![[box cover]](../../reviewimgs/p/party.jpg)
The Party
One of a handful of throwaway films Peter Sellers made between higher-profile turns such as Dr. Strangelove and Being There, 1968's The Party is a light comedy best remembered for two notable elements. The first is Sellers' nimble performance as a bumbling actor from India who is accidentally invited to a big Hollywood party, innocently wreaking havoc everywhere from the bathroom to the swimming pool to the forehead of his favorite cowboy star. The second is the co-starring presence of French pop chanteuse Claudine Longet — waifish, cute as a button, and famous eight years later for shooting her lover, professional skier Vladimir "Spider" Sabich, to death with a Luger.
The Party was directed by Blake Edwards, making it the only Edwards-Sellers vehicle that wasn't a Pink Panther movie. There are plenty of memorable, laugh-out-loud moments ("birdy num-nums" being a fan favorite), but if after a while it feels as if they're making it up as they go along, that perception is valid. The Party's comic situations were largely improvised from a script only half normal length. Some gags, such as a soused waiter, hang on beyond their natural lifespan, and by the time they bring in the Russians, the painted elephant, and the houseful of suds, it all feels a bit forced and out of focus.
All the same, this is a sweet-natured, enjoyable trifle. Peter Sellers was one of the screen's finest comic actors, and here he may remind aficionados of Jacques Tati. Any opportunity to see him work is a good thing, even if only a fraction of his talents are on display and his portrayal of Hrundi V. Bakshi isn't what we'd today call "culturally sensitive." Look for a number of recognizable character actors, such as Gavin McLeod as a smarmy producer. Henry Mancini provided the ersatz groovy music, including the sitar-based opening theme and Longet's breathy solo number.
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MGM's 2001 DVD of The Party is your basic no-frills release, with the theatrical trailer as the only extra. It does, though, present a fine transfer from a slightly speckly but otherwise very good print (2.35:1, anamorphic). The DD 2.0 monaural audio is clean and sharp. Language and subtitle tracks in English, French, Spanish, and Portuguese. Keep-case.
—Mark Bourne
