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Garden Party
Roadside Attractions

Garden Party reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 31 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
3.2 out of 10
based on 10 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 5 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Vinessa Shaw, Tierra Abbott, Christopher Allport, Willa Holland, and Lisa Arturo

Los Feliz, CA - On the sleazier side of Sunset, teenage beauty APRIL has humble ambitions. She’s searching for a way to get by without taking off her clothes—any more than she already has. Sally St. Clair is a realtor whose business has been built upon her sex appeal and secret past. Nathan, has moved to Los Angeles from Nebraska in search of fame as a dancer. Lacking drive and confidence, Nathan finds himself making late night photocopies for Sally and her clients. Todd is one of those prospective clients. A porn addicted artist in search of a way out of a sexless relationship and into an adventure, he’s happy to help Sally get revenge for some past indiscretions. (Roadside Attractions)


GENRE(S): Drama  
WRITTEN BY: Jason Freeland  
DIRECTED BY: Jason Freeland  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: July 11, 2008 
RUNNING TIME: minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75
Portland Oregonian Marc Mohan
More a collection of character vignettes than a full-blown story, Garden Party nonetheless shows as much promise for its makers as it gives to its characters.
Read Full Review
50
Variety Peter Debruge
Isn't racy enough to warrant the word of mouth necessary to make pic a sensation with its generation, the way the unrelated disaffected-twentysomething hit "Garden State" was.
Read Full Review
50
The New York Times Stephen Holden
Whatever else it may accomplish, Garden Party, which is clumsily structured but well acted, with pungently realistic dialogue, puts you in a world without a center in which you can't tell upside down from right-side up.
Read Full Review
50
Los Angeles Times Kevin Thomas
Although competently acted and directed, lacks a fresh point of view and its people lack individuality.
Read Full Review
42
Seattle Post-Intelligencer Sean Axmaker
Whether or not Garden Party is an accurate portrait of the shadow L.A. culture where the young, pretty and desperate can find quick rent money, this low-budget production never engages with its characters or stories enough to make you care either way.
Read Full Review
38
TV Guide Maitland McDonagh
It's familiar stuff if you've sampled the vast body of work devoted to LA-dammerung.
Read Full Review
33
The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Taken together, these stories are a symphony of inconsequentiality, drained of tension and purpose until all that remains is a vague sense of collective ennui.
Read Full Review
25
Premiere Jenni Miller
The leaden performances (Erik Scott Smith is the worst offender), the unlistenable musical interludes, the amateurish caricatures, and the short stories' lack of overall cohesion make this a garden party you should take a rain check on.
Read Full Review
20
Village Voice Aaron Hillis
Trivial, commercially calculated ensemble drama (porn! pot! rock music!), which plays like a non-musical "Rent," or a faux-edgy "Shortbus" for kids raised on "American Pie."
Read Full Review
12
New York Post Kyle Smith
A slow ride to nowhere.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 3.2 (out of 10) based on 5 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Claudia H. gave it a1:
So a screening of it and it was completely awful, not one redeeming quality. Bad script, acting, and direction.

Bobby G gave it a1:
The 1 point goes to a star-making turn by Jessica Havard, the rest of the cast is unwatchable and the directing is Korine level bad.

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