Very interesting movie. The cast Drew me in for this one. First off - Parker Posey - enough said. Then also starring Alan Cumming, Kevin Kline and John C Reilly. Plus Gwyneth Paltrow, which is always a bonus! The most intriguing casting for me was seeing Jennifer Beals and Jane Adams in the same film together. I first new of Jane from back during the original run of Frasier, when she played Niles love interest Mel. Jennifer Beals im less familiar with, but always enjoy. In my mind those two run very similar and so I never really expected to see them cast together. With all that star power I was very intrigued. The entertaining plot takes place over the course of 12 hours and highlights the highs and lows of a party...an Anniversary Party. I never thought watching a party play out would keep my attention, but this subtle plot depicting the more Hollywood side of life shed a light into just how care free that side of the world can be. The nuanced performances by the unique cast certainly pull you in swift enough when it counts and carry the story from start to finish. Alan Cumming is always an interesting watch and where his characters go. Give it a shot! Its not disappointing; alittle staple and a gem of movie before streaming came along and all-star casts become the everyday trend.

A bit of an experimental film written and directed by two actors that also serve as the main characters. The length is one of the main issues on top of the whole thing feeling like it's some kind of exercise for a collective of significant actors.

Not my taste but it is well acted and has a fantastic cast doing some of their best work.

Quite honestly, the movie & cast was great... Leigh & Cumming were quite capable as actor/directors.

"The Anniversary Party" is an acting movie more than it is anything else, and that distinction is both its downfall and the very thing that keeps it slightly interesting for its length. In it, we are invited to the eponymous gathering, which is celebrating the six year wedding anniversary of Joe (Alan Cumming) and Sally (Jennifer Jason Leigh). Joe is an established writer in the process of beginning a film adaptation of one of his novels, and Sally is an actress whose career has been hot for a number of years but has recently begun stalling. They cannot necessarily say that their marriage is completely blissful, though: problems have risen due to infidelities (a couple having to do with Joe's bisexuality), career troubles, and distrust. But they're trying to make it work, this anniversary party coming at the tail end of a prolonged separation. They figure honoring their relationship could do them some good. But like any party only being attended by a handful of guests, many of them being old friends and secret lovers, there is a tension we quickly can see invisibly brewing in the air. This characteristic is especially noticeable after Joe invites Skye Davidson (Gwyneth Paltrow), a young actress, to the festivities; she is the woman, it seems, that will be playing the part based off Sally in Joe's upcoming film. A smooth move by Joe, to be sure. And so, like we'd expect in a film made solely as an acting exercise, the party grows increasingly haughty, emotions growing more and more blazing as it wears on. And after Skye gives Sally and Joe ecstasy for a present and gets everyone in the house higher than a kite, we can be sure that things won't be ending prettily. Eruptions, passionate monologues, and revelations will ensue. This isn't a party anyone's going to forget about. "The Anniversary Party" is also written, directed, and produced by leading stars Jennifer Jason Leigh and Alan Cumming, who decided to become co-filmmakers after working together and finding themselves to be an artistic partnership made in heaven. And for what "The Anniversary Party" is, their endeavor is mostly successful - the tension is very much believable, the dialogue cutting, the characters written with enough dimension to keep an ensemble of this size busy instead of wasted on meandering material. It sets out to be a soul sister of the films of Cassavetes, and maybe even a quasi-homage to "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?," if I'm going for broad comparison. It's the kind of film made by artists who want to try their hand at something more difficult than what they're used to. So we're relieved that Leigh and Cumming are adroit as filmmakers and not just actors looking to spend their time helming a vanity project. Shot on digital and featuring a cast mostly comprised of old co-stars, the film is believable in its portrayal of an uncomfortable anniversary party. But while I'm in admiration of its simplicity, and the way it is a sturdy writing/directing debut for Leigh and Cumming, I never found myself considering "The Anniversary Party" to be anything more than a good excuse for everyone involved to get together and show off their chops - it's an exercise more than it is something great, and that feeling is inescapable. Still, it accomplishes what it wants to achieve decently well, and Leigh and Cumming aren't some wannabes unsure of what direction to take the film.

This film is more engraved in my mind because of the girl i took to which it than the actual movie itself. Marine & i went to watch this film & boy we were so young back then & as the film went on we touched hands & had a shy kiss if i remember correctly... i might have been 15 or 16 and it was the beginning of dating and all that for me.... so yep i remember the film but it wasn't a great film, just a nice comedy about a bunch of friends going through phases and drama during a party when everyone is high on drugs.... Interesting but not tremendously indispensable.

Another self-indulgent film about a Hollywood house party gone wrong; this time with the 28-50 year old "slightly neurotic" friends and neighbors. Are there any other kinds in tinsel town? Once you get half-way through the film, it starts to work. Adequate ending, woof.

Interesting story but lacks the spice.

While the story leaves much to be wanted. The actors at this anniversary party are what makes this film.

A who's who of actors appear in this entertaining film, full of plenty of neurotic and self-obsessed people. Worth a viewing.

So may big stars were casted in this film. What a waste. This rich characters whine about their affluent lives for way too long. Meanwhile, you're thinking about all the other things you could/should be doing instead of watching this travesty.

I remember being very impressed by the characters, and thus the acting, but only mildly enamored with the story itself.

Great cast and a lot of drama ...

Quickly becomes insufferable once you realize this film is little more than an excuse for the actors to emote...it's as depressing and outside-of-fun as watching a group of addicts shoot up together.

More than anything else, this is a triumph of acting. It's painfully clear only minutes in that the all-star cast is a product of the writing/directing couple's connections, a fact that is just as painful as the imitation Dogme aesthetic afforded to the makers by their sub-independent budget. That being said, watching these actors interact over the period of two hours is alternatively as engrossing as a Paul Thomas Anderson film as it is grating in its under-developed conceit. It's easy to pinpoint that the best moments of this film operate on a strictly emotional level; as any cluster of talented actors would tell you, their job is sheer evocation, and this script gives them one giant opportunity to emote while they repeat their lines, and their presence among friends gives them an unparalleled sense of ease with their performances that tends to make the film more interesting with each growing moment until it culminates in a fight that would have even the most jaded viewer cringing in discomfort. Those passing by the film on cable will likely not stop for more than a second to glance at this, but those who make the effort to see this will not be let down by the depth and vastness of the dramatic portrayals captured here.

very intelegent, smartly funny and capture a lot of aspect surrounding the central character

co-scripted by Jennifer Jason Leigh showing her versatile talent.

A few weeks ago, I was doing some internet research on whatever happened to Phoebe Cates and I noticed that this film was a bit of an island since she stopped being in movies to raise kids. Then a couple of weeks later I noticed it in the Channel 4 (early morning) schedules – nice! When I got round to watching it, my heart sank as the early morning signing for the deaf woman popped up. But I stuck with it cause I'm a martyr like that. I rather enjoyed this, especially as it turns out that despite the 19 years since Fast Times (and 11 since Gremlins 2), Cates is still taste. It was a pretty predictable film – the Ch 4 continuity announcer warned me there would be scenes of drug taking, so I knew someone would have an experience with death, we learn early on that the couple with the anniversary are on shaky ground, so it's pretty much guaranteed to get a lot more shaky later on and, erm, well, nothing much else happens. There's an anniversary party, there are guests, some people don't get on, Paltrow gets everyone stoned. I don't buy Alan Cumming, who is half of the anniversary couple, even as bisexual. Some stereotypes are there for a reason and Alan looks really gay – perhaps I'm forever jaded by that flight attendant sitcom from years back but he doesn't help matters by mincing about in a tight vest with his hair scrunched up for most of the second half. Unless that's what happens when you take ecstasy. The series of speeches made by the guests of the party were apparently improvised and rather indulgent. Kevin Kline gets his daughter to do a dance which (unless I've forgotten something) wasn't played for laughs, a bunch of acoustic guitar wielding bruisers come along and sing some comedy songs that would be cringeworthy even on the Now Show, and the rest of the party, in turn, hark on about what a great couple this fictional couple are. Bothered. Also indulgent was the actors workshop scene near the end when the anniversary couple have their long predicted row, escalating in melodramatic comebacks – "you're a crap writer" "well you're a crap actress" SPOILER "well I aborted our baby" MADE UP "well I'm fucking your mom." That said, most of it was very entertaining, even with these pretensions. The tussles with the next door neighbours I found funny and, erm, Parker Posey gets them out. Though the signing for the deaf lady got in the way for most of it.

꽤 괜찮았던 영화였는데, 여기에 글쎄 Phoebe Cates가 나오는 줄 아셨나요?

Great cast, weak story