OCN through MVD Entertainment Group, marking the beginning of a new era for the label. As has been the case on prior releases, the commitment to quality for the label has not changed in any way. In some ways Party Girl is an anomaly for the label because it is a decidedly feminine picture (Morvern Callar is feminine as well, but is very different) and it is a decidedly upbeat picture. It is a pretty straight forward comedy. It makes sense as a release for the label when you consider that it highlights the party scene for twenty-somethings in New York in the Nineties and that it was an extremely popular independent film when it was released on VHS. Like many of Fun City’s releases it captures an era and a counterculture (in this case, the queer dance scene of New York in the Nineties.)

I had never seen Party Girl, but I have been a fan of Parker Posey since I was a teenager. It was easy to develop a crush on Parker Posey through her roles from Dazed and Confused, Waiting for Guffman, and Best in Show. I was happy to check out the film the other night.

Parker Posey plays Mary, a down-on-her-luck twenty-something living in New York. At the beginning of the film, Mary is throwing a party at her apartment and charging door fees for entry. People are having fun, drinking, and drugging. The police show up and arrest Mary for throwing an event without a permit (amongst other charges.) She is placed in jail, and, because her mother is deceased, she calls her godmother Judy Lindendorf (Sasha von Scherler.) Released on bail, Mary must find a job. The only issue is that all she is really good at is throwing parties. Her DJ friend Leo (Guillermo Diaz) moves into her apartment and begins working towards landing a paying gig, while Mary begins trying to figure out a career path. She goes to the library to talk with her godmother, and Judy basically accosts her for her lack of ability to hold a regular job. By the end of their argument, Mary is hired as an assistant librarian. While Mary begins to battle with and eventually appreciate the Dewey Decimal System, she also meets a falafel cart vendor named Mustafa (Omar Townsend) who she is drawn towards. The film follow her efforts to navigate her partying lifestyle alongside her librarian career aspirations.

Party Girl is a fun and frequently funny independent comedy that leans into its screwball comedy influences. The film is propped up by the excellent performance by Parker Posey in the lead role. Her wardrobe choices in the film were somewhat influential fashion wise, and are definitely fun to look at in the movie. Party Girl is eccentric enough to hold audience attention with its plot machinations for its runtime. Produced for $150,000, and shot over the course of nineteen days, the film did modest business at the box office ($450,000) before it became a staple of video stores in the Nineties. The script by Harry Brickmayer and Daisy von Scherler Mayer never tries too hard to stress the audience out with Mary’s plight, instead focusing on funny encounters between Mary and the people in her life. It has a very positive mindset towards inclusiveness with the gay dance scene of the Nineties appearing in the film prominently, including cameos from drag artists such as the Lady Bunny. The soundtrack of the film features Tom Tom Club, Dee-Lite, Felix Da Housecat, and other prominent dancehall songs from that time. The surrounding cast features a few enjoyable turns by actors such as Guillermo Diaz as her struggling DJ friend (who was later in Half Baked,) Liev Schreiber shows up in an early role as a club doorman from Britain, and Anthony DeSando play Mary’s gay fashionista friend. Omar Townsend is a suitably moody love interest. He was not a trained actor, but he coasts through the role. Sasha von Scherler is fun to watch as Judy. Her interactions with Mary are some of the funniest in the film. 

Considering the minuscule budget, the film pulls off the concept well. I do think the movie looks like the work of a first time director, but that may just add to the film’s quirky charms.  It is a totally breezy way to spend an hour and a half and has some fun moments along the way. The independent spirit of the film and screwball tendencies have kept the film relevant for nearly thirty years.

Video

Party Girl has been brought to Blu-ray from a new 4K transfer from the original 16mm camera negative. It is obvious that Fun City Editions put some effort into this presentation and the resulting film looks the best that it ever has. The limitations of the source material are apparent (you must keep in mind that the film was made for $150,000 independently,) but the transfer has been handled with care. Grain is very well resolved and fine detail is as good as will likely be possible for the film. Watching the film on my Epson 4K projector, I did not detect any downside to this transfer. Fans will be very pleased.

Audio

Fun City Editions has provided a DTS-HD MA 2.0 track in English. The audio transfer itself is of high quality, but the source audio itself shows some limitations. The film benefits from an energetic soundtrack, but the audio itself sounds somewhat flat. I didn’t notice anything that would distract from enjoying the film, but I would like to temper expectations accordingly.

Supplements:

• Audio commentary with Jake Fogelnest – the lifelong New Yorker who hosted a public access television series around the time of the film before becoming a comedy writer weighs in on the film and the scene at that time.
• Video interview with star Parker Posey – the film star and fashionista sits down for a nearly half hour long interview that looks back on the beginnings of her career, the nineteen day shoot, her friends that were involved in the film, and thoughts on costars. Fans of Parker Posey will find that she is just as enjoyable offscreen as onscreen.
• Video interview with director Daisy von Scherler Mayer – in this half hour long interview, director and co-writer Daisy Von Scherler Mayer discusses her theatrical background of her grandfather and her parents (her father wrote the classic To Be or Not To Be,) the influences that shaped the script (including Almodovar) and more. This is a really solid interview.
• Video interview with writer / producer Harry Birckmayer – Harry discusses how he became involved with the project, the screwball influence on the script, and how the script came together.
• Video interview with music supervisor Bill Coleman – Bill Coleman discusses his career and how he designed the soundtrack for the film. A fun piece.

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 3.75/5

Supplements – 5/5

Overall – 4.25/5

Party Girl was an independent comedy staple of video stores in the Nineties. It really announced the arrival of the wonderfully talented Parker Posey and became one of her defining roles. It is a fun and lighthearted screwball comedy that also captures the Nineties dance scene. The film is progressive in its inclusivity, and the fashions worn by Posey in the film were somewhat influential. Fun City Editions have gone above and beyond on their release of the film. They have given the picture a definitive 4K scan and restoration that has been approved by the director. The special features are extensive and very well done. Fans of the film will be ecstatic with the work that Fun City has done on the release for Party Girl.