The Anniversary Party

Rating:
Summary: awful
Review: I admit it, that the only reason I saw the film was to see Parker Posey. But she only has a few lines and is mainly in the background. Either way it is an awful film. I actually turned it off about 20 minutes before the end. Are we supposed to care about these overpaid Hollywood types? There are people starving in the world you know. They are a bunch of self centered smarmy people. They play games, backstabbing each other, apparently there was something about a dog bothering a neighbor. People are hurting in the world and they make a movie about this? A good machine gun would take care of all of them.

Rating:
Summary: Narcissism At It's Extreme!
Review: J.J.Leigh: Oh guys! I have this great idea for a movie about all of us and I want all of you in it! I found this house with lots of glass so it doesn't hide anyone's flaws (get it? Glass house?) We can all basically play ourselves but with different names! It's all scale pay, you know, but it will be so much fun! I don't know why my producer calls it so self-indulgent. He's such a valley fool! Happy Holidays in Belize! Love, Jennifer P.S. I get to direct! No competition!

Seriously, it is so self-indulgent, boring and predictable, I don't understand why people like it. But they do - some.

Rating:
Summary: What's the point?
Review: Cummings and Leigh try their hand at directing and screen writing with mostly awful results. This movie may have some of the worst line readings in movie history. Cummings is horrifying awful and Leigh seems to be sleepwalking through her part. Ironically, this is exactly what her character is accused of doing in her current movie.

The real question here is why should we care? This is a bunch a spoiled, selfish, shallow, good-looking people behaving badly AND getting paid for it. The melodrama that arises from the petty concerns of these characters is shameful.

If you want to see a movie about a party in which people with oversize egos behave like children, rent Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. It's time better spent.

Rating:
Summary: Welcome to the (Sort of) Celebration
Review: This film pulls back the curtain to reveal a glimpse of what "celebrity" means when the cameras aren't rolling and the stage is dark. What begins as a celebration of sorts becomes a character study that examines the lifestyle of the self-absorbed and those driven by ego, and we get to see the people behind the "fame." And while on one hand "The Anniversary Party," written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, appears at first to be the kind of party you could find at anyone's house at any time in any place, subtle differences begin to surface that separates it from what could be considered the "norm." Because beyond certain corporate similarities, the entertainment industry is quite unlike any other, and that goes especially for the people who inhabit it. Sure, actors, writers, directors, etc. are people, just like anyone else, but their particular perceptions and priorities necessarily shift them into a unique position within the landscape of the human condition, wherein they exist amongst their own and for the most part play the game by their own rules. This is a generalization, of course; not every actor or artist lives in the style depicted in this film, but many do. In the final analysis, Hollywood is not called "La-La Land" for no reason, and Cumming and Leigh know it. Welcome to a world in which anything is acceptable, anything goes, and usually does.

Writer/director Joe Therrian (Cumming) and actress Sally Nash (Leigh) have prepared a party to celebrate their six years together; not that they have actually been "together" the entire time, but according to the actor/artist math, it's close enough. Close friends and associates have been invited to share whatever this is with them, as well as a couple of neighbors, Monica and Ryan Rose (Mina Badie, Denis O'Hare), who have certain "issues" with Joe and Sally. And, much to the chagrin of the "aging" Sally, whose career seems to be on the wane, Joe has invited the hot young up-and-comer in town, Skye Davidson (Gwyneth Paltrow) to the party. As the evening wears on into the early morning hours, true feelings are gradually revealed amid a game of charades (rather, a "production" of charades; these people are forever "on"), as well as the sharing of a certain "product" given as a present to Joe and Sally by Skye. And so, what began as a celebration, in the cold, hard light of morning just may be remembered as something entirely different. Welcome to the wonderful world of show biz.

The daughter of actor Vic Morrow, Jennifer Jason Leigh was born into the business, so to speak; Alan Cumming, on the other hand will have to come up with his own excuse. But they have collaborated (perhaps "conspired" would be more accurate) to bring to the screen an interesting, thought provoking story that for all intents and purposes seems, at least, as if it could be a composite of actual experiences and people they have known. Which means they've succeeded in delivering a film that has the decided flavor of reality about it, and for the most part it's extremely engaging, and often riveting drama. it may be a film that many will have trouble connecting with, though, if only because it is bound to fall outside the realm of personal experience for them. Most of the issues in this story are simply unfamiliar territory to the greater part of the world's population, with the exception of those dealing with the more universal themes, like the appreciation of a child's song, or the irritation of the perpetual barking of a neighbor's dog.

What really sells the project, though, and maintains interest, is the excellent ensemble cast the filmmakers have assembled here, portraying an inordinate number of characters driven by look-at-me! egos, yet each presented within their own unique perspectives and contexts. At the center of the fray, of course, is Cumming and Leigh, each of whom do a solid job of anchoring the myriad situations and scenarios generated through, by and around them. Leigh successfully conveys a sense of insecurity consistent with Sally's current status, and Cumming does a good job of making Joe quite unlikable, affecting as he does the look, attitude and personality born of an overblown and bloated ego. it's a portrayal that effectively points up the absolute boorishness that can be found within this community.

Paltrow, meanwhile, perfectly captures the essence of the shallow and relatively clueless ingenue, the vast majority of whom become a flavor of the week before disappearing into the obscurity of Hollywood's human "outbox." While Phoebe Cates, as former actress Sophia Gold, represents the opposite end of the spectrum, a young woman perfectly content with her current role of wife and mother. And Kevin Kline is convincing as her husband, actor Cal Gold, who though successful is still visited with insecurities and doubt; and his performance is one of the highlights of the film.

Also turning in performances that stand out from the rest are Mina Badie (Leigh's real life half-sister) as the neighbor who comes to the party offering conciliatory overtures toward a more "neighborly" relationship; John C. Reilly, as Mac Forsyth, a veteran director struggling with his latest project (the star of which just happens to be Sally Nash); and Peter Sellers look alike Michael Panes, as Sally's talented friend, Levi.

Rounding out the exceptional cast are Jane Adams (Clair), John Benjamin Hickey (Jerry), Parker Posey (Judy), Jennifer Beals (Gina), Matt Malloy (Sanford) and Owen Kline and Greta Kline (Kevin and Phoebe's real life children, as Jack and Evie Gold). A film that is more interesting than entertaining, "The Anniversary Party" nevertheless offers the viewer a chance to vicariously explore and experience Tinsel Town from the dark side of the curtain; some will find it exciting, while others will deem it decidedly unglamorous. Either way, Cumming and Leigh are to be commended for making it "real." It's the magic of the movies.

Rating:
Summary: An Ecstatic First Half; An Ecstasy-Ruined Second Half
Review: I was expecting "The Anniversary Party", co-written and co-directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, to be a loosely-scripted, improv-heavy excuse for a bunch of their actor friends to get together in front of the camera and show off their instruments. What I found instead was a semi-tightly plotted dissection of a marriage teetering on the brink of dissolution, a commentary on the nature of celebrity in a celebrity-saturated market, and a worthy exhibition of exhilaration and pathos. That is until the film's last hour, which degenerates into a loosely-scripted, improv-heavy excuse for a bunch of actors friends to get together in front of the camera and show off their instruments. Ad nauseum.

Simply structured into five easily-defined segments, the film begins with many gestures of goodwill, which are slowly stripped away as it refuses to finally end.

The prologue introduces Joe Therrian (Cumming) and Sally Nash (Leigh). The first shots of the film feature a sleeping Cumming being observed by Leigh in bed, on the morning of their sixth wedding anniversary. This segues into a quiet little scene where they both do yoga in the backyard. These two moments, as well as a later bedroom scene, establish the pair's relationship instantly, while also subtly alluding to important plot points to come. This is the film's strength, its use of moments and details, picked up only by the most observant viewer, that define character instantly and allude to moments to come. It is because of this that the film holds up well on second viewing.

The next segment shows Joe and Sally greeting their various guests as they arrive for the anniversary party. Just as Joe and Sally are introduced in tableau during the film's first scenes, so do these short moments explicate the well-defined relationships between the guests and their hosts. It's the kind of crowd that features both a recent Oscar winner, and a former Booker Prize recipient, a menagerie of talented and egocentric personalities that is vibrant and entertaining, promising at least some good times ahead. For the most part, they deliver.

Once everyone has arrived, the party begins, made up of two long sequences that do an awful lot in terms of defining character, and, especially in the second one, constructing Joe and Sally's backstory.

The first is a rousing game of charades, that some take way too seriously (ratcheting up the tension) while others treat as a lark. It's notable for the way relationships are further cemented, and for the way it sets new ones down a rocky path.

The second sequence has everyone stand up in front of the crowd, one by one, presenting either a song or a joke or a dance number as an ode to Joe and Sally. There were one too many songs, for my liking, especially since each said basically the same thing (we're glad you're back, Joe, don't ever leave our Sally again). Kevin Kline and daughter do a wonderful balletic interpretive dance of Joe and Sally's marriage. The little girl appears to be having the time of her life, adopting a mock serious face between bouts of cracking up. Kline, to his credit, lets her steal the spotlight. Mostly, this sequence is useful in that it manages to get all the things better left unsaid out in the open, as some of the guests inadvertently peel back the skin of the couple of the hour, the better to expose their inner wounds.

It is dubious, however, for the last person to present, Paltrow's Davidson, thinks it a good deal to offer 15 capsules of Ecstasy to this erratic group. From this point on, the film is a train wreck masquerading as theatre of the absurd.

Now, I'm all for giving a repressed group, one with issues as delicious as these people's, an opportunity to bear their souls. But when that opportunity is only achieved through chemistry, it feels like cheating to me. The revelations are tainted in some way. Which is exactly what happens here.

The other problem is that this section of the movie goes on and on and on. It tramples over nearly all the goodwill that Cumming and Leigh worked so hard to build up over the film's first half. What was once a prudently structured little film, turns violently into a jumbled mess. Most obnoxious here is Cumming and Leigh's little blow up scene. Every other word is a curse; every line is punctuated by implausible hysterics and tears. These are two wonderful actors, who've just finished proving that during the film's first half. Poof. All gone. It's an unwatchable scene, one that a more seasoned director would have guided home much more ably.

Once the Ecstasy has worn off (ironically, the ecstasy of the film wore off just as Ecstasy the drug made its appearance), the film can get down to the business of finally ending. Hold your horses! There's the denouement to consider. Or was it an epilogue? No matter.

Where conventionally closure should exist, one last wrench is thrown into the works, and somehow, this brings peace and resolution to the characters. I didn't think it possibly, but Cumming and Leigh almost save this mess. Still, I didn't buy the peace and resolution this last bit brought on. Thankfully, I suspect the filmmaker's don't either. The last shot, which bears a striking resemblance to the film's first shot, shows that the issues are left unresolved. What we have is a just a temporary ceasefire.

In the end, "The Anniversary Party" is little more than a vanity piece by Cumming and Leigh, an opportunity to make a personal film on the cheap, about some particularly vain people. Which, I suppose, makes the whole endeavor rather appropriate. If you dare R.S.V.P. to this "Party", take my advice and leave just after the sun goes down.

Rating:
Summary: Mind-numbingly boring; other hollywood flicks are better
Review: Thank goodness for FastForward on remote controls is what I have to say about this video. It was one of the worst movies I've seen in awhile, and I do normally like movies based on celebrities or Hollywood generally! "The Player", "State & Main" and "Mulhulland Drive" were so much better than this dull project. I didn't care at all about the characters in "Annivesary Party" b/c the script and "plot" were dull, dull, dull. And this scene really got to me - - (whoever said this wasn't about Jennifer's/Alan's egos was wrong, and this scene proves it): what's up with forcing all your friends to stand up and say a speech about you at your anniversary party? I mean, if I went to someone's anniversary party and was asked, along with all the other guests, to stand up and talk about their marriage, I'd leave! Ego! Also, I had to laugh at one of Sandra Bernhart's comments (critiques) about this movie - - Yeah, I always put my hair in piglets when I do Ecstasy! Skip this movie, trust me. There other other non-action, intellectual movies that are much better (practically any other movie is better)....

Rating:
Summary: Phoebe Cates and her (& Kevin Kline') Kids Steal Every Scene
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Hollywood on Hollywood
Review: I am always sceptical of movies written by actors about actors. These movies usaully end up being self congratulatory and too stylish. This one is right up that alley but isn't to disgraceful. The acting, with a couple of exceptions, is quite good and the "day in the life" plot moves along pretty well. Most of the characters play a close resembelence to their hollywood selves and luckily they all seem pretty human. As far as the stylishness of it all, it takes place in a beautiful modern, well decorated hollywood hills home and everybody in the film is beautiful. Not a bad film considering all the egos involved.

Rating:
Summary: "You're never too old for a lolly."
Review: Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh did an awesome job at directing and acting in this film. It's a simple story with a complex character dynamic- and the cast nailed it, making it beautiful.

Also interesting are the behind-the-scenes details integrated into this movie- for example, Alan Cumming plays a novelist named Joe, jump-starting his career as a director, and the novel they present as Joe's- "Tommy's Tale" in reality- was written by Alan Cumming (published by Penguin Books in the UK and by Judith Regan Books/Harper Collins in the US)...Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates play screen couple Cal and Shophia Gold with their real-life children Owen and Greta Kline (truly adorable)...etc.

Watch it- it's lovely!

Rating:
Summary: I liked it
Review: I'm surprised at the number of negative reviews. This slice of life movie kept me engaged from beginning to end.

Unlike most people, I do see a plot here. The story is about Sally and Joe's marriage, and whether it can survive. It's apparent from the beginning that whatever they may think, the marriage isn't likely to last. For one thing, Joe isn't really committed--he's distracted by anyone "intoxicating" or new who floats by. And Sally knows she is on shaky ground, an "aging" actress in a town full of young ones. I felt for her, though I'm no actress. My connection to her character is what made the movie work for me.

The view into Hollywood was revealing: All the women are in some kind of pain, while the men, whether nasty or nice, are happy with themselves. Sad but not surprising.

Other situations I felt were universal. Who *hasn't* known someone married to the wrong person, trying to make it work? Willing to save the marriage with a baby, if that's what it takes, even if the partner isn't good father/mother material? Or a self-punishing working mother, or a full time mom who doesn't enjoy it as much as she pretends, or makes it too much of an identity? Who can't imagine being on either side of the neighbor/dog issue? Or hitting a career slump?

I admit it's a bit more fun to see these life issues wrapped up with a bit of Hollywood glamour: a lovely home, famous artist friends, with movie stardom and Oscars part of the background.

The movie has a fairly interesting commentary on drug use and addiction running through it as well. Of course there is the obvious issue of the Ecstacy use at the party.

Pay close attention, however, and the issue is everywhere: The neighbor is a recovering alcoholic (who relapses at the party); starlet Skye, despite her youth, has been in rehab twice. Sally has made a drug addict movie "so real" they won't show it in rehab. Sally and Joe's relationship is almost destroyed by the truths (and behaviors) that emerge while they are high. Joe's sister is a hopeless addict, and the resolution of the story (saving the marriage AND showing the destructiveness of drugs) is brought about through her fate.

Yet there is ambivalence about drugs as well: One character, the business manager, becomes nice only once he is high. The guilt ridden mother, Claire, manages to relax and forget her problems (a little too much so, in fact). The uptight, recovering-alcoholic neighbor was much nicer before he quit. For Mina Badie's character, it is an experiment with a new life. Even Sophia, the earth mother, has no problem taking the drug.

I disagreed strongly with the reviewers who said that Jennifer Beals emerged as the only likeable or sincere character in the movie. Her motives for being at the party seemed least sincere, like she was always waiting for a chance to nudge Sally out(another familiar life situation). She was clearly the rival--or one of them, Skye Masterson and Joe's male ex-lover being the others.

I liked Sophia (Cates) and Paynes the best of Sally's friends. Perhaps Cates' scene with JJL was a little scenery chewing--plenty of people have said so, anyway. However, I could easily believe that a woman with "no regrets" about selflessly ending her career could be, deep down, really unhappy. And however much you may love your children, you may want to escape them sometimes. But if you love them, you can't: "Kids just rob you of that option." Of course, it might be simpler if she just let herself go back to acting, instead of "giving it all up" and being deeply unhappy.

I also liked the little romance that emerges between Paynes and Skye (even though she can only communicate in terms of roles she's played).

Criticisms I had were that it was hard to accept Sally & Joe as a couple. A little backstory about them and their relationship would have been appreciated. Also, I felt the kiss that happens between him and the neighbor was a little contrived. It was only there so Sally could interrupt it, triggering a quarrel. But clearly this moment was meant to happen with the Beals character. Sally's tension over her from the beginning would have made it a more logical choice.

Also, the first hour is a little slow. The scene where each guest gives a small performance/speech in honor of the couple could have been cut, or at least reduced to a montage, without losing anything. It was even a little embarassing, since we have no sense of Sally & Joe as this great couple with a wonderful history, who we are happy to see back together. Ir's like sitting through a party where everyone is toasting someone you don't really like, and you have to pretend you like them, too.

My final criticism was the nudity: gratuitous and humiliating. Maybe the actresses agreed and thought it was "arty", but it was humiliating in the sense of robbing them so casually of their privacy; and by extension (since there is no male nudity) robbing the women of the audience, as well. I am really tired of seeing women's bodies reduced to objects of voyeurism, and this gratuitously contributed to the problem.

Other than that, I liked it, even the scene at the end where they are signing their taxes, because that, too, said something about marriage, that it is built on little and big things, like being there for each other when tragedy strikes, and taking care of everyday life (like taxes) as well.