Search - Party Animalz on DVD

Film Imitations, Raunchy Gags, and Shallow Portrayals

Jeffery Mingo | Homewood, IL USA | 07/12/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Two low-income Mexican American males host a party in a vacant Beverly Hills house. I love that films can be made without big-budget Hollywood backing. I also love seeing actors and actresses of color, especially novice ones, finding roles. However, here are three concerns I have.

One. Most of the movie is just raunchy sex gags. They include pubic hair, sadomasochism, voyeurism, bestiality, masturbation, amidst alcohol and drug use. Along with flatulence jokes, this adds to the puerile nature of the film. I think the target audience may be young males, but I also imagine that many adults won't allow their young sons to see this film.

Two. This film was just a flow of Mexican Americans imitating white and black films. One actor draws a picture of his love interest, as in "Titanic." The sexual meaning of "American Pie" is applied to tacos in this film. A muscular, masculine man cries out "Lola!" in the way that Marlon Brando cried out "Stella!" in "A Streetcar Named Desire." The bestial scene replaces the hamster of "The Nutty Professor 2" for a mule. This film has a Peeping Tom/older male neighbor as in "House Party."

Three. The film can be deemed sexist. There are numerous male characters with numerous lines and personalities, but there are few female characters. Of the few female characters, they are either whores or madonnas. The shallow portrayal of women again underscores the puerile nature of the film, but it may be a disrespectful slam against Mexican-American women and girls."