The Party

This movie is 54 years old and remains to date one of the best comedy movies ever from Hollywood. It's definitely one of Peter Sellers's best performances. It's an evergreen comedy classic and one of my all time favorites. 8/10.

In Peter Sellers's and Blake Edwards's only non-Pink Panther collaboration, Sellers gets to go all out in a different way than he does as Insp. Clouseau; and he does an equally great job. As out-of-work Indian actor Hrundi Bakshi accidentally getting sent to a Hollywood party, Sellers does a lot of the acting through his facial expressions and mannerisms. Some scenes were probably thrown in for pure comic relief - namely what Hrundi does with the fountain - but the movie really does give a sense of this man's world (even in an empty setting like Hollywood). And not only would I have agreed with him about elephants, but I would have participated in his subsequent scheme! It would have been the ultimate fun-fest! All in all, "The Party" remains a timeless classic. And you know what to think the next time that you see a man wearing a wristwatch in an 1878 setting.

I'm sorry, but if you don't laugh, until you cry or your sides ache, at something, hell, at everything in this movie then you'd better check yourself for a pulse. The first four or five times I viewed The Party, I did just that. This is a gut aching, side splitting, fall on the floor, laugh a minute comedy, from start to finish! The scene where the Cornish game hen 'flies' across the dinner table and lands on the tiara of one of the party 'goers' is literally one of the funniest scenes of all time. And it's not just the outrageously funny bumbling physical comedy of Peter Sellers. There is also a subtleness with which Sellers portrays his Indian character that is very visible in his many facial expressions as well as with the 'body language' he uses, that's just as funny. If you even like comedy just a little, you'll love this movie. I give it 4 stars, to infinity!

Seeing all the recent bad and negative reviews, I couldn't help but write this. The film is great, and whoever thinks that it has a shred of racism in it is part of the problem and needs to reevaluate the way he/she watches films. Do give this a try and be - as many neo-liberals like to say, but never are - OPEN MINDED.

Is there a more iconic comedic prologue than The Party's, with Hrundi Bakshi (Peter Sellers, priceless), a bumbling actor involuntarily, repeatedly sabotaging some kind of schlocky adventure / period piece first by refusing to die, then by showing his wholly anachronistic watch and finally by blowing up the set while trying to tie his shoelaces? Because if there is, I can't think of one at the moment. The movie belongs to veteran comedy director Blake Edwards and especially to Sellers, who provides an hilarious turn as Bakshi, a sweet, meek individual so clumsy and inclined to disaster, he is essentially the human version of a tornado. Material is droll, but at times so thin that with a lesser lead it would have collapsed - Sellers being who he is, the mere sight of him staring with awkward alarm at a toilet which refuses to stop flushing provokes laughter. 8,5/10

This film has to be regarded as a hilarious one-man-act by Peter Sellers. I saw it on its first run UK cinema release in 1969 and I've seen it at least a dozen times since. I would gladly watch it another dozen times; it always makes me laugh. The supporting cast perform adequately but Peter Sellers does all the work. He is simply one of the all-time greatest masters of great comedy timing. I was surprised to read so many negative comments on this site in association with this film. I can only surmise that they have come from a younger generation who have had their sense of humour surgically removed due to a force fed diet of unamusing US sitcoms. If you can't laugh at this film you must be birdie-num-num!

Blackballed bit-actor in Hollywood is mistakenly invited to a Tinsel Town party hosted by the same studio chief who wants him dead. Unusual comedy with little dialogue, lots of terrific visual gags and Peter Sellers at his peak (he's very low-keyed here, and immensely charming). Director Blake Edwards loses his footing in the final 15 minutes when the gathering gets out of hand (I can't recall one movie wherein a wild party sequence managed to be hilarious). Despite this, there's a lovely concluding scene between Sellers and a breathtaking Claudine Longet (who looks like a delicate flower), capped with Henry Mancini's wonderful score. "The Party" isn't full of dumb shtick. The slapstick is sometimes very smart, and Edwards doesn't condescend to the audience. Good fun! *** out of ****