The Wild Party (1975)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Just what I expected

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Raquel Welch is heavenly but her acting abilities sadly don't match up to the exquisite quality of her legs. To be honest I didn't finish this film. The Fatty Arbunkle-inspired main character was extremely unpleasant, angry and bitter and violent, and I just couldn't stand the thought of spending another hour watching him. Might have been able to endure him had the actor playing the part had a little ability and/or charisma. If you're like me and thinking about viewing the film after reading the wonderful source poem, don't bother. The original work is so visual, so tightly strung, it's hard to imagine how they might screw up a film adaptation, but they managed to do it. It seems Merchant/Ivory made several steamy piles before they finally found their style ("Savages" is equally awful).

I bought this because Raquel Welch was in it. Every movie that I have of here's which is about 17 she was always gorgeous and beautiful except this one. She wasn't bad in this picture but with her beauty, she shouldn't have been in this movie in the first place. I loss interest in this movie as soon as the person said the year 1920. This movie told you how a movie stars to get his life back once they have been found. However, how could you waste the beauty and the talent of Raquel Welch in a movie like this? Raquel body is far better serve on beach scenes and watching walk around the beaches in those short and lovely bikinis. I'm sorry Raquel but I can't give this movie anything more then 3 weasel stars. You and your talent were wasted in this movie and the only reason I gave it 3 weasel stars was because your name was in it.

This is with out a doubt the worst movie I have ever seen. Plastic characters spewing the most amazingly bad dialog imaginable. If Ed Wood had still been directing in the 70's, this could have been his masterpiece. I am still surprised that Perry King and Raquel Welch did not pool their funds to buy out every print, so they could be spared the embarrassment of the general public seeing the most laughable dance sequence ever put on celluloid. It is especially sad to think that this was a big movie for James Coco. His true comedic talents were totally wasted in this mess of a film. The film is so unbelievably bad that I am surprised that it has not reached some sort of "cult film" status. It should be played at midnight at art house all over the US. It would bring screams of laughter from everyone in the audience. Maybe John Waters should do the re-make?

SPOILER ALERT The then new Merchant Ivory team made some odd choices for this remake portrayal of old Hollywood decadence. It was shot at the Mission Inn in Riverside, California, a beautiful old mission style high end hotel. (The Nixons spent their honeymoon there.) So the production design and costumes are gorgeous, if dimly lit.The late James Coco shows impressive range and talent as the jealous clown protagonist who hits rock bottom in front of everyone. For the record, Fatty Arbuckle, upon whom Coco's character was based, was much younger and more physically impressive.Raquel Welch was at her peak, but she has a rather poorly written role. This is one of her many weird films; see, e.g. Myra Breckinridge.Somebody, someday will film an orgy and make it look good and inviting, instead of the sweaty, nauseating nightmare here. Despite these complaints, the performances and production values hold up surprisingly well thirty years later. Worth a look.