Party Girl (1995 film)

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Party Girl
Pgirlposter.gif
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDaisy von Scherler Mayer
Written byHarry Birckmayer
Sheila Gaffney
Daisy von Scherler Mayer
Starring
Music byAnton Sanko
CinematographyMichael Slovis
Edited byCara Silverman
Distributed byFirst Look Pictures
Release date
  • June 9, 1995 (1995-06-09)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$150,000 (estimated)

Party Girl is a 1995 film directed by Daisy von Scherler Mayer starring Parker Posey[1] and notable for being the first feature film to premiere on the Internet.[2]

Synopsis[edit]

Mary is a free-spirited party girl who spends her time dancing in clubs and throwing house parties. After she is arrested for illegally charging attendees at an underground rave, she calls upon her godmother, Judy Lindendorf, to bail her out. In order for Mary to repay the loan, Judy employs her as a clerk at the library where she works. Mary reluctantly begins her new job while striking up a romance with Lebanese street vendor and aspiring teacher, Mustafa. Though she initially has misgivings about her new line of work, she begins to learn how to deal with the Dewey Decimal System and her godmother's perception of her. Gradually, she becomes very good at her job but she gets fired after having sex with Mustafa in the library. With no money to pay the accumulating rent, she and her roommate Leo, a club DJ, face eviction from her apartment. Mary sells her clothes at a vintage shop in order to get money for the rent.

She also goes to make up with Mustafa, who she early had blown off for a date to work at the library. During one of her parties, though, Mary has a fight with Mustafa and takes drugs to forget. Her friend Nigel tries to take advantage of her, but she fights him off. The next day, she decides to get her life in order and become a librarian. Her fellow librarians help her sort out some of the areas in library sciences she could study. She invites Judy over to talk, but when they arrive Mary discovers to her horror that her friends have thrown her a surprise birthday party, complete with a male stripper. Mary tells a skeptical Judy that she has finally found her calling in life, and Mustafa and Leo tell Judy that Mary used her library science skills to help them with their careers. Impressed, Judy gives Mary her job back, and joins her god-daughter in dancing with her friends.

Cast[edit]

Music in the film[edit]

Much of the film takes place in clubs and at parties, and a supporting character is a DJ. There are many scenes directly discussing or playing music appropriate to the mid-1990s club scene, several local performers, and most music is diegetic, being clearly played in the scene.

Track Written By Performed By Scene in Film
"Mama Told Me Not to Come" Randy Newman The Wolfgang Press Opening party
"Beautiful" C. Frantz T. Weymouth Tom Tom Club Mary, Leo, and Derrick getting ready to go to Rene's
"Les Ailes" Hadj Brahim Khaled Khaled Mustafa's Falafel Stand
"Let's Go" Joseph Longo Pal Joey Outside Rene's with Mary, Leo, Nigel, and Derrick
"Aase Hechchagide (Desire Soars Up High" S.P. Balasubrahmanyam, Vani Jairam S.P. Balasubrahmanyarn & Vani Jairarn Mary's Mustafa fantasy dance
"The Boom" Eric Hilton Peace Bureau The "Imitate a Cat Puking" scene
"What You About? (Vocal Version)" The Angel The Angel featuring Cokni O'Dire Outside Rene's with Mustafa and Nigel
"Puerto Rico" Frankie Cutlass Frankie Cutlass Show Mary walking out of the library after she yells at the patron who put the book back incorrectly
"In The Dark We Live (Thee Lite)" (Dave Clarke's 312 Mix) Felix Stallings Aphrohead, AKA Felix Da Housecat The song just before Leo puts on Teddy Rogers
"To Be Loved" Heiner Zwahlen, Elisa Burchett Basscut When Leo flirts with Venus
"You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)" Dawn Penn Dawn Penn After Beautiful is done playing
"U Got Me Up" Cajmere, Dajae Dajae The Natasha scene inside Rene's club
"Big Apple Boogaloo" Arthur Baker, Lati Kronlund Brooklyn Funk Essentials Derrick and Mary stealing clothes
"My Adidas / Peter Piper" Darryl McDaniels, Joseph Simmons Run-DMC Leo and Mustafa
"Anyone Could Happen to Me" A Baker, A. Kroell, C. Reeves Nation of Abel During Leo's first night working as a DJ at Rene's club
"If You Believe (Believer Mix)" Chantay Savage, Eric Miller, Michael Dawson Chantay Savage Leo's first night working as a DJ at Rene's club, intercut with Mary's drunken adventure learning the Dewey Decimal System at the library
"Lick It! (No Afro Sheen Mix House of Love More Phearce)" Karen Finley Karen Finley The song supposedly produced by the fictional Teddy Rogers, when Rene screams at Leo to turn it off
"Mustafa's Theme" Peter Daou, Vanessa Daou The Daou Unknown (possibly Mustafa and Mary in the library)
"House Of Love (In My House)" Erick Morillo, Kenny Lewis Smooth Touch Mary's Arabic-style party
"Keep It Up!" Lutz Ludwig, Klaus Jankuhn L.U.P.O. Unknown
"Throw" Carl Craig Carl Craig Presents Paper Clip People Mary's Arabic-style party (mixed with Les Ailes)
'Music Selector Is the Soul Reflector" Dmitry Brill Deee-Lite Mary's Drunken Dance
"Never Take Your Place" Larry Heard Mr. Fingers Leo and Derrick setting up Mary's party
"I'll Keep Coming Back" Charlene Munford, Al Mack, Terry Jeffries Chanelle Mary harassing Mustafa
"Hopefully Yours" Stina Nordenstam Stina Nordenstam Leo and Mary in the shower
"Carnival '93 (Mardi Gras Mix)" G. Pizaro, R. Morillo Club Ultimate Mary's surprise party
"Party Girl (Turn Me Loose)" U. Nate, A. Mack Ultra Naté End Credits

Internet debut[edit]

Party Girl premiered on the Internet on June 3, 1995[2], transmitted from Glenn Fleishman's Point of Presence Company (POPCO). Appearing live in the POPCO offices, Posey welcomed Internet viewers and then introduced the film. Fleishman recalled the event:

I helped launch the first official full-length [Internet] movie premiere in 1995 in my offices in Seattle. The film was broadcast to several hundred people worldwide over a CU-SeeMe reflector at Point of Presence Company's offices in downtown and then a few minutes, it was projected at The Egyptian in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood. Parker Posey was in our offices to hit the start button on the broadcast. I was one cog in a larger set of wheels that involved the Seattle International Film Festival, Film.com (now part of RealNetworks), First Look Releasing, and the film's producers, as well as another online development company and a CUSeeMe engineering consultant, Joseph Kahan who also worked at NASA down in Texas. The launch was shown on NBC Nightly News in a five-minute segment at the bottom of the Sunday broadcast that week.[3]

Television spin-off[edit]

Main article: Party Girl (TV series)

A television series based on the film was produced in 1996, starring Christine Taylor as Mary and Swoosie Kurtz as Judy. Although six episodes were filmed, only four were aired and the show was quickly cancelled.[4]

Soundtrack[edit]

The Party Girl soundtrack was released June 8, 1995 by Relativity Records.

  1. "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)" – The Wolfgang Press
  2. "Beautiful" – Tom Tom Club
  3. "You Don't Love Me (No, No, No)" – Dawn Penn
  4. "Les Ailes" – Khaled
  5. "I'll Keep Coming Back" – Chanelle
  6. "Big Apple Boogaloo" – Brooklyn Funk Essentials
  7. "Anyone Could Happen to Me" – Nation of Abel
  8. "Peter Piper" – Run–D.M.C.
  9. "To Be Loved" – Basscut
  10. "Never Take Your Place" – Mr. Fingers
  11. "Music Selector Is the Soul Reflector" – Deee-Lite
  12. "Party Girl (Turn Me Loose)" – Ultra Naté

References[edit]

  1. ^ Peter Rainer (June 9, 1995). "This 'Party Girl' Knows How to Have Fun". The Los Angeles Times.
  2. ^ a b The secret history of Party Girl, Dazed Digital, June 10, 2015.
  3. ^ First Film Premiered on Internet?, Glenn Fleishman, September 6, 2003.
  4. ^ "Party Girl". The New York Times.

External links[edit]

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