The Party
The Party
| 17 December 1980 (USA)
The Party Trailers

A thirteen-year-old French girl deals with moving to a new city and school in Paris, while at the same time her parents are getting a divorce.

Reviews
SunnyHello

Nice effects though.

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Tedfoldol

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

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ChanFamous

I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

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BelSports

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

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Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)

"La boum" is a French movie from 1980, so it will have its 40th anniversary soon already and it is a mix of all kinds of genres: music, comedy, drama, romance, but most of all it is a coming-of-age movie. But we will get to the details of this 110-minute film soon. First I would like to say that I really really appreciate the fact that films like this one or also the probably even more famous "Belle de jour" are shown again in theaters so many decades after their original release. It would be amazing if more classics could return to the big screen, also especially for the big cinemas that usually only offer the new stuff. I guess the quantity of viewers there to watch this one here as well as Bdj show the demand is there.Now back to this one: It is the story of a teenage girl who discovers love, attraction and also sexuality and we get to be a part of it. Sadly, things on the home front aren't looking too brilliant either for her as daddy cheats on mommy and these are more than busy taking care of themselves and their struggles. What's it she got? 13 years of age. Nice quote there. And I generally liked the film's approach in terms of realism. It never tries to fool us into thinking this was about true love, even if the main character believes so. The final scene/shot is the perfect example. Yes the film does go over the top frequently, like in terms of the old lady bringing sexual talk and comedy or the perhaps too frequent use of a certain song, but it is always likable in doing so, which makes it easier to look past that. Maybe the drama is not always working like the "flight" part or the way too big coincidence of him turning up in her hotel room, but yeah well there is a certain charm to this movie that makes it easy to ignore the weaker moments. It did really feel what growing up in 1970's or 1980's France could have looked like in my opinion and I write this as somebody who wasn't even born when this film was written and directed by the late Claude Pinoteau, probably his most known work. He also returned for the sequel two years later, which shows you that this original film was quite a success here. Maybe I will check out the second film at some point too, preferably at the very big screen as well. As for this one hear, it reminded me a bit of a harmless version of the Lemon Popsicle at times, from the girls' perspective obviously and harmless because the characters here are younger for sure. Only the cinema dick grabbing scene was probably on par with the famous Israeli film series. Overall, I give "The Party" a thumbs-up. It is worth seeing alone for the young Sophie Marceau in her very first performance already and looking at that one it is not surprising at all that she is still enjoying a successful and prolific career these days at the age of 50. Check her out. Her performance and the film and comedy feel pretty modern at times, the story could also be from the 2010s. A good watch and I give it a thumbs-up.

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gdeangel

Like many, I recall watching this film as a teenager in French class at a US high school. At that time, the appealing qualities for me were the "kids just trying to have fun" elements: the discotech dance parties, and the effusive French culture which at the time (anyone still remember the Cold War?) showed the affinity of the western world states for their different social values.I just watched the film again, with Chinese subtitles no less, and was really struck by the fact that much of the story resounds with parents. The scene of the parents huddling around the pay phone, each not wanting to be the one to embarrass their child by showing up first is great. The line, "Je Montre!", is just the feeling of charging into the breach of the unknown that a real parent with a 13 year-old daughter should expect.I was also struck by how out of place the "cross-culture" elements appear today. The scene socializing a MacDonalds, the "fait un American" dance, the UCLA sweatshirt... I doubt they have much place in today's climate of "freedome fries" and "economic techno-goober globalization". You can watch this film thinking "Vic/Mathew is dreamy", "Boum = fun", but I suggest after you're done, rewind the tape and watch it again looking for the second layer of social observation that abound. Ask yourself whether you will ever see this generation of kids sitting at home on the floor talking on the phone (why bother when then all have cell phones), or even going to a real live Boum (when there are "no consequences" chat rooms, video games, 100+ channels of cable TV, and so much "don't get left behind in the global rat race" anxiety).

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Ucurian

When I watched the film as a teenager, I was instantly falling in love with Sophie Marceau and have watched nearly all of her films later on. I was searching for the films for years, but on ebay in Germany the old VHS version always reached 40 €. But since 6 months we have both parts on DVD her in Germany and of course I bought them and still love them. The song "Dreams are my reality" had been a big hit. I think it was a No. 1 for several weeks. Every woman and man of my age know the song and nearly all men between 30 and 45 I know, get a melancholic smile on there face, when they think about Sophie Marceau in those films... Of course, there exist more intellectual scripts and from a view of the art of cinematography there are a lot of better films, but less that makes you feel so good.

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orangecrushprincess

We watched this movie in my french class with English subtitles. It's hysterical, we couldn't stop laughing, a must see for the 80's french enthusiast! With great characters, odd themes, and the funniest one-liners ever, this is a can't miss, even 20 years after it came out!

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