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Garden Party
Metascore
31 out of 100

Generally unfavorable - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 10
  3. Negative: 5 out of 10
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  1. Portland Oregonian
    Reviewed by: Marc Mohan
    75
    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.
  2. Los Angeles Times
    Reviewed by: Kevin Thomas
    50
    Although competently acted and directed, lacks a fresh point of view and its people lack individuality.
  3. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    50
    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.
  4. Variety
    Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    50
    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.
  5. Seattle Post-Intelligencer
    Reviewed by: Sean Axmaker
    42
    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.
  6. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    38
    It's familiar stuff if you've sampled the vast body of work devoted to LA-dammerung.
  7. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Scott Tobias
    33
    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.
  8. Premiere
    Reviewed by: Jenni Miller
    25
    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.
  9. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Aaron Hillis
    20
    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."
  10. New York Post
    Reviewed by: Kyle Smith
    12
    A slow ride to nowhere.
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User Reviews

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User Score
3.2 out of 10

Generally unfavorable- based on 5 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 2 out of 2
  1. ClaudiaH.
    1
    So a screening of it and it was completely awful, not one redeeming quality. Bad script, acting, and direction.
  2. BobbyG
    1
    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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