I’ve taken a tiny hiatus from my dispatches because I have been a busy, uninspired bee. Consuming media (all of which have been printed, painted, sculpted, filmed, and sonically recorded) without finding any of it inspiring or interesting has not been good for me in any way. The last dregs of winter are finally dissipating and I am impatiently waiting for the flowers to break ground for spring. I’ve especially fallen off from writing my film reviews because, to be honest, nothing is inciting a spark of interest. Is it award season fatigue from hearing about the same films over and over again? Is it because my go-to theaters aren’t showing anything I can’t already stream? Am I overwhelmed by ALL of my streaming memberships to choose something to watch? YES! I am sick of movies! More so, I’m sick of everything I’ve heard of or seen before. Usually when decision fatigue sets in I turn on any one of the following movies as background noise while I stare at my phone or organize things around my home: The Shining, You’ve Got Mail, Eyes Wide Shut (holiday season only), Rosemary’s Baby, or Party Girl.
Out of all the streaming services I subscribe to, my Criterion Collection membership is my most cherished. I don’t appreciate the widely accepted association of anyone who is a Pac-Man like consumer of their offerings, on an unbreakable streak of gobbling up each flick, is a snob. I am a woman who watched Barbie in theaters TWICE! Do not get it twisted, I love a major motion picture! However, this is where the auteurs I admire go for inspiration and I am always interested in seeing how certain canonized aesthetics are reshaped in current cinema. And to know why the scene was cut a certain way, why a single shot was used, or costume references, I need to see the source material with my own eyes.
What I’ve enjoyed most about my Criterion Collection membership is their monthly features that focus on a style, director, or actor. Recently, they curated a series of films starring Parker Posey. If you’re in your mid-late twenties and living in New York, Party Girl is essential to watch. First of all, our sartorially skilled protagonist Mary (Ms. Posey) works to pay off the bail she owes to her godmother at the Seward Park Library (this is after she was arrested for hosting a rave). Mary has a mastery in curating perfectly funky outfits, a fixture on the nightlife scene, and extremely self assured. Throughout the film, she develops a love for library sciences and a halal cart vendor with a shoulder for her to cry on. One of the most salient scenes for me was when she went to a consignment shop to sell off some of her fashion archives to for cash to pay back her debt, only to be horrified that she is receiving so little in return for her trove of designer goods (who amongst us hasn’t been here)! Instead of rewatching this go-to the other day, I chose something from this series that was new to me and I hadn’t heard of before: The Daytrippers (1996) directed by Greg Mottola.
The base note of the plot is Eliza (Hope Davis) finds a love letter written to her husband (Stanley Tucci) while cleaning up their home after an eventful holiday gathering with her family, who we end up spending the entire film with. Eliza returned to her mother’s home to ask her (Anne Meara) and her sister Jo (Ms. Posey) for guidance on how to handle this terrible surprise. Without hesitation, the family plus Jo’s boyfriend Carl (Liev Schreiber) plies into their station wagon to make the trek from Long Island to Manhattan to confront the emotional perpetrator.
Posey’s demeanor and dress in this film is the twin to her portrayal of Mary in Party Girl. She’s sassy, outspoken, and colorfully dressed. Jo pairs bright blue eyeshadow with a bold red lip because she’s the kinda gal to not hold back, a complete opposite from her reserved sister. But Jo demonstrates something that is also important as a New York Girl, and that is being dressed for anything because you never really know how your day will evolve. It’s difficult to number each of the layers she wears but if we’re keeping score it’s a coat, a zip-up, jacket, a striped short sleeve sweater, a loose light blue long sleeved top, a solid black long sleeve shirt, a green crochet scarf, and everyone’s current favorite accessory that is bright red rights. My favorite scene in the entire film is when her and Carl are about to confront her philandering brother in law at a literary party, but before they enter she slowly takes off of these layers (she’s basically a fabric onion) until she is at her foundational fit and enters the room with her pile of clothes as if this is something everyone seesaw everyday. Granted, New Yorkers see A LOT of wild nonsense daily, but this is something! This is extreme behavior that appropriately matches her character’s demeanor, but the point illustrated is one that I have taken. Be dressed for any and all occasions every day!
Chance encounters enrich the plot of the film and help move the story along. After the shortest car chase of all time, a medical emergency occurs where the family is graciously taken into the apartment of a father and son where they discuss their combined family tales of love and troubles. Later on, Eliza gets stuck helping an older woman move a television set from her deceased mother’s apartment, but mostly watches the old woman and her sister bicker about who gets what and how much of their mother’s perception pills and for what reasons they should take them. These moments of being outsiders of other people’s inner circles illuminates the family’s own complex relationships within their family unit, for better or worse.
I’m not going to reveal how this story ends, but I urge you to watch this if you crave a story where a family comes together and also lets the stressed fibers of their woven bond show.