Party Girl (1995)

Party Girl is a comedic drama from 1995, featuring Parker Posey and helmed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. It holds the distinction of being the first full-length film to debut online.

Plot

In New York City, Mary is a young woman with a carefree spirit, spending her time visiting nightclubs and attending house parties. After getting arrested for hosting an unauthorized rave, she relies on her godmother Judy to bail her out. To repay Judy, Mary begrudgingly takes a job at the New York Public Library branch overseen by her godmother.

Though she has initial doubts, Mary becomes motivated to master the Dewey Decimal System after using marijuana, leading to a romantic connection with Mustafa, a street vendor from Lebanon who aspires to be a teacher. As she becomes more competent in her role, her tenure is cut short when she is dismissed after having an intimate encounter with Mustafa at the library. With mounting rent payments and no funds, she and her housemate, DJ Leo, risk being kicked out of their apartment. In a bid to make ends meet, Mary sells her collection of vintage designer clothes.

At one of her parties, Mary consumes drugs after a disagreement with Mustafa. The following day, she resolves to take her librarian ambitions seriously and looks into pursuing a library science graduate degree. When she invites Judy for a serious discussion, Mary is taken aback to find a loud surprise birthday celebration awaiting her, including a male stripper. Mary persuades a doubtful Judy to recognize her commitment.

She declares that she has discovered her true purpose in life, and both Leo and Mustafa share how Mary utilized her library skills to aid their career advancement. Impressed with her growth, Judy reinstates Mary in her job and joins in the festivities.

What Is ‘Party Girl’ About?

Released in 1995, Party Girl is a low-budget comedy-drama helmed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer. This film captures the essence of the 1990s, highlighting the aimlessness of the youth during that era. The story revolves around Mary, portrayed by Parker Posey, who is a stylish yet unfortunate individual focused on nightlife and achieving success within the New York Club culture. Struggling to cover her rent, she shares a living space with Leo, a DJ played by Guillermo Díaz, who is equally unsuccessful in landing gigs.

Both characters display signs of stunted growth, as they stubbornly evade adult obligations due to their strong aversion to its constraints. At one point, Mary hosts a party in her apartment, only to be caught by the police, resulting in a night in jail. Wearing an outrageous outfit with heavy makeup, she makes a frantic call on a rotary phone from behind the bars of her cell to her godmother, a librarian, who comes to her aid. Now feeling indebted to her stern godmother, Mary is broke and facing eviction, which leads her to accept a reluctant position at the library to repay her and understand the duties that accompany adulthood.

Cast

Parker Posey as Mary
Anthony DeSando as Derrick
Guillermo Díaz as Leo
Donna Mitchell as Rene
Liev Schreiber as Nigel
Omar Townsend as Mustafa
Sasha von Scherler as Judy Lindendorf
Becky Mode as Ann
Simon Verhoeven as Kurt

Production

This film had a budget set at $150,000 and was filmed over a span of 19 days. Many members of the cast and crew were already connected to the vibrant queer club scene long before the project began. In a conversation with The Wall Street Journal, Posey reminisced about the early 1990s, stating, “On Sundays, we’d rollerblade at The Roxy and attend the Love Machine event, where I initially saw RuPaul,” explaining that, similar to the scenes in Party Girl, she would dance with drag queens who outperformed her on the dance floor.

Director Daisy von Scherler Mayer noted that “the fashion was truly created for the movie.” Michael Clancy designed the visual style for the character and the film, merging this with Parker Posey’s own fondness for fashion. Posey mentioned that they relied on goodwill to curate the costumes, sharing that “wardrobe designer Michael Clancy and his assistant Vicky Farrell … sourced many items from their friends,” including designer Todd Oldham.

Party Girl

After viewing Party Girl for the first time, I searched for its poster and was surprised by how it did not capture the film’s quirky essence. The poster features Parker Posey, the lead character, wearing one of her memorable outfits (which I’ll discuss later) sitting on a stack of library books, grinning at the audience. This image resembles any typical 90s romantic comedy, complete with the tagline, “Sassy, savvy, and definitely clued-in!” Had I encountered the poster prior to seeing the film, I would have missed it entirely since it fails to convey the delightful madness that characterizes Party Girl.

Debuting in the same year as Clueless, the 1995 movie Party Girl is an excellent example of the charm found in fashion-related films. Party Girl is quite the adventure. We follow Mary (Parker Posey), a young woman in her twenties living in New York who chooses to buy jackets from Jean-Paul Gaultier instead of paying her rent. To repay her godmother, who bailed her out after she was arrested for hosting an out-of-control party, Mary takes a job as a librarian. Wearing vibrant tights, platform footwear, and a stylish cheetah-print jacket, she aims to show her godmother that she is more than just a careless youth. Soon, she discovers a passion for her librarian role after organizing the records of her DJ roommate using the Dewey Decimal system and gaining the admiration of her fellow librarians.

Our protagonist, Mary, faces numerous challenges on her path to redemption. A notable moment includes her selling a closet filled with vintage clothing to settle her debts and her unfair treatment of Moustafa, the falafel vendor she has a fling with. Overall, Party Girl follows a straightforward storytelling method, but it’s Parker Posey’s portrayal of Mary, along with her fantastic outfits, that truly stand out.

Though this film easily became one of my top picks, there is a significant critique that a review should address. Toward the film’s conclusion, Mary throws a vaguely Middle Eastern-themed party, featuring her love interest Moustafa in costume as he serves falafel to her guests. From a contemporary standpoint, this scene is notably culturally insensitive. The primary intention of this moment seems to be demonstrating how Mary exploited Moustafa for his culinary skills, but there were certainly better ways to depict this rather than showcasing Parker Posey in an inappropriate cultural outfit.

Aside from the few problematic aspects in Party Girl, its impact on fashion and pop culture has remained significant. Interestingly, this was the first movie to debut on the internet, illustrating the shift from traditional cinema to streaming platforms. Likewise, Mary’s clothing, while based on vintage pieces, was styled in a forward-thinking, campy manner, reminiscent of the wardrobes in films like The Fifth Element. For instance, in a scene where Mary is at the library, she wears several layers of Comme des Garçons t-shirts paired with shorts, tights, and high-heeled shoes.

The way these shirts are layered is impressive, highlighting the difference between Mary’s vibrant personality and her uninspiring surroundings in the library. Nonetheless, Mary continues to defy expectations from her peers, showcasing her unique fashion sense while acquiring the necessary skills for her career. This illustrates her commitment to achieving a balance between her professional duties and her free-spirited nature, enhancing her enthusiasm as a party organizer. From the Vivienne Westwood corset she dons during her arrest to the plain blue sweatshirt she wears draped over her arms like a bolero, Mary’s outfits establish Party Girl as an excellent illustration of the impact of costume design.

Without these outfits, Party Girl would merely depict a wild girl who becomes a librarian. The story’s significance is overshadowed by the film’s visual elements. Thus, Party Girl remains a standout example of 90s independent cinema.