It’s hard to get absorbed in a movie in which all of the characters are unlikable, narcissistic and whiny. But, The Anniversary Party succeeds where others might have failed thanks to its voyeuristic charm and its eclectic cast.
The movie was scripted and directed by its stars, Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, whose Hollywood connections have earned them a star-studded cast.
The setting is an intimate gathering of friends at a party for Sally, an actress past her prime (Leigh) and Joe, a novelist and emerging director (Cumming). The audience gets a backstage pass to the private life of movie stars at Joe and Sally’s house. To our satisfaction, all of them turn out to be oversized brats.
The celebration is for Joe and Sally’s anniversary party. They’ve just gotten back together after a year-long separation. If this party lacks in numbers, it certainly makes up for it with some classic carousing: drink, drugs, and sex. And true to the tabloids, all of these vices seem old hat to the guests.
The party really begins when ecstasy is given as a party favor. And in surprisingly believable scenes, the actors display some raw, drug-induced emotion. Joe and Sally’s relationship, though outwardly great, seems to be crumbling at the foundation. Their super confident movie star friends are shown to be paranoid and childish.
Sure the story is good, but the characters are the really interesting parts. And so much of the fun in Party lies in the arrivals of the various characters. After all, you probably know who the stars are before seeing it. But, like seeing your friends arriving at a costume party, you’re thrilled to see a star arriving as someone else, particularly if this someone else is mean or stupid or scandalous. For instance, Gwyneth Paltrow plays Skye, the spoiled, naive ingenue. She got the role Sally wanted in Joe’s new movie. This endears the young actress to Joe and makes Sally desperately jealous.
Real-life husband and wife Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates are a loving couple with fabulous parenting skills. They are the voices of reason for their more neurotic and self-absorbed famous friends. You can imagine this is what they’re like off-screen. Parker Posey shows up as a somewhat geeky and insecure companion to her husband, an accountant-to-the-stars. But Posey is, as always, fun to watch. John C. Reilly makes an appearance as a powerful director on shaky emotional footing, trying to hold his latest movie and his family together.
There is a strange sub-plot added into the mix when the neighbors, who have been complaining and threatening legal action concerning Sally and Joe’s loud and forever-escaping dog, are invited to the party. The dialogues between the two households are awkward, and there’s a sense that they were just added simply to create tension. They aren’t too much fun to watch. They’re not stars, so there’s not much of a point to their characters.
Ok, so none of us are friends with movie stars. But, we can at least imagine that the movie is authentic. At times it seems as if Cumming and Leigh were writing an expose and not a script. The relationships between the stars are comfortable and full of chemistry, and there’s plenty of the fun feeling that you’re somewhere you’re not supposed to be.
When all is said and done, this movie is not a profound character examination. Of course, Sally and Joe get into serious arguments. There are trying times. But these people are the rich and famous, which makes it difficult to sympathize with or relate to them. It’s best to just sit back, relax, and have a good time at the party. Let the energetic camera work, which bounces from room to room, inside and out, do your moving and thinking for you. You’re a fly on the wall, a hidden camera, and you’re getting the inside gossip that the tabloids only wish they had. Don’t feel guilty, just have fun.
