The Anniversary Party
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Movie Reviews of The Anniversary Party
Movie Review: Great ensemble piece
Summary: 4 Stars
Although Alan Cumming does not come off as a very convincing heterosexual character, I thought this movie was extrememly well done. Jennifer Jason Leigh's face reflects so many deep emotions, she is truly a gifted actress.Movie Review: Social Psych
Summary: 4 Stars
Main characters are interesting people with interesting friends. Social Psychology 102 - very funny and fascinating.Movie Review: IT'S ONLY ME, BUT:
Summary: 4 Stars
EVER B EEN INVITED YO A SNOBBY PARTY. ESPECIALLLY WHEN THE HUSBANDS BEST FRIEND IS A WOMAN. LOADS OF FUN. JMMovie Review: Phoebe Cates and her (& Kevin Kline') Kids Steal Every Scene
Summary: 3 Stars
In 1998, Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh met on the production of Broadway musical "Cavaret" (Alan as MC and Jennifer as Sally) and soon they established friendship, which led to the co-directing of "The Anniversary Party." (Very brief footage of the show can be seen in Jason Biggs - Mena Suvari's "Loser.") And later Scotland-born actor and LA-born actress decided to make a film about their feelings on life in Hollywood; keep this fact in mind because that part makes the film, otherwise a bit dull and tedious, more lively and interesting.The film itself has little movement; it is rather a train of vignettes, or sketches, about the one day in the life of Hollywood celebrities, and the characters are often unmemorable. But what is most lamentable is that the film seems to wallow in showing wild behaviors of Hollywood celebrities -- like drug use or nudity in the swimming pool -- but we know these thing well, probably as well as Cumming or Leigh. It is the time of the Internet and media, and the tabloids are always there to supply the gossips about Hollywood. And this crazy practice has been kept since the time of silent films, so why should we see another example here unless it is connected with deeper meaning about life in general, which we can relate to?
However, the film offers another way of enjoying it, and that's this. For example, Leigh plays Sally, an actress whose career is, she knows, going downward, and she just experienced a short period of separation with her hubby Joe (Cumming). Now Joe is going to direct a movie, but he doesn't choose his wife as the lead; instead, he cast a newcomer Davidson (Gwyneth Paltrow), good-natured but slightly irritating, unconscious of the pain Sally is suffering. This rejection, probably based on her age, naturally makes Sally unhappy. ---- Now, Leigh herself was in a popular teen comedy "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" which includes upcoming talent like Sean Penn and then young unknown Nicholas Cage, and compared with these males, to whom the offers of job steadily are likely to come after getting middle-aged, it is certain that female players are likely to be in disadvantageous position after graduating 'young and fresh' school. I can understand Sally's (or perhaps Leigh's) discontent feelings, which, I believe, are the true voices of the actresses like Jennifer Jason Leigh herself.
And another joy comes from unexpected place, from a co-starring actress with Leigh in "Fast Times" ---- Phoebe Cates. She plays virtually herself, an ex-actress who married Kevin Kilne's character (and real Phoebe Cates is married to Kevin for a long time, you know), and the two kids are the real children between them. So, you can see a glimpse of their life here, and may be surprised to find that Ms Cates, long retired from screen, are no longer what she was. That's a good thing here; she is happy as a wife and mother, and the kids are lovely, and she, intentionally or not, shows an alternative way of life for actress. (Check out one of her lines, which is very suggestive of her true feelings about the job.) Well, anyway, good to see her again, and in a happy mood, too.
I don't keep on writing these things about "fact or fiction" trivia, but you may sense what I mean. The film is, again I tell you, a weak, overlong one with too self-indulgent tones. The characters are often unlikable (especailly Jane Adams's one), and if not so, very unimpressive. You see J. C. Reilly and Parker Posey, but you don't remember them. You get Jennifer Beals, who is fine as ever as a cool and intelligent photographer (like herself), but too short time is allotted to her. Though the film's photography is beautiful, the fact cannot be hidden that it is shot with a digital camera. At the time of writing, the film has never been released in UK, which is not a surprising thing to us.
Still, "Anniversary Party" has its moments, and they are when the actors, usually very competent ones, do not act. It is a great irony, but the kids of Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates shine most in the film. And they are really cute, but at the same time it is true that they are acting least.
Movie Review: A good flick but....
Summary: 3 Stars
"The Anniversary Party"reeks of "Don's Party",that Aussie dramedy from the 70s where truths spill out unexpectedly, relationships become altered and/or re-analyzed. So this movie isn't original by any means but it's definately a sight better than "The Big Chill",that other ensemble movie that also had Kevin Kline. But where the characters in "The Big Chill"were somewhat likeable, Cumming and Leigh(perhaps by design)have made almost every character the last person you'd ever want to meet. And while this is part of the joke,you can't help but be a bit uncaring about them when affected by tragedy. Jennifer Beals along with Mina Badie seem to be the only characters who're sincere about being at the gathering. You actually feel for Beal's character when she interacts with Cumming in one of the more heavy scenes. Also,as funny and smarmy the jokes were,they still seemed a bit forced just like some of the acting and dialogue. So much so that the Leigh/Cates kitchen scene almost mirrors thier lunch hour/carrot scene from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" 20 years ago:Cates chewing up the scene and Leigh just barely catching up to show off her chops. Cumming is rather interesting as the man-child writer and works well with the rest of the cast,although he too has a couple of scenes where the overacting gets too thick. I felt bad for Parker Posey ,Jane Adams and John C.Reilly as thier roles could've almost been phoned in. Still,I've been a fan of Posey since "Clockwatchers" and "Kicking and Screaming"so any camera time is good camera time in my book. The pacing of the movie ebbs and flows,just like the energy of any other party you've ever attended but the last 1/3 stumbles a bit. The commentary on the DVD provides huge insight into how the film was made and what went into making the script(deemed "amazingly effortless" by Leigh) All in all,it's not going to set the indie film industry on fire but it's still an engaging and enjoyable movie. And it was rather clever for Leigh and Cumming to bring in thier closest friends from both "Fast Times" and "Dorothy Parker and the Vicious Circle" as a sort of inside joke.