Garden PartyMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Garden Party."

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Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 75
    Portland Oregonian | Marc Mohan

    More a collection of character vignettes than a full-blown story, Garden Party nonetheless shows as much promise for its makers as it gives to its characters. Read full review

  • 50
    The New York Times | Stephen Holden

    Whatever else it may accomplish, Garden Party, which is clumsily structured but well acted, with pungently realistic dialogue, puts you in a world without a center in which you can't tell upside down from right-side up. Read full review

  • 50
    Variety |

    Isn't racy enough to warrant the word of mouth necessary to make pic a sensation with its generation, the way the unrelated disaffected-twentysomething hit "Garden State" was. Read full review

  • 50
    Los Angeles Times | Kevin Thomas

    Although competently acted and directed, lacks a fresh point of view and its people lack individuality. Read full review

  • 42
    Seattle Post-Intelligencer | Sean Axmaker

    Whether or not Garden Party is an accurate portrait of the shadow L.A. culture where the young, pretty and desperate can find quick rent money, this low-budget production never engages with its characters or stories enough to make you care either way. Read full review

  • 38
    TV Guide | Maitland McDonagh

    It's familiar stuff if you've sampled the vast body of work devoted to LA-dammerung. Read full review

  • 33
    The Onion A.V. Club | Scott Tobias

    Taken together, these stories are a symphony of inconsequentiality, drained of tension and purpose until all that remains is a vague sense of collective ennui. Read full review

  • 25
    Premiere |

    The leaden performances (Erik Scott Smith is the worst offender), the unlistenable musical interludes, the amateurish caricatures, and the short stories' lack of overall cohesion make this a garden party you should take a rain check on. Read full review

  • 20
    Village Voice |

    Trivial, commercially calculated ensemble drama (porn! pot! rock music!), which plays like a non-musical "Rent," or a faux-edgy "Shortbus" for kids raised on "American Pie." Read full review

  • 12
    New York Post | Kyle Smith

    A slow ride to nowhere. Read full review

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