Label: Fun City Editions
Region Code: Region-Free
Rating: R
Duration: 94 Minutes 12 Seconds
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.85:1)
Director: Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Cast: Parker Posey, , Sasha von Scherler, Omar Townsend, Michael Musto, Guillermo Diaz, Liev Schreiber, Donna Mitchell, Anthony DeSando
In director Daisy von Scherler Mayer's (Some Girl(s)) 90's NYC club-scene comedy Party Girl (1995) the always wonderful Parker Posey (Dazed and Confused) - in her first starring role - plays free-spirited and unemployed hipster Mary, a somewhat rude but still fun fashionista who gets busted for hosting an unlicensed house party at her apartment. Finding herself in the slammer and in need of funds she calls upon her estranged godmother Judy (Sasha von Scherler, Network) a librarian who bails her out of the pokey and very reluctantly offers her a job as a library clerk. Mary's a pretty shit library clerk at the start, but after disappointing her godmother (and herself) time and time again she starts to come around, a subplot involves her mastering the Dewey decimal catalog system and actually taking to heart the idea of being a librarian might not mean the end of her nightlife. Meanwhile, the fashionable party girl is dating UK-import Nigel (Liev Schreiber, X-Men Origins: Wolverine) but has her sights set on the kind-hearted Lebanese falafel street vendor Mustafa (Omar Townsend), while also trying to help her bestie Leo (Guillermo Diaz, Half-Baked), an aspiring club DJ, get his career off the ground by helping him score a gig at a career-making club owned by the fickle tastemaker Rene (Donna Mitchell, The Ice Storm), while also trying to evade being evicted from their apartment while reluctantly having to grow up just a little bit.
Party girl is a breezy comedy with Posey's fast-talking 20-something having the cadence of a character from a 30's screwball comedy, set to the backdrop of 90's NYC club scene, her journey from a self-obsessed unemployed party girl with a penchant for vintage couture to a slightly less self-obsessed librarian is not that big of a change to be honest, but she does become a better person and experiences some growth. It's a lighthearted affair to be sure and Posey is quite wonderful in the role. As a 90's film set in lower Manhattan it's populated by interesting side characters and is an effervescent snapshot of the club scene that was thriving at the time, this is a mid-90's Parker Posey gem to be sure.
Audio/Video: Party Girl (1995) debuts on region-free Blu-ray from Fun City Editions with a new 4K restoration from the 16mm original camera negative looking wonderful and surpassing what I was expecting from 16mm. The inherent 16mm grain is well-managed and organic looking throughout, the source is is very fine shape and fine detail is quite pleasing for 16mm. Colors are well-supported with vibrant primaries and depth and clarity of image are also better than expected. Audio comes by way of DTS-HD MA 2.0 stereo with optional English subtitles, overall it sounds quite good, there are some original source limitations, but these sound to be inherent to the source. The soundtrack which features Wolfgang Press, Tom Tom Club, Brooklyn Funk EssentialsRun–D.M.C, Deee-Lite, and Ultra Naté's "Party Girl (Turn Me Loose)" among others electronic music of the era, placing it firmly in the 90's, sound fantastic with some some solid low-end when it's called upon.
The Fun City Edition produced extras are plentiful, starting off with an Audio Commentary with Writer Jake Fogelnest which I have not indulged in yet, sorry, plus we get interviews by way of the 16-min DJ'ing the Picture: Interview with music supervisor Bill Coleman who speaks of his career which includes managing bands and being a journalist, and building the soundtrack for this film. In the 18-min Power to the Librarians: Interview with co-writer/co-producer Harry Birckmayer who talks about meeting Daisy von Scherler Mayer and formulating the screenplay, the influence of classic screwball comedies, and more. In the 36-min Designing A Character: Interview with director Daisy von Scherler Mayer gives a well-rounded and delightful conversation about writing the screenplay, infusing the screwball comedy with 90's city girl feminism, the lack of interest in the project from mainstream, casting Posey and her own mother inthe film, and it's reception at the box office and beyond. Interviews are wrapped up with
the 25-min Like an Old Movie: Interview with star Parker Posey who speaks about her love of screwball comedies and liking how this film meshed that with 90's NYC club, her co-stars. On-disc extras are finished-up with the 2-min Theatrical Trailer, plus a 5-min Image Gallery with stills, artwork, storyboards and an interesting collection of letters.
The single-disc release arrives in a clear Viva Elite keepcase with a Reversible Sleeve of Artwork. Inside there's an 10-Page Illustrated Booklet with new Essay by and writer Margaret Barton-Fumo, which speaks to the use of music throughout the film. The booklet also images from the film, original artwork, headshots from the actors, plus storyboards used during production which are also available in the image gallery on the disc.
Special Features:
- Audio Commentary with Writer Jake Fogelnest
- DJ'ing the Picture: Interview with music supervisor Bill Coleman (16:02)
- Power to the Librarians: Interview with co-writer / co-producer Harry Birckmayer (18:16)
- Designing A Character: Interview with director Daisy von Scherler Mayer (35:50)
- Like an Old Movie: Interview with star Parker Posey (24:23)
- Theatrical Trailer (1:58)
- Image Gallery (4:45)
- 10-Page Illustrated Booklet with new Essay by and writer Margaret Barton-Fumo
Screenshots from the Fun City Editions Blu-ray:
