The Party | Rotten Tomatoes

The Party

Released Apr 4, 1968

1h 39m

Comedy

List

83%

Tomatometer

24 Reviews

88%

Audience Score

25,000+ Ratings

While trying to tie his shoe, bumbling extra Hrundi V. Bakshi (Peter Sellers) unwittingly triggers explosives that destroy the set of an epic war film. The furious director tells executive Fred Clutterbuck (J. Edward McKinley) to fire him. Because of a misunderstanding, Bakshi instead mistakenly receives an invitation to an exclusive party at Clutterbuck's Hollywood mansion, where he proceeds to wreak havoc on partygoers as he stumbles through what will become the wildest night he's ever seen.

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Sam Adams

The Dissolve

The film makes a strong argument for the liberating joys of disorder.

Rated: 3.5/5

Sep 22, 2014

Full Review

Nick Schager

Lessons of Darkness

Plays like leftovers from the Panther films.

Rated: C

May 4, 2005

Full Review

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Edwards directs with economy for most of the way, but when the living room fills up with soapsuds and the elephant, he can't help lingering over the expensive scene he's produced.

Rated: 3/4

Oct 23, 2004

Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Designed as both a homage to silent comedy as well as an exercise in improvisation.

Rated: 3/4

Jun 11, 2023

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

An ode to the classic cinema of Keaton and Chaplin, Edwards' title is a light trifle, The Party a fun exercise for fans of Peter Sellers and Blake Edwards in their only non-Pink Panther union.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 3, 2020

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A few sight gags go over well and the satire sometimes hits the mark, but much of the film stalls with too many repetition accidents.

Rated: B-

Apr 20, 2019

Full Review

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Alec B

I'll be charitable and call it "problematic" but if you can look past that, the movie does offer up a lot of enjoyable and influential comedic material (the scene with the toilet in particular is hilarious) plus I think the lack of of any real plot was the right choice here.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/10/24

Full Review

steve d

I wish I stayed home,

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Ruhaan A

watched it a while ago. absolutely hilarious

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

12/19/22

Full Review

Jesse B

A masterful performance by Peter Sellers as usual - and the entire cast was just brilliant, including the waiter played by Steve Franken. The film plays out very intricately with many precise moving parts at once that sees one action continually causing more chaos, from a sort of spectative point of view. Very unique and just wonderful to watch. A film like this could never be made today due to obvious racial backlash due to Sellers portraying an Indian man and wearing brownface. However, it should be noted that his character Hrundi Bakshi, while clumsy and accident prone, was portrayed with complete respect to the character's heritage - I think this warrants a free pass on political correctness. The film was even a massive success in India, and Indians (at least back in the 60's) revered the film. Wonderfully funny, and at moments heartfelt. Thank you Mr. Seller's for your wonderful work that continues to entertain us over 60 years later.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

10/13/22

Full Review

Tony S

An absolute classic. Great laughs for the whole family.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/31/22

Full Review

Audience Member

I don't enjoy leaving bad reviews to otherwise well received films, and especially to films with Peter Sellers. That man has been an amazing actor to some of the best films ever made, such as The Ladykillers, Lolita, The Pink Panther, Being There. But dear Lord Almighty was The Party boring. Boring, non-descript, mundane. The plot is so vague you could argue that it doesn't exist. The film is mostly incidental and experimental comedy and that must have been what killed it for me. The little plot that exists is about the misadventures of a goofy caricature of an Indian actor who is invited to a high class party and wreaks havoc. Without going into details, the few good things that this film had were some scenes, and especially the climax (probably the only scene I actually enjoyed in this "comedy"), the setting and the score that accompanies essentially the whole film. Also, Sellers' valiant effort to portray his character was most interesting and a little funny. Let's see the bad aspects of the film. The pacing for example, is atrocious. Despite its rather short runtime of 90 minutes, I felt like I was watching paint dry on a wall. Most characters are also boring, which further makes the experience painful. Most scenes were cringe inducing, but especially the bird cage scene made me lose my sh*t and start skipping the scenes. I literally felt the cringe run through my veins. Lastly, the comedy just isn't funny. I have seen a lot of old and new incidental comedies in the style of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy that were light years better than this atrocity, mainly because of their attempt to bombard the viewer with actually funny scenes. This film right here feels like watching a theatrical play with a lot of dialogue that out of nowhere throws a single comical scene just to remind you that you are watching a comedy, then resorts to dialogue for the next 30 minutes. It just doesn't work. In the end, some aspects of the films, like a couple of actors, the climax and the soundtrack, cannot save this film from being a failure, I do not recommend.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/22/23

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Blake Edwards

Director

Peter Sellers

Hrundi V. Bakshi

Claudine Longet

Michele Monet

Marge Champion

Rosalind Dunphy

Gavin MacLeod

Charlie S. Divot

Sharron Kimberly

Princess Helena

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The Party: Official Clip - Toilet Trouble

3:39

The Party: Official Clip - Injun Grip

1:44

The Party: Official Clip - Wyoming Bill

2:03

The Party: Official Clip - Telephone Call

1:55

The Party: Official Clip - A Good Laugh

2:04

The Party: Official Clip - The Intercom

1:30

The Party: Official Clip - The Bugler Who Wouldn't Die

2:35

The Party: Official Clip - If the Shoe Floats

4:00

The Party: Official Clip - Awkward Dance

2:07

The Party: Official Clip - A Small Seat at the Table

1:08

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Synopsis

While trying to tie his shoe, bumbling extra Hrundi V. Bakshi (Peter Sellers) unwittingly triggers explosives that destroy the set of an epic war film. The furious director tells executive Fred Clutterbuck (J. Edward McKinley) to fire him. Because of a misunderstanding, Bakshi instead mistakenly receives an invitation to an exclusive party at Clutterbuck's Hollywood mansion, where he proceeds to wreak havoc on partygoers as he stumbles through what will become the wildest night he's ever seen.

Director: Blake Edwards
Producer: Blake Edwards
Screenwriter: Blake Edwards, Tom Waldman, Frank Waldman
Production Co: Mirisch Corporation
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 4, 1968, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Sep 16, 2008
Runtime: 1h 39m

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