The Party
Being a big fan of Sellers, I've been wanting to see this for quite awhile. Though I cant agree with Urge that it's better than the Pink Panther films, it's still a hilarious, well acted and just all-around fun time! The beauty of the plot lies in it's simplicity: A bumbling Middle-Eastern actor (Sellers) accidentally blows up a Hollywood movie set, and is fired on the spot. On top of that, he is told that he'll never work in movies again! Of course instead of being blacklisted, he mistakenly gets invited to a high-profile Hollywood party, where he gets into all manner of hilariously absurd situations.
Once he shows up at the party, there is no such thing as a plot. It's simply a perfect set-up for Sellers to get into tons of comic mischief. Sellers's character, Hrundi V. Bakshi, is great. Hillariously awkward like many of Sellers's comedic roles, but with a heart of gold and the best of intentions. Sellers delivers a great performance as this great character, as always. There a very few actors who are skilled enough to make the audience laugh by doing little more than standing still, but Sellers manages to pull it off. He even does great in a largely serious scene near the end of the film...simply put, the man is a genius and this film really shows it.
Though overshadowed by Sellers's greatness, the supporting cast is great as well. The drunken butler was definitely a highlight, he made the dinner scene very funny. His fights with the head chef, who reminded me a lot of Dreyfus from the Pink Panther films, were hilarious as well. All the other characters had small roles for the most part, but everyone did great.
Last but not least, Blake Edwards does a great job directing this film. The atmosphere of this film is just plain fun, and the way he chose to shoot certain scenes was great.
Overall, this is a great film that shouldn't be missed. Like any good party, it's filled with laughs, a bit a romance, great characters and, most importantly, a lot of fun. It almost makes me wish I was alive in the 60's!
8/10