Party Girl (1996)

Sure, Party Girl, a goofy cocktail about Mary (Posey), a Manhattan club kid who decides to be a librarian, is fizzy and fun — it certainly went straight to the heads of many critics. But when seen the morning after on video, Mary's SoHo-boho persona isn't as intoxicating as the filmmakers would like us to think. As her Existentialism Lite becomes Career Crisis Lite, the movie's charm — derived from snappy editing, wacky fashion, and a pumping soundtrack — gets diluted. The moral here: Obsessive '80s-style party giving and '90s-style professionalism don't mix. B-