There was a very specific point somewhere between the late 1980s and early 1990s where many films tended to gravitate towards exploring the folly of youth – no longer were teenagers and young adults viewed as world-weary, complex individuals worried about their future (as was the case with the iconic films made by John Hughes), and were finally allowed to be viewed in a more realistic sense, which is as unstable, confused individuals who enjoy partying much more than they do working, which is unfortunately a lot closer to reality for many individuals, since those years are often cited as being the time in which everyone is supposed to have fun – old enough to drink and party, but still young enough to get away with not having any responsibilities, a supposedly winning formula that many swore to adhere to during this period of their lives. Party Girl is one of the most blatant examples of a film that explores this subject, albeit from a far more critical perspective, with Daisy von Scherler Mayer (in her directorial debut) spinning a compelling yarn about a young woman navigating the various challenges that come with growing older (and ultimately growing up), which is only complicated by her adoration for wild parties, and the fact that many of her friends in New York City only help enable what is a growing addiction, to the point where her entire future is teetering dangerously close on complete disrepair, leading her down a path of self-discovery that makes her realise there is more to life than just the glamorous parties that surround her. Party Girl is a terrific film that has a lot to say about certain subjects, and its active pursuit of a range of complex ideas makes for a profoundly intriguing, captivating comedy that knows how to handle its themes well, even if it is not particularly groundbreaking.

For what it’s worth, there is nothing said or done in Party Girl that we can’t find in other films, and it occupies a very specific genre that was objectively utilised better by other filmmakers. There is a reason why this film hasn’t attained too much cultural cache, especially in comparison to films like The Last Days of Disco and Dazed and Confused, which tread very similar narrative territory, but with a lot more emotional self-awareness and complexity. However, this isn’t to disparage this film at all, but rather situate it within a particular category, which was reaching its peak around this time (some may argue that the release of Clueless this same year signaled the start of the next stage, with the newest trend being comedies about the years just before entering into adulthood, namely the late teen years when younger people are trying to figure out their future – youth-based comedies tend to follow very specific patterns), and thus had already achieved everything it intended to during this time. The narrative approach that von Scherler Mayer uses is one that doesn’t harbour too much complexity, and allows her to weave together a very compelling story about a young woman’s descent into self-awareness, her realization that she cannot make a life for herself if all she does is party, which may seem obvious to those of us who are either on the other side of this period of life, or just never found this particular lifestyle appealing in the first place. It targets a very specific period of life, and while it isn’t at all definitive of any of the themes with which it seems to be interested, it does manage to be as charming and compelling as it needed to be, which is the most important aspect, and the reason it is difficult to view this as anything other than a resounding success.

If there were ever an actor who represented an entire film movement, it would be Parker Posey. Perhaps she isn’t as recognisable to many as she is to those with a love of independent cinema (although the recent wave of praise and adoration she’s received over the years is very heartening), but she remains one of the most magnetic and charismatic performers of her generation. There is something so profoundly interesting about her as an actor – whether in her delivery of any dialogue, ranging for outrageously comedic to deeply melancholic, or the fact that even her manner of walking through a scene carries a lot of meaning, her swagger telling more about a given character than even an extensive written biography ever could. She infuses every character she plays with complexity, even beyond what is expected of her. Party Girl is a film that hopes that the goodwill she has attained in the slightly bigger films she did prior would attract viewers to this film – Party Girl is very much designed to be appreciated more by those who found value in the character of Darla Marks in Dazed and Confused than Randall “Pink” Floyd and David Wooderson (who nonetheless had their niche in following years – the wonderful aspect of Linklater’s masterpiece is that entire sub-genres of coming-of-age stories could be found for any given character), which is an admittedly small but still very substantial section of the population. Posey is terrific in this film – she moves through every scene with charm and elegance, and her masterful control of her craft is present in every scene, perhaps more than the film’s sometimes lacklustre script may allow. If there is a reason to admire Party Girl, it is because of Posey’s ability to not only elevate von Scherler Mayer’s script, but also prove that despite its shortcomings, there were good intentions that lurked below – it’s a strong performance that feels much more complex than the film that surrounds her, which is a surprisingly common occurrence when it comes to the films in which she appeared over the years.

Party Girl is the kind of film that means a lot more the further you are willing to engage with these characters – this is not only a film about a young person deciding that they are going to force themselves to take life more seriously by stopping partying, but also actively engaging with the more mature side of life. Naturally, this does require some creative use of satire and mockery, especially with the recurring motif of the main character’s decision to start afresh as a librarian (which the film proposes as being the obvious antithesis of her exciting, off-the-wall partying, viewing this particular career as one defined by its dullness and intellectual superiority – whether or not this is true is up to the individual viewer’s interpretation), and it can sometimes feel like the focus is not where it needed to be. It also doesn’t help that the film seems to struggle finding a place for all of its characters – von Scherler Mayer enlists a terrific cast of actors, but its only Posey and the director’s mother, Sasha von Scherler, that are given anything all that impactful, with Omar Townsend and Guillermo Díaz in particular delivering good work that is unfortunately lacking material in terms of narrative focus. The biggest problem with Party Girl is that it tries to cast as wide a net as possible, but only brings in what is most convenient to the story, leaving a lot of the more interesting themes, such as the immigrant experience or the challenges that come with growing older when you don’t have a wealthy family on whom you can rely in moments of crisis (represented in the characters of Mustafa and Leo respectively), so it can feel like a film like this doesn’t have its priorities in the right place. It felt like the director was sitting on a goldmine of potential storylines, and only chose to pursue a couple, even though there were many opportunities to explore the others without derailing the central narrative, making this film one that is filled with a few too many missed opportunities.

It is difficult to know who in particular Party Girl was marketed towards (and its most significant detail is that it was the first film to make its debut on the internet, back when it was viewed as this enormously intimidating, but wildly exciting new means of distributing and consuming art), and it sometimes does feel like it lacks a lot of precision in terms of narrative and conceptual complexity, which is ultimately one of the more challenging aspects of appreciating a film such as this. However, despite any shortcomings one may come across while exploring the world of this film, Party Girl does manage to deliver on what it promises, for the most part – it is a very funny film, and at an economical 90 minutes, there isn’t any possibility of it overstaying its welcome. It may occasionally over-extend itself to a degree where it feels unwieldy (and not in the sense where the chaos and disorder feels deliberate), but it is generally a decently-made film with several strong ideas, and a tone that feels like it was actively trying to achieve something valuable, which is not always to be expected from such a simple film. As a whole, Party Girl is as entertaining as it needed to be – it hit all the right notes, and goes about telling this story with compassion, dedication and complexity. It is willing to have some fun while also ensuring that the audience is given the information they need to understand the motivations behind these characters. Charming, funny and heartfelt, Party Girl is a film that may not be as fun as its title may suggest, but it still has enough value in other areas to be relatively successful.