Product Details

• Format: NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: R (Restricted)
• Studio: ALL
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (73 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000065KMX
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #287,942 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "The Anniversary Party" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It's easy to be skeptical when a couple of well-connected actors throw a script together, start shooting their fabulous friends with digital cameras, and call it a movie. But Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, who bonded in Cabaret on Broadway, have crafted a rough little gem in The Anniversary Party. Influenced by Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Player, it's a devastating portrait of a fragile marriage and a perceptive look at life in Hollywood. The characters are based--to an eerie degree--on their Hollywood counterparts: Kevin Kline and Phoebe Cates are a Shakespeare-quoting actor and his retired actress wife; Gwyneth Paltrow is a rising young starlet; etc. Leigh is an actress on the way down, and Cumming, a best-selling author and up-and-coming director, is the sexually ambiguous husband with whom she has recently reconciled. The titular party is to celebrate their sixth anniversary, and revelations about the characters accumulate as the evening progresses from a tense session of charades to an ecstasy-pill-fueled blowout by the pool. The screenplay combines brittle humor with melodrama and consists of more talk than action (as in the Dogme films that inspired it), but the proceedings are rarely less than compelling even if the characters, for the most part, aren't exactly the most likable bunch. As a result, Jennifer Beals ends up stealing the show from the bigger names in the cast simply by emerging as the most genuinely human character--the one who actually showed up to honor her friends' commitment rather than to advance her career. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

From The New Yorker

Alan Cumming as a charming but volatile bisexual writer who is about to direct a big-budget movie; Jennifer Jason Leigh as a neurotic actress who screws up her roles by turning everything into tragedy. In Los Angeles, they throw an anniversary party, invite their friends, get tanked, and then take Ecstasy, at which point everything begins to fall apart. Cumming and Jason Leigh wrote and directed this house-party picture together, and shot it quickly in digital video with various friends and colleagues (Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Gwyneth Paltrow, Parker Posey). The movie has the kind of intensity that actors love-scenes of confrontation, breakdown, and self-revelation-but it's neither well-constructed nor particularly original. -David Denby
Copyright © 2006 The New Yorker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Welcome to the (Sort of) Celebration, September 5, 2002

By 

Reviewer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Anniversary Party (DVD)

This film pulls back the curtain to reveal a glimpse of what "celebrity" means when the cameras aren't rolling and the stage is dark. What begins as a celebration of sorts becomes a character study that examines the lifestyle of the self-absorbed and those driven by ego, and we get to see the people behind the "fame." And while on one hand "The Anniversary Party," written and directed by Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh, appears at first to be the kind of party you could find at anyone's house at any time in any place, subtle differences begin to surface that separates it from what could be considered the "norm." Because beyond certain corporate similarities, the entertainment industry is quite unlike any other, and that goes especially for the people who inhabit it. Sure, actors, writers, directors, etc. are people, just like anyone else, but their particular perceptions and priorities necessarily shift them into a unique position within the landscape of the human condition, wherein they exist amongst their own and for the most part play the game by their own rules. This is a generalization, of course; not every actor or artist lives in the style depicted in this film, but many do. In the final analysis, Hollywood is not called "La-La Land" for no reason, and Cumming and Leigh know it. Welcome to a world in which anything is acceptable, anything goes, and usually does.

Writer/director Joe Therrian (Cumming) and actress Sally Nash (Leigh) have prepared a party to celebrate their six years together; not that they have actually been "together" the entire time, but according to the actor/artist math, it's close enough. Close friends and associates have been invited to share whatever this is with them, as well as a couple of neighbors, Monica and Ryan Rose (Mina Badie, Denis O'Hare), who have certain "issues" with Joe and Sally. And, much to the chagrin of the "aging" Sally, whose career seems to be on the wane, Joe has invited the hot young up-and-comer in town, Skye Davidson (Gwyneth Paltrow) to the party. As the evening wears on into the early morning hours, true feelings are gradually revealed amid a game of charades (rather, a "production" of charades; these people are forever "on"), as well as the sharing of a certain "product" given as a present to Joe and Sally by Skye. And so, what began as a celebration, in the cold, hard light of morning just may be remembered as something entirely different. Welcome to the wonderful world of show biz.

The daughter of actor Vic Morrow, Jennifer Jason Leigh was born into the business, so to speak; Alan Cumming, on the other hand will have to come up with his own excuse. But they have collaborated (perhaps "conspired" would be more accurate) to bring to the screen an interesting, thought provoking story that for all intents and purposes seems, at least, as if it could be a composite of actual experiences and people they have known. Which means they've succeeded in delivering a film that has the decided flavor of reality about it, and for the most part it's extremely engaging, and often riveting drama. it may be a film that many will have trouble connecting with, though, if only because it is bound to fall outside the realm of personal experience for them. Most of the issues in this story are simply unfamiliar territory to the greater part of the world's population, with the exception of those dealing with the more universal themes, like the appreciation of a child's song, or the irritation of the perpetual barking of a neighbor's dog.

What really sells the project, though, and maintains interest, is the excellent ensemble cast the filmmakers have assembled here, portraying an inordinate number of characters driven by look-at-me! egos, yet each presented within their own unique perspectives and contexts. At the center of the fray, of course, is Cumming and Leigh, each of whom do a solid job of anchoring the myriad situations and scenarios generated through, by and around them. Leigh successfully conveys a sense of insecurity consistent with Sally's current status, and Cumming does a good job of making Joe quite unlikable, affecting as he does the look, attitude and personality born of an overblown and bloated ego. it's a portrayal that effectively points up the absolute boorishness that can be found within this community.

Paltrow, meanwhile, perfectly captures the essence of the shallow and relatively clueless ingenue, the vast majority of whom become a flavor of the week before disappearing into the obscurity of Hollywood's human "outbox." While Phoebe Cates, as former actress Sophia Gold, represents the opposite end of the spectrum, a young woman perfectly content with her current role of wife and mother. And Kevin Kline is convincing as her husband, actor Cal Gold, who though successful is still visited with insecurities and doubt; and his performance is one of the highlights of the film.

Also turning in performances that stand out from the rest are Mina Badie (Leigh's real life half-sister) as the neighbor who comes to the party offering conciliatory overtures toward a more "neighborly" relationship; John C. Reilly, as Mac Forsyth, a veteran director struggling with his latest project (the star of which just happens to be Sally Nash); and Peter Sellers look alike Michael Panes, as Sally's talented friend, Levi.

Rounding out the exceptional cast are Jane Adams (Clair), John Benjamin Hickey (Jerry), Parker Posey (Judy), Jennifer Beals (Gina), Matt Malloy (Sanford) and Owen Kline and Greta Kline (Kevin and Phoebe's real life children, as Jack and Evie Gold). A film that is more interesting than entertaining, "The Anniversary Party" nevertheless offers the viewer a chance to vicariously explore and experience Tinsel Town from the dark side of the curtain; some will find it exciting, while others will deem it decidedly unglamorous. Either way, Cumming and Leigh are to be commended for making it "real." It's the magic of the movies.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A superb ensemble piece, February 25, 2002

By 

Craig Clarke "Living After Midnight: Hard and... (New England) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Anniversary Party [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This debut from the unlikely team of Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh is the most uncomfortable experience I have had watching a film in a while. Not Requiem for a Dream discomfort by any means, just an emotional tension that makes you feel for the characters.

This is not to say that it is a bad film. This is in fact not so. The reason it is an uncomfortable experience is that the directors are so good in expressing the discomfort the characters feel that the viewer feels it, too.

It mainly concerns the couple played by Cumming and Leigh, who have been separated for a considerable time (following their fifth anniversary) and have not yet figured out how to live with each other again. Their scenes are filled with tension combined with genuine love and effort in wanting to stay together.

The story takes place during one day and night of the preparation and then execution of a party for their sixth wedding anniversary. Cumming plays a novelist who has just been asked to direct his screenplay of his latest novel. The lead character of Jesse is well-known to have been based upon Leigh when she was younger. The leads Leigh, an famous actress in her own right, to feel she is the perfect person for the part. However, Cumming, through some coercion from the studio, has decided to hire the Gwyneth Paltrow character to play the part instead, telling her on the phone (overheard by Leigh) that she is his only choice for the role. He then invites Paltrow to their anniversary party, balked at by Leigh, who "didn't even invite my own mother."

In addition, everyone involved with Leigh's current film seems to believe, unbeknownst to her, that due to her emotional stresses, she is just "phoning it in." This opinion is supported when the director watches some dailies on the couple's widescreen television set.

Also invited, for no other reason it seems than to provide conflict, are the next door neighbors, who bring with them their opinions on the couple's dog who apparently barks incessantly, yet we never hear it.

Kevin Kline, Leigh's current costar, and his wife, played by his wife, actress Phoebe Cates (at her best in a later scene with Leigh), arrive with their two children, played by...their two children. Unfortunately, the family members appear to have no chemistry with each other. If I had not known, I would have thought they were all strangers (except for the children, who look remarkably like each other, and remarkably unlike either parent). The son falsettos an instantly forgettable song (said in the credits to have been written by him) that is obviously supposed to be cute, but was probably left in to save egos.

(You probably remember that Cates was in Fast Times in Ridgemont High with Leigh. The film, in fact, seems to be a reunion of sorts. Most of the actresses were in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle with Leigh, as well. And Leigh's own dog plays the couple's dog, Otis. I don't know if Cumming brought any friends of his to this "Party," other than Leigh, of course.)

All the different guests, including Leigh's current director (John C. Reilly) and his wife, the couple's tax attorney (there for no other reasons than to make sure they sign their forms and to call another guest a body part vulgarity during a particularly tense game of charades) and his wife, Cumming's best friend Jennifer Beals, and the aforementioned Paltrow finally arrive and everyone is uncomfortable for a while.

Eventually the tension breaks--somewhat--and we see several guests dedicating toasts to the couple, with varying degrees of success, and Paltrow (at her most radiant in this role) presenting a gift of Ecstasy, enough for every guest. This changes the mood of the film somewhat as everyone has different reactions to the drug (including one woman remaining mostly nude for the remainder of the film).

This mood continues through a lot of drug-induced behavior which, I have to say, did not do much for my opinion of recreational drug use. I'm definitely still against it, even though everyone looked as if they were having a great time.

Surprisingly, this mishmash of tensions and personality quirks works to make a really entertaining film. And, though a little heavy for my general taste, I would definitely watch it again. Each character is different and each personality shines through. The directors made the perfect choices in actors (including themselves) for the parts, including some unexpected ones, but the entire cast is outstanding. The writing is superb as well, and even through the script seems to be full of contrived causes for more tension, they all combines well.

I would recommend this film to fans of ensemble pieces like The Big Chill and Peter's Friends or just fans of great acting.

17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best of the year, so far., June 6, 2001

By 

"a-k-fox" (San Jose, CA United States) - See all my reviews

Starring, co-written, and co-directed by Jennifer Jason Leigh. Although Jennifer has a tendency in the past decade to consistently pick dark subject matter, I am pleased to see that she has grabbed a-hold of some power in the independent film world. This is one of those small budget films that is almost entirely shot in one solitary location, which means that it's merit stands upon it's character development and dialogue. And to my surprise this film is about an appetizer and drinks evening of close friends party - booze, appetizers, charades, swimming, etc. etc. Some of the most enjoyable dialogue is because it seems to have an unedited genuiness. It is nice to see certain familiar acting faces - Jennifer Beals (forever remembered in FLASHDANCE), Phoebe Cates (her only memorable film being FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGHT) acting opposite her real-life husband Kevin Kline, and big Oscar winning star Gwenyth Paltrow making a supportive appearance (good for her, quality over big budget.)