Garden Party
Are you young, sexually confused, just trying to get by? Do you sing, dance or possess some other talent? Welcome to the Garden Party. At the center of the story is 15-year-old April. She is running from one bad situation into another, hoping to find an answer that doesn't involve taking off her clothes.
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- Cast:
- Vinessa Shaw , Willa Holland , Richard Gunn , Fiona Dourif , Patrick Fischler , Tierra Abbott , Christopher Allport
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Reviews
Memorable, crazy movie
best movie i've ever seen.
I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Yeah, one reason why I bought it: that squirrel-cute girl from THE O.C., Kaitlyn Cooper, I hadda see more of her. Oh, I mean that without any innuendo, I found out beforehand that despite the movie's controversial theme, there was no nudity involved for "my little heroine", and for those of you who saw her bare back, remember, that is all you saw, that was all done from a certain angle.But, getting back to the movie itself, the general consensus here on IMDb is of an under-performer, a disappointment, a wasted effort, and I have to agree, but only in part. The movie is by no means bad, it just lacks proper direction, meandering like lost little rivulets finally converging, but by then, you're fed up already with the scene changing to some other characters just as you finally get into watching.From my own viewpoint, I only wanted the April story-line, so you can imagine how much that little homeless half-Oriental dude's singing got into my way.You also cannot take the characters seriously. A little thing it might be, but in this day and age, would a young professional like Sally St. Claire step into gum with her high heels (ooh eek! horrors! a piece of gum! ooh help!) and then stand there offering her leg to a motorcyclist so that he could remove her shoe, cradling her bare foot, and wipe off the offending wad? It is also never explained whether that guy was stalking his dream girl from ten years before. Oh, well, such coincidences might happen in Hollywood, of course.And, hey, as for Sally, everybody here makes her sound like Evil Incarnate. Business lady who smooths her way with little pot samples. Expects 24/7 assistance, but supplies a place to live + a car. Not her fault her intern dances with another man and gets lured into a toilet.An empty movie, true enough.Okay, it's named after the song, but YOUNG AND CONFUSED would have been a better, more descriptive, name for this picture.
I saw this movie basically because I think that Willa Holland is an incredibly lovely young model/actress. I won't give away too much of the plot except to say this is a rip off of P.T. Anderson, Brett Easton Ellis, Mulholland Dr and throw in The OC just because the filmmakers have little imagination an originality of their own. I mean there's not much to give away there aren't any big plot twists. It just occurred to me that if Mystery Science Theater 3000 were still around this would be the perfect movie for them to goof on. This film is about a group of people living in Los Angeles, some of them prostitute themselves, others sell real estate an marijuana, some are musicians and some do nothing. I mean this movie is hilariously bad at times, one of the characters is suppose to be an amazing badass rocker and he makes the Jonas brothers look cool. So like I said in my summary kind of a typical bad straight to video movie, weak acting, direction, cinematography etc. What really gave this movie character is the bad script, it's just so laughable it almost and I repeat almost makes this entertaining in a bad way. It's funny to think that the lead actress worked with Stanley Kubrick and Vinessa Shaw is a good actress, when given the right material. Willa Holland is cute but I can see her doing many more movies like this. Probably the best thing about this confusing movie was the genuinely funny agent, sure the guy is just ripping off Dane Cook and Jeremy Piven but it's not like those two are Deniro or Jim Carrey for that matter. See this movie if you're with some friends and you want to make your own Mystery Science Theater 3000.
I have a habit of liking movies with low production value due to their craptasticness. There is nothing about this movie that is good except for the fact that it tries so hard with its worn out stereotypes and shoestring budget. The movie doesn't portray reality or LA at all. Yet, in all its cheesiness, I found myself smiling. The scenes with Ross Patterson as Joey Zane are really funny. He's trying so hard and it shows.The movie itself goes nowhere and ends where it starts: without any crescendo or plot succession. I guess these people are older and perhaps wiser, but I doubt it.I give this movie a 7 for its bad dialogue, tired portrayals of artists, and quotes like, "I don't go to school. I'm a musician." If you like cheese and have a couple minutes to waste, this may be the movie for you.
Well, it's my first comment here on IMDb, but since this movie only had two comments before mine, one of them rating it perfect and the other one below average, I thought mine would make sense.First of, I really liked the semi slow-flowing pace this film had. It kept me entertained the whole way through, and I was excited to see what happened next.Eash characters little story holds dilemmas, and situations we can understand and relate to. While the storyline isn't heading anywhere in particular, it takes you through a short period of time in the character's life. I like this style, and when this is done well, I find I don't long for a big climaxes, or an ending where everything comes together.Sadly there is a lack of depth in the characters. The stereotype characters work very well, but we aren't allowed to look much further below the surface. The perspective is always from the outside as a spectator, which makes the few reactions and emotions seem pretty superficial and hollow.This movie could have been much more! A bit more manuscript development, and it would have been up there.So all in all: This is not a masterpiece, and not a movie I will remember, but a good hour and a half's entertainment well worth watching.