Good idea lost in the noise

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

(Very) loosely based on the Fatty Arbuckle scandal from circa 1921, this film is set in 1929, and based on a poem from that era, which I have not read, a few lines of which are voiced over in the film. James Coco's character was very annoying. This is not really criticism, because that was obviously intentional. Perry King played his part as melodramatically as a scene from the times. Royal Dano was excellent as befits his long and distinguished career as a character actor.It has been a long time since I have seen a film with Raquel Welch. She was long mocked back in the day (before silicone) as just a big pair of boobs, but I found her performance compelling, and the best part of this movie.

Something tells me that the story of how this movie even got made is more interesting than what ends up on the screen. Surely, when matching low-budget exploitation producer Samuel Z. Arkoff with the future-classic producing/directing team Merchant/Ivory, something odd must have occurred. Nothing, and I mean nothing about this 1975 film, based on the infamous Fatty Arbuckle scandal, works. The film, sadly, exists to new audiences as a cautionary signpost marking Zarkoff's failed attempt to move toward legitimate mainstream film-making. He should have stuck to his bread-and-butter tripe (such as "The Beast With a Million Eyes").Here we have tubby James Coco (with over-the-title billing!) throwing a party to lure members of silent-era Hollywood moguls to distribute his self-financed Opus. Complete with songs by the (terribly melodramatic) Raquel Welch, the film sinks deeper and deeper in to awkward, self-indulgent pathos. Poorly acted, directed and designed (with cheaply dressed sets and awful original "period" songs in the background), this film is one to be missed at all costs. Perhaps one day, the true secret to this film's odd conception will be revealed, and it will make some sense. Until then, perhaps a potential viewer would be better off reading a book.

The combination of director James Ivory and his producing partner Ismail Merchant with sensual star Raquel Welch should have resulted in a dynamic art-house hit, but "The Wild Party" is a series of missed opportunities (you're more acutely aware of all the possibilities that went unrealized than you are gripped by what made it to the screen). Loosely based on the Fatty Arbuckle scandal, this is a well-intentioned, noble failure with James Coco playing a silent-screen star in early 1930s Hollywood who throws a bash to celebrate his comeback in talkies, but his big night goes awry. A.I.P. recut the film for its theatrical run to punch up the sex--which gave the pic something of a sullied reputation--however MGM has since restored Ivory's cut. Coco, Welch (as mistress Queenie), and Perry King (as another in his stable of studs) all do fine work, and some of the dialogue has snap. The film is certainly a curiosity, but Ivory's handling is plastic and his pacing and musical effects are colorless. *1/2 from ****

Loosely based on the 1920's film star Fatty Arbuckle scandal (in which he was tried, but acquitted of raping a young girl during a Hollywood party, resulting in the demise of his career), this is adapted from a narrative poem that has some similarities to Arbuckle, but notable differences as well. Dukes plays a writer who narrates the story from his hospital bed. He recounts the difficulty that his associate, silent film comedian Coco, has had in holding onto a career in the cinema business. Coco hasn't had a film released in five years and is throwing a huge bash in order to show his latest opus to various studio heads in the hopes that they will distribute it for him. Unfortunately for him, it's the dawn of sound and his film is silent. His live-in lover Welch is a grateful and loyal, but restless, sexpot who he mistreats regularly (and increasingly, as his career dwindles.) Together, Coco and Welch host this bash and soon find that the studio heads are more interested in other parties or in hooking up with loose women on the premises. King plays a hot new actor who's brought to the party by starlet Bolling, who is one of Welch's best friends. Once he eyes Welch, King can think of virtually nothing else the rest of the night. Meanwhile, Ferra, a teenage girl, has come to show Coco her talent in dancing, never dreaming of all the angst and drama unfolding in the house. Eventually, the party escalates into a near full-on orgy and the divergent personalities clash, ending in violence. Coco gives an extremely strong performance in one of his better roles. His desperation is palpable and he gets to show both his comic and dramatic skills through the framework of the film. Welch is attractive, but very plastic and anachronistic. She never seems genuine at any point in the film. Her character is supposed to be acting like a content and secure hostess, but Welch carries this facade throughout the entire film with only occasional lapses into realism. She also performs a couple of sexy, but largely inappropriate dance numbers. King provides a welcome does of male sex appeal. His angular features are a perfect contrast to the rotund Coco and he shows off his enticing physique in one key scene. Dukes, Bolling and Dano (as Coco's long-time chauffeur) do well in their respective roles as well. The biggest problem with the film is that nothing wild happens until it is almost over! The period costuming and decor are interesting and there are some good moments along the way, but the high-flying, wildness is not in evidence at all until over an hour into it. Then, when the debauchery starts, it is pretty tame all things considered (certainly compared to the REAL parties of 1920's and 1930's Hollywood!) Those familiar with the Arbuckle case may be expecting the story to take a different turn than it does. It's actually a pleasant surprise when things don't go exactly as one might be anticipating, but the major catalyst for the violence at the end isn't even shown! (A particular lovers tryst is only alluded to.) A whimsical score (with some clever songs), good acting by Coco and the attractiveness of Welch and King are the primary assets here. It's not bad, but it could have been much better.