Good Party

Rating: Null/10 (5 August 2005)

Once it gets going, this is a pretty standard date movie: Boy gets girl, there's a problem (almost always with dishonesty or misunderstanding) so guy loses girl, then guy gets girl back (often at the last minute). So far as the story, the only innovation is humor that is broader and bluer than usual unless you are a "Meet the Fockers" type of person.
I was interested because of the folding type: Actors playing characters who are acting roles. But that is so common now you can buy templates for your scriptwriting software.
Two interesting things. One is mundane: date movies usually show you nothing that doesn't advance the plot. We actually count on this fact: if we know something we expect the characters to know as well. Advancement of the story in this genre includes the necessity that that all is revealed at the end. Whatever we are told, the girl discovers at the end; it is just a matter of her catching up with us.
In this case, we are told horrible things about the boyfriend that remain a secret just for the audience. That's unusual and was certainly engineered.
The other thing, the thing I actually liked, was the extended preface. We learn that these guys crash weddings, and then for 15 or 20 minutes we attend a dozen or more with them.
This sort of dancing and fun usually comes at the end of a date movie. Here it is at the beginning. It is so well assembled that I think they brought in a more professional team just for that. This is so expertly edited that I even surmise that it was done later to help the movie, which is thin story-wise and ordinary in other respects.
Possibly some side material about the mother, the oldest daughter (whose wedding introduces the family) and the gay son was removed to make room.
Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.