June 18, 2002
The Anniversary Party
The Anniversary
Party is a good serio-comic ensemble movie about a couple's sixth
anniversary party. Joe (Alan Cumming) and
Sally (Jennifer Jason
Leigh), after a troubled year, are throwing a party to celebrate
their sixth year of being married, and are inviting some close
friends, as well as a troublesome neighbor couple. As most of the
people are both acting as movie people, and are really good actors,
the parts are played to perfection by people you either know (Gwyneth Paltrow
and Kevin Kline,
for instance) or just recognize (actors like Phoebe Cates and Jennifer
Beals). There's some pleasantly unexpected twists and turns, along
with some laughs and some real squirming moments, when embarassing
dramas are unfolding.
Written, directed and produced by first-timers Leigh and Cummings, and acted with friends, The Anniversary Party is fun to watch and often surprising. Just when you think it is getting too smarmy, the action picks up and the story gets dark, coinciding, probably not coincidentally, when the drugs get rolled out. Ecstasy isn't all it cracks up to be, I guess. One thing to be aware of is the almost excessive using of the f-word, particularily at the begining of the film. Perhaps it is an early attempt by the neophyte writers to establish credibility, but a little would have gone a long way here.
All the acting is solid, but I especially liked the real life couple Kline and Cates, who, along with their real life children, ground the picture on a bedrock of reality. While I don't agree with the Maltin review that says the kids almost steal the picture, they are really endearing and the scenes of domestic felicity between the four come across as truly heartfelt. Cates in particular has several nice scenes with Leigh, trying to explain how a solid marriage and being a parent work. Also, Mina Badie as the wife of the fractious neighbor has a real sweetness about her that counterbalances her wonderfully sour husband played by Denis O'Hare.
The DVD is excellent, although some of the lighting changes don't come across very well. It was all filmed on digital video, as the nice little documentary from Sundance Channel explains, and it has some clever angles and shots. The commentary track by Leigh and Cummings is pretty solid, with some good background. Leigh explains how the project came about, and how she used it as therapy for herself, coming off a break up of her own. This movie is definitely worth a rental, perhaps even a purchase.
Buy The Anniversary Party (Special Edition) at DVDPlanet
Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, John C. Reilly, Alan Cumming, Parker Posey, Gwyneth Paltrow
Taking place over the course of one night, this is a sharp, sometimes scathing, look at celebrity life in Hollywood as we watch a couple celebrating their sixth anniversary as their closest friends erupt with their most painful confessions.
Posted by jdarnold at June 18, 2002 09:08 AM
