DVD Review

The Anniversary Party (2002)

Reviewed by Michael Sauter | Feb 08, 2002

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EW's GRADE

B+

Details Rated: R; DVD Release Date: Jan 15, 2002; Genre: Drama; With: Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh; Distributor: Fine Line Features

$HAPPY COUPLE \'\'Anniversary\'\' codirectors Cumming and Leigh The Anniversary Party, Alan Cumming, ...$

Image credit: The Anniversary Party: Peter Sorel

HAPPY COUPLE ''Anniversary'' codirectors Cumming and Leigh

In The Anniversary Party, Joe (Alan Cumming) and Sally (Jennifer Jason Leigh) are a shakily married Hollywood couple celebrating their sixth anniversary with a party full of high-maintenance friends, neighbors, colleagues, and ex-lovers. The gathering starts out tense and awkward, then emotions turn increasingly naked and raw, as a stellar ensemble (including Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Kline, and Parker Posey) probes the neuroses and agendas of some dozen self-absorbed people. Cumming and Leigh, who wrote and directed Party together, make a surprisingly effective first-time filmmaking team: Their comedy of modern Tinseltown manners is glancingly witty, sneakily sardonic, and, finally, hauntingly sad.

Originally posted Feb 05, 2002 Published in issue #638 Feb 08, 2002 Order article reprints

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