The Party (1968) - film review

Hrundi V. Bakshi is an Indian actor who has high hopes of making his fortune in Hollywood.  Unfortunately, on his first day at work he accidentally blows up the set and is summarily dismissed.  In an attempt to have Bakshi blacklisted, his director immediately telephones his boss.  The latter is distracted and unintentionally adds the troublesome Indian’s name to a list of guests to a party which he and his wife are hosting in a few days’ time.   Bakshi is naturally honoured when he receives an invitation to a party that will be attended by the Hollywood jet set.  His accident prone nature will ensure that the party will a memorable experience for everyone, most of all his hosts...

Flush from the success of their first two Pink Panther films, director Blake Edwards and actor Peter Sellers joined forces again to deliver another winner, this time a caustic satire on some of the less attractive aspects of the movie-making business.   The Party is essentially a Mr Bean movie in which the bungling hero is not Rowan Atkinson but Peter Sellers playing an inept Indian actor.  Nowadays, the mere idea of an A-list celebrity actor blacking up and imitating an Asian would be gunned down by the political correctness brigade even before it found its way into the studio, and this could partly explain why the film is so appealing today.  Sellers had previously tried out his Indian act on Sophia Loren in The Millionairess (1960), the film that spawned his hit single Goodness Gracious Me.

For The Party, Blake Edwards was obviously inspired by the films of the legendary Jacques Tati.  Not only does he appropriate the loosely structured format of Tati’s films and the idea of an inoffensive central character who unwittingly creates mayhem wherever he goes, but he also directly references some of Tati’s jokes.  So effective and timeless is Jacques Tati’s brand of humour that you wonder why more filmmakers were not inspired to emulate his work, particularly as it has a universal appeal.  

Sellers is absolutely in his element here since the film allows him to employ both his talent for mimicry to great effect and his natural flair for visual comedy.  He is one of the very small number of comic actors of his generation who could have been a major star in the silent era.  In what is essentially a silent film, he is at his most hilarious.  Who else could get a stream of belly laughs from a simple lavatory sketch involving a toilet bowl, a bidet, a painting and a roll of toilet paper?  As absurd as his character is, Sellers succeeds effortlessly in making him human and likeable.  There is an endearing Chaplinesque pathos to Sellers’ comedy creation in this film.  Thanks to Sellers and his birdie num-nums, The Party is a rare comedy delight, to be devoured with relish.

© Derek Adamson 2010

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