Synopsis
Are you young, sexually confused, just trying to get by? Do you sing, dance or possess some other talent? Welcome to the Garden Party. At the center of the story is 15-year-old April. She is running from one bad situation into another, hoping to find an answer that doesn't involve taking off her clothes.
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Cast
- Vinessa ShawSally St. Claire
- Willa HollandApril
- Richard GunnTodd
- Fiona DourifBecky
- Patrick FischlerAnthony
- Tierra AbbottLana
- Christopher AllportDavey Diamond
- Lisa ArturoApril's Mother
- Erik BraggDirk
- Alexander CendeseNathan
Recommendations
- 75
Portland Oregonian
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. - 50
Variety
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. - 50
The New York Times
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. - 50
Los Angeles Times
Although competently acted and directed, lacks a fresh point of view and its people lack individuality. - 42
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
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. - 38
TV Guide Magazine
It's familiar stuff if you've sampled the vast body of work devoted to LA-dammerung. - 33
The A.V. Club
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. - 25
Premiere
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.
