Plot: What’s it about?
Mary (Parker Posey) loves to have a good time, which means she spends tons of time at parties and little time anywhere else. She wears all the newest fashions, has connections in high places, and of course, throws the hottest parties. A kind of legend in the Manhattan party scene, Mary is known and loved by almost everyone around. But she has started to run out of funds and with her kind of lifestyle, that spells certain disaster. When she throws a bash to raise rent cash, she finds herself in deep trouble when the shindig is busted by the police. Now she is in jail and needs to make bail, not to mention hammer down a plan. With no one left to turn to, she calls her godmother Judy for help, which is a true last resort. When Mary asks for a loan, Judy refuses to lend the cash, but she does offer to get Mary a new job. After all, working is a sure fire method to make money, so better to get a job than take a handout, right? Now she finds herself at the same workplace as her godmother, as she is a page at the local library branch. She has to shelve books most of the time, which means she must learn the horrific Dewey Decimal System. As time passes, she tries to balance her worklife with her nightlife, which is made harder when she meets a falafel vendor who catches her attention. But will she be able to maintain her social status, or will her work and new romance be too much to handle?
This is one of the coolest, most unusual comedies out there, as evidenced by the film’s sizable cult audience. So its a surprise that it took so long for the movie to reach DVD, since it was a highly sought after title with an existing fanbase. Perhaps the studio just wanted to issue the film in fashionably late form, as dictated by the social code seen in the picture. In any event, now Columbia has given us this hip, hilarious movie at last, but does the disc do the flick justice? As it turns out, late is not better than never, as Columbia has simply slapped their logo on First Look’s blink and you’ll miss it disc. Which is terrible news, as that disc had no extras and sported a soft, very soft, full frame only visual effort. So this cult comedy, which could have been a solid seller, which sink down the charts thanks to this lackluster treatment. I can deal with the lack of supplements, but I cannot deal with this poor visual treatment. This is a real shame, as the movie is bouncy and bold, with an endless stream of effective dialogue. A lot of movies try to be hip and cool, but come off as lame, whereas Party Girl succeeds on all fronts. The hip edge is natural here, though there is a goofy texture at times, to keep things in balance. But the presence of Parker Posey (The House of Yes, Best in Show) drives this movie, thanks to a bubbly, outrageous, and totally effective performance, so she shines in this role. So the movie is quite good and worth a look, but I simply can’t bring myself to recommend Columbia’s miserable disc.
Video: How does it look?
Party Girl is presented in full frame, which just plain sucks. This is the same transfer as seen on First Look’s disc, so don’t expect much. I would compare this to a laserdisc edition, but not a good one, just a decent one. The print is clean, but the image has a softness that lessens the experience more than a little. If you’ve ever watched a movie on DVD, then watched it on VHS, then you know the kind of softness I mean. This just doesn’t seem as crisp and sharp as it should be, as if it were a VCD edition or the like. In addition to the softness, the colors seem bright, but show some bleeding and contrast is passable, but not as stark as I’d like. In any case, the lack of a proper widescreen presentation is reason enough to sink this presentation.
Audio: How does it sound?
The included 2.0 surround is solid, thanks to the movie’s musical soundtrack and of course, overall party atmosphere. But this wasn’t a big budget flick with intricate sound design, so don’t raise your expectations too high. The music sounds terrific here however, with some good presence and ample life. I didn’t detect all that much surround activity, but no worries, as the tunes come through in effective fashion. The sound effects don’t pack much punch, but they don’t need to in this case, as long as they sound solid. No troubles with dialogue either, as all the vocals are clean, crisp, and at the proper volume at all times. This disc also includes subtitles in English and Spanish, just in case you need those.
Supplements: What are the extras?
This disc includes no bonus materials.
